The Hindu Business Line : Relic of the past

Some weeks ago, a Kolkata daily carried a news report on the use of red beacons atop vehicles in London, the gist of the story being that while such decorations were in great demand in the former capital of the British Indian Empire even now, in the erstwhile heart of the Empire itself they are today conspicuous by their absence.

The details of the report from the London correspondent of the daily were as follows: A birthday celebration was being held at a Soho restaurant by a Labour MP to which were invited around 130 members of Parliament, including 10 Cabinet Ministers and senior Whitehall officials. The report said that none of the invitees had a flashing beacon on top of their vehicles; neither did the Home Secretary, one of the senior-most mandarins of the British Government.

Only for emergency

The report went on to say that this spectacle of assembled MPs and Ministers and senior government officials without a single VIP beacon was not uncommon in England where the "flashing beacon" culture was non-existent. Only in cases of an emergency was the contraption used — the objective being to get right of way through the streets to cut down on delay in emergency situations. In fact, the 1989 UK regulations on `Road Vehicle Lighting' has been quoted in the report which says that "no vehicle, other than an emergency vehicle" shall be fitted with "a blue warning beacon or special warning lamp... "

Indeed, according to the report, the only official accoutrement of this nature which the British Prime Minister and other Cabinet Ministers have when they are travelling through English streets is a group of armed police officers in `unmarked cars'. "Otherwise, traffic is never disrupted or held up to allow official limousines to pass," says the report.

Kolkata too has a High Court directive that prohibits the indiscriminate use of red beacons which, however, is observed more in the breach. A February 2007 ruling by a division Bench stipulated that "Only police pilot cars, ambulances and the fire brigade have the right to fit beacon lights atop their vehicles."

Power Syndrome

The question is: why has the red-light syndrome, existent in India since the days of the Raj, become even more powerful now when, curiously, the original imperialists do not tolerate it in their own land? Has the red-light something to do with the status-consciousness of the Indian officials (even those who happen to pass all-India civil services examinations), the vehicular decoration (at least in the mind of the babu concerned) helping to transmit to the world at large the message that Authority is up and about and all and sundry must step aside to let the personage pass?

Given the reluctant response to court directions in this regard, this is precisely what the problem seems to be in our country, giving the lie to the view that democracy has come of age in India. When, even after 60 years of Independence, government officials and others behave as though they are still the `rulers' of the republic, and leave no stone unturned to segregate themselves from the average citizen (whom they essentially serve and who is, in fact, their paymaster), there is something fundamentally wrong in the working of Indian democracy, leading to questions being asked about the general efficacy of the system in the Indian social milieu where pettiness abounds.

Ranabir ray Choudhury