India
'stripped' of its dignity, literally
By Siddharth Srivastava
NEW DELHI - How should a nation, which also happens to be the world's largest
democracy and the bedrock of the global information-technology revolution,
react when faced with news that the country's defense minister has been
"strip-searched", not once, but twice, during trips to the United States? Is it
a national shame that should engender jingoistic anti-US reactions, or should
one just feel sorry for world's most powerful country having lost its head
given its insecurity over the "war on terror" and the fiasco in Iraq?
The "disrobing" has been described by former US deputy secretary of state
Strobe Talbott in his new book Engaging India - Diplomacy, Democracy and the
Bomb in which the author writes that George Fernandes, India's former
defense minister (under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government) was strip-searched
twice in Washington, DC's Dulles Airport, once on a visit to the US
capital and again en route to Brazil. On both occasions Fernandes was the
incumbent minister. Talbott says Fernandes himself angrily apprised him about
the incidents when he visited India this February as part of a delegation.
"Our group held a series of meetings with senior officials - [former national
security adviser] Brajesh Mishra, [former external affairs minister] Yashwant
Sinha and George Fernandes - who all voiced some unease that the American
government was treating [Pakistani President General Pervez] Musharraf with kid
gloves. But they also expressed general satisfaction with the way things were
going between the US and India," writes Talbot.
He adds, "Fernandes, as defense minister, made much of how American-Indian
military cooperation was thriving. India, in short, had weathered the storm of
American sanctions and was now well on its way to establishing itself as a
military partner. Just as we were saying goodbye to Fernandes, a member of our
delegation innocently asked him when he would next be coming to Washington. His
demeanor abruptly changed. It was as though he was glad to have an excuse to
tell us how he really felt about our country.
"Ignoring an Ethiopian delegation that was already filing into his office and
taking its seats, Fernandes regaled us with the story of how he had been
strip-searched by officers of the US Immigration and Naturalization Service at
Dulles Airport when he arrived for an official visit in early 2002, and again
in mid-2003.
"He seemed to enjoy our stupefaction at this tale. He and other Indians who
later referred to the incident clearly regarded it as more than merely a lapse
of protocol or just another example of the post-[September] 11 excesses that
air travelers had to endure for the sake of security. The Indians saw it as a
symptom of a deep-rooted condescension - or worse - on the part of the West
toward the East."
Talbott's assertions have drawn fusillades of response from Indians at every
level, everywhere. The political spectrum, ruling-party members and regular
people with associations with the US have been drawn in. Indian websites are
inundated with messages on the subject.
Harish Rangwani writes to rediff.com: "We certainly need to take proactive
actions against such abuses in the name of security. The high-handedness of
foreigners at the hands of US immigration officers [as per the new electronic
exit-entry system] should be deplored in the strongest words as well as
reciprocated in the same manner. We should take a clue from Brazil, which has
also introduced fingerprinting and photographing Americans on arrival, as in
the USA. We should not be afraid of the repercussions, as strategic or economic
alliances are based upon equal treatment of each others citizens. In any case,
Americans need our assistance in information technology more than we need
theirs."
Another comment by "Abhay" reads: "The US has been in superlative paranoia
since [September] 11, best explained in Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11.
If politicians and celebrities can undergo such turmoil, think of the common
man. I have been through such situations several times. Who says that racism
doesn't exist! Most of the searches conducted are based on the color of your
skin and how you look! Since Indians have the same build and look of people
from the Middle East, Americans with basic knowledge of geography subject
Indians to such embarrassments. It has happened in the past to head of Wipro
[Corp] Azim Premji and prominent actor Kamal Hassan. While I see Indians being
subject to checks, I don't see similar treatment to others from the Asian
community such as the Chinese. The message that needs to be conveyed is we
Indians in America are doctors, lawyers, business and IT professionals,
students and not terrorists. We don't breed terrorists. So, don't go by the
looks, make intelligent checks, and not checks based on some mass hysteria."
There have been other reactions as well. Former deputy prime minister L K
Advani has said he did not have to disrobe before entering the US. Advani
maintains that shedding shoes and socks was part of a normal security check
that the official entourage accompanying him had to undergo. "I wonder whether
this can be called a strip search," said Advani. The ruling Congress party,
which had boycotted Fernandes in parliament over allegations of
corruption, has, in a turnaround, expressed "sympathy for Fernandes" and asked
the coalition government it leads to probe the strip-search incidents and make
the report public.
"We may have differences with him [Fernandes] but what happened with him is
shocking and unfortunate as he was on an official visit representing India," a
party spokesman said. The left-wing parties that form a crucial ally to the
Congress are aghast that there was no protest at the time and have primly said:
"This was not of a personal matter but concerned the dignity and status of
India and its government's high representative."
The man at the center of the storm, Fernandes, with a known predilection for
trying to attract the media as well as a deep-rooted anti-US disposition, is
enjoying all the attention. A socialist who was instrumental in the exit of IBM
and Coca-Cola from India in the late 1970s, Fernandes has termed his
strip-search an "ordeal" and, even if belatedly, has decided not to visit the
US in the future. It is another matter that as former defense minister,
Fernandes' opportunities to visit the US will be few and far between.
Whether or not disrobing the defense minister of the world's largest democracy
is a reflection of US views toward India and Indians, or just further evidence
that the shadow of Osama bin Laden still haunts the world's most powerful
country, debate will continue, and so will the strip searches.
Siddharth Srivastava is a New Delhi-based journalist.
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