India's Airports A Window Into Its Quirks

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An airport security search prompted more than a few tweets of commentary in New Delhi. NPR's Philip Reeves sends us his latest letter from India.

PHILIP REEVES: One of the things I do to pass the many boring hours I spend in Indian airports is read the signs. There's one with a long list of items that you're not allowed to have in your hand luggage. The list includes cricket balls, bows and arrows, and chili powder.

Another has a long list of names. These are people who are declared by the Indian authorities to be exempt from security checks. They're political leaders, judges, and other dignitaries considered far too important to contemplate terrorism and who could therefore sneak a cricket ball onto a plane if they really wanted to. Some of these people are officially categorized as VVIPs - Very, Very Important People. That's the rung above India's multitude of mere VIPs.

This week there's been a big hoo-ha over the way one of these VVIPs was treated at an airport. He's a soft-spoken, unassuming gentleman called Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. He used to be president of India, a largely ceremonial position, but one that commands huge respect.

It's emerged that in April, security personnel from Continental Airlines insisted on frisking Dr. Kalam as he was boarding a flight from India's capital, New Delhi, to the United States, ignoring the fact that he's supposed to be exempt from such checks. He apparently had to take off his shoes. Big deal, I hear you say. But these things matter here.

The Indian media took up the issue, portraying the frisking of Kalam as a grave insult to the nation. There were angry speeches in parliament. The Civil Aviation Minister filed a police complaint.

Continental said it was merely following U.S. regulations under which everyone flying to the States has to be searched, no matter how very, very important they are. It's also apologized to the former president for any misunderstanding.

The incident provides an insight into the unusual way India functions. Caste matters less now than it used to. The country is gradually shedding the legacy of being ruled by snobbish British colonialists obsessed with protocol. Yet India is a highly stratified society, where those on top enjoy a host of special privileges that sets them apart from the great mass of people who are not deemed to be important.

It's also a country that's quick to take offense when foreigners fail to respect its rules. The strange thing about the whole affair is that Kalam himself says the frisking didn't bother him and the incident's not very important at all.

Philip Reeves, NPR News, New Delhi.

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