The ASTD’s resolution on ‘Chief Guest Culture’ needs unequivocal endorsement by all
Moa Jamir
Terming the concept of ‘Chief Guest Culture’ as a dignified nomenclature being misconceived and reduced to a position solely fashioned to extract benefits, the Ao Senso Telongjem Dimapur (ASTD) in a novel and bold initiative decided to do away with such practice.
The apex body of Aos in Dimapur stated that it will no longer encourage the practice among its affiliated unions or forums and a resolution was passed endorsing the same at its general body meeting on January 30.
“It is no longer about what the chief guest has to contribute in his or her intellectual capacity rather it has become how much he or she pays,” it opined.
Another closely inter-related issue is the pervasive VIP culture that is endemic, a kind of necessary evil in the society. “Some sort of VIP culture exists everywhere. India's, however, is unique in its pervasiveness and its arrogance,” goes a 2013 Business Standard editorial while a Times of India feature suggested that, “The VIP culture seems to be a uniquely Indian phenomenon.”
In Nagaland, it has become a ‘bread and butter’ of every organisation that subsist in the horizon and is not restricted to the political class alone but affects every aspects of the society. Be it a club, educational institutions, student bodies or any kind of social gathering, life without a ‘Chief Guest’ is considered incomplete. In fact, a sort of hierarchy exists whereby the influence of a particular entity is measured on its ability to scalp important people to honour it with their ‘gracious presence.’
As noted by ASTD, often the deciding factor is monetary. The programmes are chalked out taking into account the estimated amount that the ‘would-be’ chief guest is donating. Opposition MLAs or those considered frugal are mostly ignored. Luckily in recent years, the practice of reserving special aisle or table etc for them have been widely discarded.
VIP culture is most visible in public roads especially in the cities and has been matter of huge public discourse. In Nagaland, our bad roads are equally proportional and complimentary to the lack of road etiquette that the VIP bandwagon follows. Even the narrow alley of potholes inaccurately attributed as road is colonised by them. However, it is not restricted to Nagaland alone.
Couple of years back, the issue had come-up in the Supreme Court when a petitioner argued that halting of traffic to give smooth passage to VIPs amounts to denial of right to liberty and right to freedom of movement of the general public. The Apex Court of India has frowned upon the existing VIP culture observing that “threat perception becomes a symbol of power” and derided the same.
Guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs also stated that traffic can be halted only in case of President of India, Vice President of India, Prime Minister of India and visiting dignitaries who are given President and PM level security cover. Yet, every State has its own policy.
Nevertheless, can you imagine a Members of Legislative Assembly in Nagaland taking a city bus to work or for that matter, a chief guest arriving to a function on foot or by public transportation?
The answer will be indisputably negative and they will be derided as miserly and thrifty. In fact, the clout of that concerned person is considered directly proportional to numbers of his/her entourage.
Around the same time last year, The Morung Express asked its readers if the ‘VIP Culture’ is impacting the quality of leadership in Nagaland. An overwhelming 81 % of the respondents said YES while a minuscule 4 % said NO, and 15% stated OTHERS.
The glamour for VIPs is inversely proportional to “decreasing stature” of the leaders, stated a reader opining they are using it as a ‘prop’ to compensate what they lack in character, moral authority and intellectual ability. Even the media advertently or otherwise, encouraged such culture by giving prominence to the VIPs in their reporting instead of highlighting the event they attended.
Thus, we need to do away with this pompous and expensive culture. The bold move by ASTD is a 'monumental step' towards eradicating the menace of our infatuation with Chief Guest and VIP culture and needs replication by every other entity.
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