Shah Rukh Khan, ex President Abdul Kalam & ex President Bil Clinton and biased US security checks

News: Last week India's most famous current actor was detained for two hours at US's NEWARK airport and grilled by ignorant US Security.

Back to the past: Three years ago or so US ex-President Bill Clinton had come to Delhi. He did not depalne from his aircraft as he did not want to go through the usual line meant for others. HE had to have special treatment. So, four limos from the US Embassy in Delhi were sent to pick him up from the airport. Now, when the Indian Security chaps wanted to frisk these US gentlemen and check their cars, they did not allow it. For 45 minutes or so this staolemate continued till the Indian Foreign Ministry oficials decided to be good hosts and allowed the cars to pick up that ex-President.
Cut to the present: Since April there have been two reported incidents of India's best being harrassed by thoughtless US Security. First it was our ex-President Abdul Kalam and now it is Shah Rukh Khan, a face recognised all over the world, who were pointlessly checked by US security. The excuse being trotted out by helpful channels in India is that this is routine security. Routine Security ? Bah. Tell that to the Marines. Its routine inefficiency and racial bias. Only they are credulous enough to believe it. What happened to their much vaunted PROFILING SYSTEM? By this so called scientific electonic system they are supposed to eliminate multiple harrassment, select targets, save time and give quick clearances.
What happened in these two case? Either their profiling sytem did not or does not work? Or, they make it a point to target well known Asians just to show how thorough and unbiased they are in their security checks. They do not subject every passenger to such checks. Why does it happen to the more important ones routinely and especially? Apart from having an inefficient system , just like their so called Smart Bombs that routinely kill civilians, the US Security picks on Asian VIPs as scapegoats to create an impression of rigid and inflexible security. TV Channels like CNN-IBN, which though Indian are puppets for the American CNN, wasted hours on this topic being more emotional and loud than sensible. Not one of them, not even the usually sensible NDTV, tried to understand what this profiling system is nor did they mention that incident of one of their ex-Presidents at Delhi Airport.

Afterword: Profiling System collects data about millions of risky individuals all over the world and stores their bio datas into a multi accessible electronic data system. It has usual information like home address, date of birth, occupation, past and history of crimes and odd behavious + photographs, wherever possible. The Americans consider their system to be so perfect that they have the cheek to run courses all over the world on profiling! And yet when it comes to our VIPs it suddenly collapses and reducing the US officials to making third rate excuses like miss handled baggage was the reason for detaining Shah Rukh Khan. In addition, an efficient profiling system helps to separate the good from the bad and the suspicious. What lind of a security system is this that regularly gets the wrong ones?

Another Afterword: Only when American nobs are searched at Asian Airports as our Cabinet Minister Ambika Soni threatened will these pompous and arrogant searches stop.

Romesh Bhattacharji