{"id":69211,"date":"2026-03-17T18:00:55","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T12:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=69211"},"modified":"2026-03-17T18:35:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T13:05:49","slug":"mumbai-mayor-beacon-row","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/17-03-2026\/mumbai-mayor-beacon-row","title":{"rendered":"Beacons Removed from Mumbai Mayor\u2019s car After Row Over Promoting \u2018VIP culture\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS1\/Society\/GS2\/Polity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recent debates on VIP culture in India reveal that hierarchical mindsets continue to shape public behaviour, despite constitutional guarantees of equality.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Practices like VVIP convoys, red beacon and bureaucratic sycophancy reflect a deeper distortion of democratic ethos.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>VIP Culture<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>VIP culture<\/strong> refers to the practice where individuals<strong> holding political office, high administrative rank<\/strong>, or influence receive special privileges and preferential treatment in public spaces and institutions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Persistence of VIP Culture in Modern India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Although royal privileges were abolished, VIP culture has persisted, particularly among politicians. It is a legacy of colonial bureaucracy and feudal hierarchy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Examples include:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Large motorcades that disrupt traffic.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Special treatment at airports, tolls, and public offices.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Security details halting roads for political visits.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>A survey by LocalCircles found:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>64% of respondents felt VIP culture had not declined in recent years.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>91% witnessed VIP privilege in public spaces.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>83% experienced it in government offices.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Abolition of Privileges (1971)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The privileges ended with the <strong>26th Amendment of the Constitution of India<\/strong>, <strong>1971<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Key outcomes:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Privy purses abolished.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Derecognition of princely titles.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>End of royal flags, gun salutes, and ceremonial precedence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Royal vehicles required to follow standard RTO number plates.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Former rulers became subject to the Motor Vehicles Act like ordinary citizens.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Constitutional Provision: Article 18 <\/strong>deals with the<strong> abolition of titles<\/strong> in India and aims to ensure equality and prevent the creation of a hierarchical society based on honorific titles.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>VIP Culture Undermines Democratic Principles<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Violation of the Principle of Equality: <\/strong>VIP culture contradicts the constitutional principle of equality before law and equal protection of laws under Article 14 of the Constitution of India.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Preferential treatment to politicians or officials creates a perception that some citizens are above the law, undermining democratic values.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Normalises public inconvenience:<\/strong> Daily disruptions for VIP movement weaken the principle of equal citizenship.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Breeds sycophancy in institutions:<\/strong> Excessive deference to authority undermines merit, objectivity, and administrative integrity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Misuse of Public Resources: <\/strong>VIP culture often involves the extensive use of government vehicles, security personnel, escorts and infrastructure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Erosion of Public Trust in Institutions: <\/strong>When citizens observe preferential treatment for political elites it can lead to public resentment, loss of trust in government institutions, perception of corruption or misuse of power.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ethical Dimensions:<\/strong> Power without humility leads to arrogance, authority without accountability causes corruption &amp; service replaced by status causes ethical decline<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Government Initiatives&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Ban on Red Beacons (\u201cLal Batti\u201d) on Vehicles:<\/strong> In 2017, the government ended the red light culture in the vehicles of senior ministers and government officials.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Regulation of Security Cover: <\/strong>Security arrangements for politicians and public figures are regulated based on threat perception.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Security categories like Z+, Z, Y, and X are periodically reviewed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The aim is to ensure security based on necessity rather than status or influence.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Digitalisation and Transparent Governance: <\/strong>Initiatives such as online services and digital governance reduce opportunities for preferential treatment in government offices.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Measures to reduce VIP culture<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Uniform enforcement of rules:<\/strong> Penalise misuse of privileges; restrict traffic disruptions to genuine security needs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Professionalisation of bureaucracy<\/strong>: Strengthen training on ethics, impartiality, and institutional conduct.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Limit symbols of power:<\/strong> Strict regulation of beacons, convoys, and other status markers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Leadership by example:<\/strong> Modest conduct by top officials can reshape institutional culture.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: TH<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Recent debates on VIP culture in India reveal that hierarchical mindsets continue to shape public behaviour, despite constitutional guarantees of equality. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> VIP Culture <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> VIP culture refers to the practice where individuals holding political office, high administrative rank, or influence receive special privileges and preferential treatment in public spaces and institutions. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/17-03-2026\/mumbai-mayor-beacon-row \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-69211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69211"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69211\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69214,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69211\/revisions\/69214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}