If red beacon atop one’s car underscores supreme leverage over the powers that be, then Bengal’s chief mufti Maulana Nurur Rehman Barkati, the Shahi Imam of Tipu Sultan Masjid in Kolkata, is the godman who wields real power post-paribortan (political change) that came two years ago.
Even as the Imam’s SUV (WB0S J 1977) enters the royal mosque at Esplanade, barely a mile away from the real seat of power at Writers’ Buildings in Kolkata, hundreds of followers step back in awe-evoking reverence.
“You got to know the real meaning the red light on your car emits,” says Barkati, whose ancestors were appointed the royal Imams by Prince Ghulam Mohammad Shah, the grandson of the Mysore Tiger who was deported to then Calcutta by the British in the wake of the fall of Sreerangapattanam.
“A Red light on a minority religious leader’s vehicle is a true mark of secularism that is practised in the region and one has no doubt that under Mamata Banerjee, Bengal is enjoying its true secular culture.”
On being asked whether such a practice bypasses legitimacy, the Shahi Imam recollects a Dubai Sheikh on a visit to Kolkata telling him “al izzato kal masalil wodhra — ‘you get here the respect of a wazir or a Minister’” and remarked “this is the region in India where true secularism is practiced.”
Similarly an Iranian delegation “marvelled at the kind of respect the minorities are accorded here”, the Imam maintains, adding how “the Chief Minister is the khatoon who practices true secularism and backs the minorities” by unleashing a whole lot of projects for them, including stipends for imams and muazzims.
He adds, “I backed Mamata even when her own men were not with her. And till I am supporting her, minorities will keep backing him. I have personally campaigned for her in the rallies and would continue to do so.”
While there was “no comment” from the top Transport Ministry on the issue an advocate recollects how “a private person had filed a petition in the Calcutta High Court a couple of years ago on the issue.”
Then Barkati’s lawyer SM Hassan had justified his case saying “during the British regime the imam was issued a pass that allowed him to use the red beacon atop his vehicle.” However, the court said the norms were “different now” and directed the Home Ministry to ensure discontinuation of such practices.
Barkati, however, wants to take a liberal view of the issue saying he has no objections if other religious leaders get the same facility. “I have never objected to this. If the leaders of other religions want to have the same facility then they should be given that,” he comments, ignoring the question whether he has been legally allowed to avail such a facility.
As per the Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989, the Central Government has, vide Notification No. 52 (E) dated 11-01-2002 of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, given specifications on which vehicle could be permitted what kind of lights.
Red beacon with flasher can be used by: President, Vice-President, Chief Justice of India, Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Judges of the Supreme Court, Speaker of the lok Sabha, Cabinet Ministers of the Union, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, leaders of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha and lok Sabha, Chief Justices of High Courts, Justices of High Courts, Governors of States, lt Governors of Union Territories within their respective Territories, Chief Ministers of States within and outside their respective States, Cabinet Ministers of States within their respective States, Chairman, SC&ST Commission and Ambulances.
Red beacon without flasher can be used by Chief Election Commissioner, C&G of India, Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Deputy Speaker, lok Sabha, Ministers of the State of the Union, Members of the Planning Commission, Attorney General of India Cabinet Secretary, Chiefs of Staff of the three services holding the rank of full General or equivalent rank, Deputy Ministers of the Union, Officiating Chiefs of Staff of the three services holding the rank of lt General or Chief Commissioners of Income Tax.