I

t is the unwritten rule that no official wants to talk about openly. Our secular democracy does not deploy Muslims or Sikhs to protect its VVIPs. While Muslims were always under suspicion, the Sikhs got blacklisted after Indira Gandhi’s assassination in 1984 by her personal bodyguards who were Sikh.

It is ironic that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a Sikh, has no brethren from his own community detailed in the security cordon around him. Officials of the Special Protection Group (SPG), established in 1984 for providing security to prime ministers, have ensured that neither Sikhs or Muslims are employed as bodyguards to VVIPs .

Sources in the security set-up confirm there exists an unwritten code which is complied with diligently. Points out an official: "When it comes to VVIP security, we cannot take any chances, especially since the country has lost two of its prime ministers to brutal killings. Proximate security is the last defence, and if that is weak, how can we ensure safety of the person we’ve to protect?"

As far as...