Ashok Ogra
The uncertainty surrounding the inauguration ceremony of President- elect Joe Biden has finally ended. Donald Trump stands defeated. Incidentally, this is not the first time that the inauguration of the US President has faced hurdles. The swearing in ceremony of the first President, George Washington, was delayed by 57 days as the new Congress wasn’t able to put together a quorum to receive the election result until then.
With all decks cleared, Joe Biden was the 46th President on January 20. A specially designed bullet-proof limousine took President elect to the US Capitol for inauguration. However, what the public will never get to know is who will was the chauffeur at the wheels on that day. To the US Secret Service conversation about transportation concerning the President is a highly sensitive area.
Contrary to popular belief, chauffeuring dignitaries/ celebrities is not always glamorous. It entails both rewards and risks.
Take the case of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963 in Texas. Americans haven’t forgotten his assassination. One of the many theories that continue to be debated and dissected concerns Kennedy’s chauffeur, William Greer. Did he cause his death? It is alleged that instead of accelerating, as he was trained to do, Greer actually slowed the car down to a near stop, before he was forced to accelerate by the Secret service agent who screamed at him to get to a hospital.
In the United Kingdom, the Metropolitan Police has been investigating the role of the chauffeur Paul who is alleged to have crashed the car, killing himself, Diana and her boyfriend Dodi Fayed in a tunnel in Paris in 1997.
We know chauffeurs ( and drivers) today as suited gentlemen who drive cars around for powerful and rich people, but where did this tradition come from? Chauffeur in French means “stoker”. Someone who had to stoke the hot coals for the earliest motorized vehicles, as they all ran on steam at the time.
In the late 19th century, Americans decided to use the French term “chauffeur”, instead of the English “driver”, because at the time the best cars came from France. Also, the wider political climate at the time saw the relationship between America and France as arguably the strongest it’s ever been.
Unfortunately, since the second half of 20th century this noble profession of chauffeuring involves high risk particularly when the fortune of their bosses changes for the worst. We find them paying a price for the misdeeds of their masters/riders.
Salim Ahmed Hamdan who was captured by the US forces during the invasion of Afghanistan is held as a detainee Guantanamo Bay. His fault: being Osama bin Laden’s personal driver. Salim is allegedly to have admitted to being Osama’s driver and pleaded ‘he needed the money.’
Some drivers- wittingly or otherwise- also witness the rise and fall of monarchs, dictators, political and business leaders, celebrities and, in a few cases, their brutal end.
Huneish Nasr who served Libya’s dictator Col. Muhammad Gaddafi as his personal driver has revealed how denial and confusion marked the final days of a crumbling regime. Huneish last saw the boss he served for 30 years looking confused as all hell broke loose around them.
“Everything was exploding,” said Nasr, recalling the moments before the deposed dictator was caught. He caught a final glimpse of his ever powerful master being pulled from a drainpipe.
In India too we have seen drivers emerging as key witnesses- as is the case with the investigation into the death of former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu J. Jayalalitha. Her driver , Ayaapan, has claimed before the inquiry panel that on September 22, 2016, when Jayalalitha was not well, Sasikala and Dr Sivakumar insisted on her going to the hospital, but she refused. He has given a clean chit to Sasikala and said “Truth is on the side of Sasikala.”
It was the arrest of Indrani Mukerjea’s driver Shyamwar in August 2015 which brought the Sheena Bora murder case to light. In his confessional statement, Rai has said Sheena’s murder was plotted by her mother Indrani and executed by her ex-husband Khanna.
For investigating agencies world over, drivers are a rich source of extracting vital leads. In the case of the Rs.3600 crore VVIP chopper contract. Investigators have got some real clues on the Indian contacts and fund sources of Christian Michel, an alleged defence middleman after interrogating his Delhi-based driver Narayan Bhadur. The driver used to ferry Michel during his visits to India and worked with him for close to four years.
It is not always that drivers are subjected to unnecessary harassment and scrutiny. At times, they themselves become newsmakers when they decide to split the beans.
Read this: Lord Mountbatten’s dirty laundry is given an airing by the historian Andrew Lownie in a revealing new book. The author quotes a driver in Malta, now in his nineties who was once asked by Mountbatten to take him to a gay brothel. The book unveils that the decorated war hero and uncle to Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, used to frequent the place in Rabat during his time in Malta between 1950 and 1954.
How about chauffeuring the rich and the famous celebrities? That should be hugely rewarding. After more than a decade of working in Hollywood, actress Jayne Amelia Larson found herself out of work. She’d heard stories of the Sheikhs bestowing huge tips on their drivers and when the family arrived with twenty million dollars in cash, Larson saw it as a moment she was waiting for. In her memoir An Upstairs, Downstairs, Jayne Amelia Jarson tells the funny and surprising tale of weeks spent as chauffeur to the Saudi royal family during one Beverly Hills vacation?
The memoir provides both entertainment and social commentary on one of the world’s most secretive families. She reveals both their conspicuous consumption and the sad plight of their maids accompanying them.
The most incredible story of the rise of a driver who had access to the conversation in the rear seat is that of the Congress leader Jaffar Sharief- strong Gandhi loyalist since student days. Who can forget his role during the 1969 Congress turmoil? Sharief was working as a driver for Karnataka State Congress in Bangalore in late 1960s. He had overheard a conversation involving the then Congress president S.Nijalingappa’s plans to split the party. He carried this vital information to then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Jaffar Sharief was suitably rewarded: Congress MP eight times and a berth in the union cabinet as railway minister.
There could be thousands of professional chauffeurs / drivers across the world who have heard conversations and stories from the rear seat that they wish they hadn’t. What should a driver do in this situation? Stay quiet, or nip it in the bud. Should a driver betray the rider’s confidence?
This is similar to the doctor-patient relationship that is an integral part of medical ethics. In the Hippocratic Oath that doctors take: “What I may see or hear in the course of treatment,” it says, “I will keep to myself.” However, doctor-patient confidentiality is not absolute. Doctors have to share information when it is clearly in the patient’s interest ( a drug allergy, for example) or when it comes to complying with a court order (as in cases of child abuse). There are those who believe that doctors must betray confidentiality when it is in the “public interest” (reporting infectious diseases like Covid 19 etc ).
The situation has become more challenging as most communication nowadays takes place through mobile? Who knows when will a driver betray the confidence?
(The author is a noted management & media professional /educator. )
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