Indians believe there is a spike in VIP culture in the past year

New Delhi: A new survey shows that 77 per cent of Indians believe that VIP culture increased in the past year.

8 out of 10 believe that the phenomenon was mostly witnessed in places of worship, roads, tollways etc. The survey, conducted by Local Circles on 54,000 people in 333 districts, showed that only 64% felt the same in 2024.

The study revealed that 81 per cent of those who have commuted or traveled by roads and tollways in the last year say they have witnessed VIP culture, while 70 per cent said they have observed the same at airports and in flights.

Over 19,320 respondents indicated they have witnessed it in more than one place. Among them, 52 per cent of respondents said they witnessed it in trains and stations. In the survey, 69% respondents were men while 31% respondents were women.

As many as 83% of respondents who have traveled to religious places in the last year said they saw VIP culture, and 80 per cent said they saw it at public and private events. Respondents said that they saw preferential treatment for those in power and their near and dear ones being the norm.

“From Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj to Ganpati Pandals in Mumbai and from Government offices to hundreds of cases of VIP movement with convoy on Indian roads, social media is full of videos where citizens are reporting VIP culture. High-profile private events like the Lionel Messi’s India tour in December last year also attracted criticism for how VIP access displaced ordinary fans, igniting discussions about elitism in major cultural events,” the report added.

A similar study in 2024 revealed that 46 per cent of respondents found VIP culture; and 14% believed that it had, in fact, risen significantly in the previous three years. In 2024, 91% of those who have travelled by road attested to experiencing VIP culture, 83% found government offices to be afflicted by VIP treatment, 79% said they witnessed it in public and private events, 73% had said they saw it in religious places.