It has been 70 years since our Nation attained Independence from the British rule, however it seems, that India has still not broken all the vestiges from its colonial heritage. This can be rightly stated by the use of the prefix “VT” or “Viceroy Territory” on our all civilian aircraft.

This issue was raised by the BJP politician Mr. Tarun Vijay during the zero hour of the Parliament sessions, on May 3, 2016. While raising his issues with the usage of the prefix, he had stated that “the Indian civil aviation sector has grown stupendously and that it can be compared to any other developed nation. The Committee also feels that it is high time to set aside the sign of a colonial past and acquire a new call sign which appropriately denotes the Indian civil aviation sector.” Since that day, the debate regarding the tag has been continuous and never-ending.

The codes starting with the letter V were issued to all the British territories during the Colonial Rule, with “VT” being issued for India, in the year 1928. While after gaining Independence, Pakistan and other former colonies were issued with different codes, India seemed to retain the former, with no applications being made for any re issuance.

Considering this as reminiscence to the brutal colonial heritage of the Nation, many citizens including the party members, had requested the Hon’ble Prime Minister, to take action in changing the same, thereby representing a more familiar and depictive of the new and modern India which is achieving new heights.

The events, however took an unfortunate turn, when on an application made to the International Civil Aviation Organization, regarding the issuance of either one of the prefixes from BH (representing Bharat), IN (representing India) and HI (representing Hindustan) were rejected on the grounds that all such prefixes had already been taken by other countries, namely China and Italy.

This debate of the code is notably an old issue which has resurfaced in the Parliament and the social networking sites, a number of times, but the Indian Aviation Ministry has time and again reported that a reasonable solution is far-sighted. While stating that the only available codes, X and V, have no relation with the Nation, it has contended that even after their best efforts, they have not been able to find a reasonable alternative that would prove to be financially efficient.

Whereas it can be observed that the Indian Civil Aviation Sector has developed tremendously, achieving new heights in every step of the way, it however seems, the reign of the code, VT will continue till a light of hope shines upon our Country.