Once you’re Pakistani, there is no going back to India

[Bang Galore]

Once you’re Pakistani, there is no going back to India
By Aalia Suleman Published: April 17, 2015

The Indian government’s excuse for taking so long for visa processing, although in reality no visas are issued, is to curtail violence in the country

The non-issuance of visas to India continues to irk thousands of Pakistani Americans as the former remains hell bent to grind an axe with Pakistanis, regardless of borders or their new nationalities.

At the moment, there are an estimated 500,000 Pakistani Americans in the US and the rate of their continually burgeoning numbers makes them the second fastest growing group of Asian immigrants in the US. According to the Pew Research Centre, the entire population of Asian Americans, which includes Pakistanis, is among those in the highest income bracket as well as the best educated in the country. However, despite all the good check marks Pakistanis have in front of their names and despite their coveted blue passports, India continues to trivialise their backgrounds, denying them visit visas to its esteemed land only because they are expats born in Pakistan.

It is absurd for India to assume that no Pakistani would ever want to visit India at some point in their lives. Everyone still has relatives, ancestral homes, ties, backgrounds, and memories of childhood visits to the country even though they themselves were born in Pakistan.

The migration that occurred with the division of the country in 1947 was the greatest mass human migration in the history of mankind. Do the Indian authorities seriously assume that simply on account of being born in Karachi or Lahore, a man’s ties to his entire history could be severed and his whole slate of reverence for the land of his forefathers could be wiped clean?

Even if one removes the emotionality from the picture, the whole situation reeks of brazen, glaring discrimination, not only on the part of India, but also the US authorities by reason of being perpetrated against as US citizens.

Why do these people want to go there?

I am pretty sure it is not with the intent to bomb Mysore or raze the Taj Mahal to the ground. The majority only wishes to visit family, gaze at the homes of which they have heard stories of all their lives, visit the monuments built by the Mughal rulers and reflect, sadly, at the preserved relics in the museums which tell the tale of one of the greatest empires in human history. The fact of the matter is that the soil of India has the roots of the millions of Pakistanis who immigrated to the new country in 1947.

As per the rules on the Indian visa website, the visa processing time for US citizens born in the US is one to three days, whereas the time for people of Pakistani origin, it is six weeks. Even this time requirement is just a scam; visas are not issued at all even after the person has waited for six weeks. According to the US Code Title 42, Chapter 21 of civil rights,

“Discrimination against any person ‘based on age, disability, gender, race, national origin and religion (among other things) in a number of settings—including education, employment, access to businesses and buildings, federal services and more’ is prohibited.”

Yet the Indian consulate carries out this blatant discrimination most unabashedly on US soil against US citizens.

The Indian government’s excuse for taking so long for visa processing, although in reality no visas are issued, is to curtail violence in the country. This excuse is, however, most flimsy and unconvincing. 500,000 US citizens of Pakistani origin cannot be held accountable for a handful of miscreants who also happened to be of Pakistani origin.

Prior to the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which were masterminded by the American citizen of Pakistani origin David Headley, all expatriates with foreign passports were exempted from any such visa issuance rules. These rigid rules only came into effect in 2009 and have yet to see any alleviation.

When the officials at the US State Department were questioned about this grey-area-case-of-discrimination, they said they had “raised concerns with the Indian Embassy in Washington” but were unable to do more since visa requirements were engineered by each country in question. Though one could understand that it takes longer for the Indian consulate to do background checks on expats of one country than of another, could it really take six weeks?

Today, it takes minutes to check a person’s background history so why isn’t the Indian embassy able to judge within at least a couple of weeks if a person can or cannot enter the country?

The fact that everyone is denied the visa despite this background check only reflects stark bigotry against Pakistani Americans enabled by US authorities on US soil – an interesting occurrence in this day and age.

Adding further insult to injury, India requires Pakistani Americans to file their visa applications using their Pakistani passports and not their American ones. Whoever chooses to do so, if they even happen to have their Pakistani passport any longer, will not only have to go through the Pakistani consulate to get these passports renewed if required but will also lose all benefits of travelling as US citizens. Of all the bizarre rules that any country could come up with for keeping the people of a certain birth background at bay, trust the Indian consulate to come up with the most outstanding ones.

The sad irony of the entire matter is that despite all these loony-bin tactics India creates to keep Pakistani Americans off their soil, the Pakistanis’ ties to that land keeps them applying for visas repeatedly. Going through similar frustrations and in response to Washington’s ‘non-committal stand’ on the subject, a Pakistani American even filed a petition in court titled ‘Ask India to End Origin-based Discrimination of Visa applicants’. However, so far, all pleas have been falling on completely deaf US and Indian ears, and Pakistani Americans remain barred from the land of their ancestors. It would be interesting to see how this matter is resolved, if ever.

Maybe there will be a day when I too shall be able to visit Dehli, the great seat of Muslim learning, Ghalib’s hometown, and the grand Mughal capital that ruled Hindustan for nearly 350 years.

Once you’re Pakistani, there is no going back to India – The Express Tribune Blog

 

[Jlaw]

Once you go pak you never go back--at least to India

 

[Ryuzaki]

Once you go pak you never go back--at least to India

They go USA not Pak

 

[khujliwal]

David Headly would be the right person to answer why India discriminates.

 

[syedali73]

There are better places to visit. Why these Morons want to go in the first place. Stupid fellows.

 

[SQ8]

There are better places to visit. Why these Morons want to go in the first place. Stupid fellows.

Connections, remaining families. Etc.
The Indian government is essentially turning extremist along with its population.. the day is not far when Muslims will be treated like untouchables with properties snatched, one sides "justice" and pointless detention. Its a dangerous precedent in India.

 

[syedali73]

Connections, remaining families. Etc.
The Indian government is essentially turning extremist along with its population.. the day is not far when Muslims will be treated like untouchables with properties snatched, one sides "justice" and pointless detention. Its a dangerous precedent in India.

I understand that. However, given the circumstances, it is not wise to go there. If someone has to see their relatives, send them ticket and bring them over to your place.

 

[khujliwal]

There are better places to visit. Why these Morons want to go in the first place. Stupid fellows.

Quite a value addition does your post to the discussion. I don't understand why the author wrote it as she seems to know it already. One thing's for sure, she's not blond, otherwise her Heading would be "Once you're a Pakistani and one of your own was involved in terrorist attack, you can't go back to India."

 

[Bang Galore]

The Indian government is essentially turning extremist along with its population.. the day is not far when Muslims will be treated like untouchables with properties snatched, one sides "justice" and pointless detention. Its a dangerous precedent in India.

This is based on India not issuing visas or delaying visas to people of Pakistani origin?
Pakistan = Muslims of India ?

I understand that. However, given the circumstances, it is not wise to go there. If someone has to see their relatives, send them ticket and bring them over to your place.

Seems pretty much the Indian government's position.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'As If We Are All David Headley'


The Indian government views half a million US citizens of Pakistani origin as terrorists. The Indian government sees him as representing us – Headley, who wasn’t even born in Pakistan.

Salman Nouman


My story revolves around love. A love that is forbidden and discouraged in a part of the world that is now India and Pakistan. India and Pakistan have a tension-filled history, complete with wars and mutual distrust.

While so-called ‘nationalists’ boast about the emotional and physical carnage, people like me – who dare to love the ‘enemy’ across the border and who want each country to admit its mistakes, – are termed as traitors.

After migrating to the US from Pakistan, I was awestruck by the equality and justice offered by this great land. I wasn’t known by my religion, cast or origin, but by my name, and my citizenship – American.

On a fall day in 2009, I received the letter I had been waiting for, from Whistling Woods, a film school near Mumbai. They had accepted me as a student for their Film Directing course. I was overjoyed. Filmmaking had always been my passion and after getting financially settled, I wanted to learn filmmaking at a place that had bred legends of cinema – Mumbai.

Off I headed to Travisa, the visa processing company, with my visa application and US passport. There were other Americans there as well, who were told to come pick their visas the same day or the next.

But when it came to me, the clerk looked at my passport and told me to step aside. Strange, I thought. After a short wait, I was told that I could not apply for an India visa on my US passport. “Sorry? I am a US citizen and that’s my country’s passport,” I said. “You are accepting the same passports of others”.

“No sir,” he replied. “You were born in Pakistan and in the eyes of the Indian government you are a Pakistani national, not a US citizen.” “How can you have different processes for nationals of the same country with the same passports?” I asked, shocked.

His reply shattered me further. “Sir, India does not allow us to accept US passports from US citizens born in Pakistan, unless they first renounce their Pakistan citizenship”.

“But I am a US national, and it is my right to be recognised and travel as one!”

“Sorry, you cannot apply for an India visa with this passport”.

A moment of truth and pain for me. My US passport, which looked exactly like any other US passport, was suddenly different due to my origin. I realised that as soon as the Indian government reads the word Pakistan on my passport, my name becomes David Headley for them. I don’t exist as a US citizen any more. Instead, I am equated with the dreaded criminal who ruthlessly created a web of deception and ran a criminal operation that ended in the tragic day of 26/11 in Mumbai. I become a terrorist suspect who cannot be allowed the freedom of travel in India that comes with a US passport.

I wondered whether they’d made this rule in error. Could it be changed if I called and informed the US Department of State about it? After all, weren’t they meant to facilitate travel by US citizens and ensure the protection of our rights in foreign territory? There are visa reciprocity agreements with foreign nations. How can India treat some US citizens (like me) differently than other US citizens given that the agreements between US and India do not exclude Indian or US nationals based on their ethnicity or origin?

After working through the maze of departments within the DOS, I was finally routed to the American Citizen Services and India Desk. They asked me to email them the details, which I did, expecting a quick resolution. Surely the all-powerful Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton would get Consular Affairs to immediately ask India to not discriminate against US citizens based on their origin and treat all Americans uniformly for visa applications?

My dream was short-lived. American Citizen Services told me that India has a right to deny my visa – to which I replied, of course, that that was not the problem. I would accept a denial on my US passport if I was put through the same process as any British, Irish, Italian, Arabic or other origin US citizen. As a US national, I wanted equality, and to be able to travel as a US national without my origin playing any part in that. It is the state department’s job to ensure that US citizens are not discriminated against. And yet, they told me: “We cannot make India look at you as an American”.

And there it was, the reality. I felt like an adopted child whose parents had just told him that they couldn’t stand up for him and make others see him as their son.

India rightfully took a stern stand against China’s discrimination against Indian citizens. In an interview to the ANI, External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna said, “It has come to the notice of the government of India that China is issuing different visas to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. We are taking up the issue with the Chinese government,” he said. “We will tell them that visa related issue should be uniform, there should not be any discrimination among the Indian nationals while issuing visas.”

And yet, while implementing this origin-based visa rule on US citizens, India itself was engaged in the same kind of discrimination as China that it had protested against.

It is now 2013. The Indian government still views me, along with half a million other US citizens of Pakistani origin, as terrorists, as if we are all David Headley. The Indian government sees him as representing us – Headley, who wasn’t even born in Pakistan.

Collective punishment is deep rooted in the governing dynamics of India and Pakistan. Take any police case registered there; the police always raid the house of the accused and arrest all innocent relatives to pressurise the absconder. It is disheartening to see such counterproductive tactics making their way into the arena of international affairs. Suave, educated Indian diplomats being made to advance foreign policy as if they were local policemen.

Punishing all Pakistan-origin people for one person’s crime resolves nothing except walling off India’s vibrant society from the world. Thousands of Pakistani-origin US nationals have visited India, without ever being accused or found guilty of harming India in any way. Yet those thousands of goodwill ambassadors are all seen as David Headleys.

Even those who renounce their Pakistan citizenship, or are born US citizens to Pakistani origin parents or even grandparents, have to undergo a different visa process than other US nationals and are rarely issued visas with durations that are reserved for US nationals. The US State Department has never stood publicly with half a million US nationals of Pakistani origin.

India and the US are signing agreements of trade and other developmental programmes that exclude US citizens like me. Will other countries now follow suit and start their own policies of discriminating against some US citizens because of their origin? The state department is doing nothing to stop that fear from being a reality. Its strength is now a ‘mighty myth’ for citizens like us.

India, the world’s largest democracy, must realise that this policy effectively halts the revolution of a changed mindset between India and Pakistan. It only helps terror mongers. Mahatma Gandhi, who ignited the freedom movement by refusing to let the British discriminate against him in a train in South Africa, would not approve of this policy.

In the end, a plea to the Indian government: please welcome visa applicants of Pakistan origin. Realise that our mere will to visit your country is a defeat of hate mongers and terrorists. Read my name as a well-wisher of India who wants to visit you bearing nothing but prayers of love, peace and prosperity and is ready to provide you all the details needed to prove his legitimacy of travel.

Salman Nouman is a businessman based in Dubai and the USA. This piece was first published in the The News, Pakistan.

'As If We Are All David Headley' | Salman Nouman

 

[Hulk]

Connections, remaining families. Etc.
The Indian government is essentially turning extremist along with its population.. the day is not far when Muslims will be treated like untouchables with properties snatched, one sides "justice" and pointless detention. Its a dangerous precedent in India.

Hyperbole....Indian Muslims are doing fine.. At least u should not fall for articles. Its not about Muslims but Pakistani..

 

[Viny]

Connections, remaining families. Etc.
The Indian government is essentially turning extremist along with its population.. the day is not far when Muslims will be treated like untouchables with properties snatched, one sides "justice" and pointless detention. Its a dangerous precedent in India.

Firstly not all Pakistanis in USA are muslim, thus is not a religion specific, as most of the pakistani friends are raised with the ideology of hindu muslim differentiation. Same is not applicable in India as one grows in neighbourhood which has vast range of cultures and religion, so we dont look it on bases of religion.

Secondly, until India develops its mechanism to filter like's of headley there is no other way to safeguard national security other then using a blanket denial method. Its not that we find every pakistan born person as a terrorist, buts its our incapability to filter the terrorist out in current scenario. And since we cannot afford anything like 26/11, ideally we would like to avoid all the opening of risk until we have some other failproof mechanism. Leave aside india, even most of the develop worlds have different immigration check approach for people based out pakistan. Thus this is something which pakistan has to work upon to improve there global image.

 

[Sneaker]

Once you’re Pakistani, there is no going back to India
By Aalia Suleman Published: April 17, 2015

The Indian government’s excuse for taking so long for visa processing, although in reality no visas are issued, is to curtail violence in the country

The non-issuance of visas to India continues to irk thousands of Pakistani Americans as the former remains hell bent to grind an axe with Pakistanis, regardless of borders or their new nationalities.

At the moment, there are an estimated 500,000 Pakistani Americans in the US and the rate of their continually burgeoning numbers makes them the second fastest growing group of Asian immigrants in the US. According to the Pew Research Centre, the entire population of Asian Americans, which includes Pakistanis, is among those in the highest income bracket as well as the best educated in the country. However, despite all the good check marks Pakistanis have in front of their names and despite their coveted blue passports, India continues to trivialise their backgrounds, denying them visit visas to its esteemed land only because they are expats born in Pakistan.

It is absurd for India to assume that no Pakistani would ever want to visit India at some point in their lives. Everyone still has relatives, ancestral homes, ties, backgrounds, and memories of childhood visits to the country even though they themselves were born in Pakistan.

The migration that occurred with the division of the country in 1947 was the greatest mass human migration in the history of mankind. Do the Indian authorities seriously assume that simply on account of being born in Karachi or Lahore, a man’s ties to his entire history could be severed and his whole slate of reverence for the land of his forefathers could be wiped clean?

Even if one removes the emotionality from the picture, the whole situation reeks of brazen, glaring discrimination, not only on the part of India, but also the US authorities by reason of being perpetrated against as US citizens.

Why do these people want to go there?

I am pretty sure it is not with the intent to bomb Mysore or raze the Taj Mahal to the ground. The majority only wishes to visit family, gaze at the homes of which they have heard stories of all their lives, visit the monuments built by the Mughal rulers and reflect, sadly, at the preserved relics in the museums which tell the tale of one of the greatest empires in human history. The fact of the matter is that the soil of India has the roots of the millions of Pakistanis who immigrated to the new country in 1947.

As per the rules on the Indian visa website, the visa processing time for US citizens born in the US is one to three days, whereas the time for people of Pakistani origin, it is six weeks. Even this time requirement is just a scam; visas are not issued at all even after the person has waited for six weeks. According to the US Code Title 42, Chapter 21 of civil rights,

“Discrimination against any person ‘based on age, disability, gender, race, national origin and religion (among other things) in a number of settings—including education, employment, access to businesses and buildings, federal services and more’ is prohibited.”

Yet the Indian consulate carries out this blatant discrimination most unabashedly on US soil against US citizens.

The Indian government’s excuse for taking so long for visa processing, although in reality no visas are issued, is to curtail violence in the country. This excuse is, however, most flimsy and unconvincing. 500,000 US citizens of Pakistani origin cannot be held accountable for a handful of miscreants who also happened to be of Pakistani origin.

Prior to the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which were masterminded by the American citizen of Pakistani origin David Headley, all expatriates with foreign passports were exempted from any such visa issuance rules. These rigid rules only came into effect in 2009 and have yet to see any alleviation.

When the officials at the US State Department were questioned about this grey-area-case-of-discrimination, they said they had “raised concerns with the Indian Embassy in Washington” but were unable to do more since visa requirements were engineered by each country in question. Though one could understand that it takes longer for the Indian consulate to do background checks on expats of one country than of another, could it really take six weeks?

Today, it takes minutes to check a person’s background history so why isn’t the Indian embassy able to judge within at least a couple of weeks if a person can or cannot enter the country?

The fact that everyone is denied the visa despite this background check only reflects stark bigotry against Pakistani Americans enabled by US authorities on US soil – an interesting occurrence in this day and age.

Adding further insult to injury, India requires Pakistani Americans to file their visa applications using their Pakistani passports and not their American ones. Whoever chooses to do so, if they even happen to have their Pakistani passport any longer, will not only have to go through the Pakistani consulate to get these passports renewed if required but will also lose all benefits of travelling as US citizens. Of all the bizarre rules that any country could come up with for keeping the people of a certain birth background at bay, trust the Indian consulate to come up with the most outstanding ones.

The sad irony of the entire matter is that despite all these loony-bin tactics India creates to keep Pakistani Americans off their soil, the Pakistanis’ ties to that land keeps them applying for visas repeatedly. Going through similar frustrations and in response to Washington’s ‘non-committal stand’ on the subject, a Pakistani American even filed a petition in court titled ‘Ask India to End Origin-based Discrimination of Visa applicants’. However, so far, all pleas have been falling on completely deaf US and Indian ears, and Pakistani Americans remain barred from the land of their ancestors. It would be interesting to see how this matter is resolved, if ever.

Maybe there will be a day when I too shall be able to visit Dehli, the great seat of Muslim learning, Ghalib’s hometown, and the grand Mughal capital that ruled Hindustan for nearly 350 years.

Once you’re Pakistani, there is no going back to India – The Express Tribune Blog

Author is funny to quote US civil code to say India is doing something wrong...well I got news for her... US does it too...All non-us people need VISA to come to US, discrimination based on nationality, right there!! lol.... this is a tremendous logic fail...

 

[mujhaidind]

What about thousands of Pakistani students and bad actors/singers staying in India? Shouldn't they stop being shamelesss and flow back to their pure Aryan land.

 

[kaykay]

Well USA do it more than anyother country after 9/11 because no one likes to take risks. Before 26/11 Pakistani Americans had no problem visiting India but David Headley and his connection to 26/11 changed it all. I can't blame Indian govt for taking too long issuing visas after that.

 

[Thorough Pro]

what a pile of propaganda. No Pakistanis settled in west want to go visit india.

Once you’re Pakistani, there is no going back to India
By Aalia Suleman Published: April 17, 2015

The Indian government’s excuse for taking so long for visa processing, although in reality no visas are issued, is to curtail violence in the country

The non-issuance of visas to India continues to irk thousands of Pakistani Americans as the former remains hell bent to grind an axe with Pakistanis, regardless of borders or their new nationalities.

At the moment, there are an estimated 500,000 Pakistani Americans in the US and the rate of their continually burgeoning numbers makes them the second fastest growing group of Asian immigrants in the US. According to the Pew Research Centre, the entire population of Asian Americans, which includes Pakistanis, is among those in the highest income bracket as well as the best educated in the country. However, despite all the good check marks Pakistanis have in front of their names and despite their coveted blue passports, India continues to trivialise their backgrounds, denying them visit visas to its esteemed land only because they are expats born in Pakistan.

It is absurd for India to assume that no Pakistani would ever want to visit India at some point in their lives. Everyone still has relatives, ancestral homes, ties, backgrounds, and memories of childhood visits to the country even though they themselves were born in Pakistan.

The migration that occurred with the division of the country in 1947 was the greatest mass human migration in the history of mankind. Do the Indian authorities seriously assume that simply on account of being born in Karachi or Lahore, a man’s ties to his entire history could be severed and his whole slate of reverence for the land of his forefathers could be wiped clean?

Even if one removes the emotionality from the picture, the whole situation reeks of brazen, glaring discrimination, not only on the part of India, but also the US authorities by reason of being perpetrated against as US citizens.

Why do these people want to go there?

I am pretty sure it is not with the intent to bomb Mysore or raze the Taj Mahal to the ground. The majority only wishes to visit family, gaze at the homes of which they have heard stories of all their lives, visit the monuments built by the Mughal rulers and reflect, sadly, at the preserved relics in the museums which tell the tale of one of the greatest empires in human history. The fact of the matter is that the soil of India has the roots of the millions of Pakistanis who immigrated to the new country in 1947.

As per the rules on the Indian visa website, the visa processing time for US citizens born in the US is one to three days, whereas the time for people of Pakistani origin, it is six weeks. Even this time requirement is just a scam; visas are not issued at all even after the person has waited for six weeks. According to the US Code Title 42, Chapter 21 of civil rights,

“Discrimination against any person ‘based on age, disability, gender, race, national origin and religion (among other things) in a number of settings—including education, employment, access to businesses and buildings, federal services and more’ is prohibited.”

Yet the Indian consulate carries out this blatant discrimination most unabashedly on US soil against US citizens.

The Indian government’s excuse for taking so long for visa processing, although in reality no visas are issued, is to curtail violence in the country. This excuse is, however, most flimsy and unconvincing. 500,000 US citizens of Pakistani origin cannot be held accountable for a handful of miscreants who also happened to be of Pakistani origin.

Prior to the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which were masterminded by the American citizen of Pakistani origin David Headley, all expatriates with foreign passports were exempted from any such visa issuance rules. These rigid rules only came into effect in 2009 and have yet to see any alleviation.

When the officials at the US State Department were questioned about this grey-area-case-of-discrimination, they said they had “raised concerns with the Indian Embassy in Washington” but were unable to do more since visa requirements were engineered by each country in question. Though one could understand that it takes longer for the Indian consulate to do background checks on expats of one country than of another, could it really take six weeks?

Today, it takes minutes to check a person’s background history so why isn’t the Indian embassy able to judge within at least a couple of weeks if a person can or cannot enter the country?

The fact that everyone is denied the visa despite this background check only reflects stark bigotry against Pakistani Americans enabled by US authorities on US soil – an interesting occurrence in this day and age.

Adding further insult to injury, India requires Pakistani Americans to file their visa applications using their Pakistani passports and not their American ones. Whoever chooses to do so, if they even happen to have their Pakistani passport any longer, will not only have to go through the Pakistani consulate to get these passports renewed if required but will also lose all benefits of travelling as US citizens. Of all the bizarre rules that any country could come up with for keeping the people of a certain birth background at bay, trust the Indian consulate to come up with the most outstanding ones.

The sad irony of the entire matter is that despite all these loony-bin tactics India creates to keep Pakistani Americans off their soil, the Pakistanis’ ties to that land keeps them applying for visas repeatedly. Going through similar frustrations and in response to Washington’s ‘non-committal stand’ on the subject, a Pakistani American even filed a petition in court titled ‘Ask India to End Origin-based Discrimination of Visa applicants’. However, so far, all pleas have been falling on completely deaf US and Indian ears, and Pakistani Americans remain barred from the land of their ancestors. It would be interesting to see how this matter is resolved, if ever.

Maybe there will be a day when I too shall be able to visit Dehli, the great seat of Muslim learning, Ghalib’s hometown, and the grand Mughal capital that ruled Hindustan for nearly 350 years.

Once you’re Pakistani, there is no going back to India – The Express Tribune Blog