The Hindu Business Line : Welcome, but...

Can we limit our tourism visa to four weeks, with six weeks or more given after due justification? Visitors who seek a longer stay can take the appropriate category of visa.

Saurabh Sharma

Just after the terror attack in Mumbai, the District Magistrate in Chakia, Uttar Pradesh, ordered 11 foreigners, belonging to four different countries, to leave the city. They were staying in a mosque for over two months and were on a tourist visa.

In another instance, an Israeli was arrested for selling drugs in a posh Mumbai nightclub; he was on a tourist visa. Every tourist spot — be it Pokhara, Varanasi, Mamallapuram, or Goa — has a guest house or restaurant that is owned by a foreigner on a tourist visa.

The capital is abuzz with rumours. Russian girls stay for long periods of time and live the high life. Yes, on a tourist visa. Many foreigners are arrested for paedophilia, and these are people who come repeatedly to India on a tourist visa.

Nigerians on tourist visa are routinely arrested for peddling drugs. Parvati Valley and Manali in Himachal Pradesh are teeming with young men and women who have just finished military service. They set up active businesses by proxy or are high on drugs. They are here on tourist visa too.

Is it Atithi Devo Bhava — (guest is God) — for the tourist, or have we allowed the prodigal guest to overstay his welcome?

India has ridiculously liberal visa rules. The Americans pretty much sniff you over before you can enter the country and not only do they fingerprint you on entry, if you do not exit in time, they will haul you to jail. A Schengen visa for six months? Try it! Wish to visit Australia? Get yourself medically checked, present relevant papers, and get a limited visa.

But India? “Welcome Sir! We have nice hotels, er… not so nice hotels, and yes, we have something special for you — a family guesthouse!” This is another great Indian invention and it is here that the transformation occurs. $5,000 in the US does not get you the high life, but for six months here, it can. ‘Cash Is King’ and Mr Atithi can do no wrong and he is treated royally.

The family owning the guesthouse is in need. A deal is struck. The foreigner goes home, comes back with investment capital and the guesthouse/restaurant in India is born.

The family gets a generous dose of foreign direct investment and the foreigner, his life of leisure. The foreigner is now Lord of the Manor.

Of course, this guesthouse/restaurant is for foreigners only. That they are trustworthy is the unspoken message. Drugs? Small problem.

Mr Atithi is most trustworthy and the local drugs network latches onto two reliable facts — Mr Atithi himself and then the steady stream of clients. A deal is struck and the good family neighbourhood is spoilt forever.

Alleyways in Varanasi may hear chants of ‘Mahadeva, Mahadeva’ but there is also a sinister whisper… “Charas baba? Ganja?” Its lure is so big that the local youth have even given up thoughts of a steady job. Wheeling and dealing is allegedly more profitable (till they themselves get hooked) and then there is the laissez-faire lifestyle.

The Indians toil, while the foreigner lords over his business, has his fill of select hedonistic pleasures, and all is well. Locals dare not complain about the change in the character of the neighbourhood; the local mafia brooks no objections and retribution is swift and silent.

What’s the answer?

Can we prevent this? Can Mr Atithi be persuaded to behave like one and, also, not overstay his welcome?

Leave from work is available for a maximum of six weeks anywhere in the world; usually, it’s three weeks at a stretch. Can we limit our tourism visa to four weeks, with six weeks or more given after due proof and justification? Visitors who seek a longer stay can take the appropriate category of visa (student, medical treatment, etc) after providing sufficient proof. No more all-encompassing six-month tourist visa for all purposes.

The problem is the establishment of a personal network. Paedophiles help orphanages with donations for a few years and then they strike! So, yes, a second trip to India, Sir? Please visit us after a gap of two years or even three years!

If a tourist can justify his desire to stay (adventure sport or the music season in Chennai) then we shall accept you but your ‘C Forms’ should be supportive of your stated mission, else you can be arrested. This will ensure that those with a genuine interest are not denied entry and the country, its earnings from tourism.

Why should someone spend more than seven days sightseeing? Thus, the Ministry of External Affairs can specify that tourists cannot stay longer than seven days in one city.

What about beach tourism? Adventure tourism? Foreigners specify their residence in India with a ‘C Form’. It should be mandatory for all hotels and guesthouses to register this online, and in cases of beach tourism or adventure sports, foreigners should be identified by their residence in such areas, and not more than three weeks should be allowed.

Guesthouses? In Kerala, there are generous loans being given to establish genuine home stays. The family now does not have to seek capital under shameful conditions, and hopefully, no more joint ventures with foreigners. Another view would be to abolish guesthouses and limit tourists to hotels.

Military drives

Young people from some parts of the world arrive in India after forced military service. India, then, is the low-cost narcotic that drives the horrors away; Parvati Valley, Manali and Goa are full of them. In Pune, 230 local youth were arrested during an all-night rave party, high on drugs, and this influence spreads.

Can we prevent this? Traumatised military service personnel can be denied a visa till three years after their service. Let them flush out their emotions in another country. This can be denied on defence grounds.

The tourist visa also enables terrorists to make reconnaissance visits to this country and establish networks, like in Mumbai. They stay for a long time in one place, like in Chakia in Uttar Pradesh. If the ‘C Form’ is online, they can be immediately questioned about their long stays.

It is a veritable Pandora’s Box that has opened. Home Minister P. Chidambaram should take the lead and ensure that tourist visas are given to the right people.

Goa for cutting tenure of tourist visa to three months
The road to an Indian visa

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