It is indeed pitiful that the government and the immigration officials who were doing their duty is being blamed for the father's irresponsible behaviour. When you travel, you make sure you carry your documents,most of all the VISA to enter a country. I suggest the dad try entering the United States without a Visa and plead for a transit visa.
I can say without hesitation that he would not have an extra second in there. The sons should be told of their dad's lack of responsiblity instead of blaming a government for their travel plans going awry.
I wonder what the french national said, perhaps he asked the dad, how come you didnt bring your son's visa..dont you know you need one to enter a country. ?""
I applaud the government officials who have done their duty. White Skin, Brown skin, please keep all this grouses where you are located. Here you are one in a billion brown skin.
This is just ignorance of law.. There is nothing to be cried for this. As the responsible parents of those NRI (Not Required Indians), you should be aware about the laws of the country you are flying into. If you are flying in to America, do you just go like this and start crying at the American immigration office?
One should either be loyal to America or should be loyal to India.Trying to reach out for the benifits of both counties is nothing but greediness if the children are born in US means it is obvoius that they planned it to get the best out of US.Naturally they should carry their US passports. If they forget to carry its not small human error.But a big one.Its shows their igonarce and dealt properly by Indian officials. Naturally as Individual I have sympathy for kids who suffered due to this.But its their parents mistake and blame shOuld go to them.
I do feel sorry for you because of the situation you encountered. But I also note that the behavior from the US custom officials would not have been any different. They would behave exactly like the Indian counterparts. It was a colossal mistake and I actually blame US immigration for this. They generally check that you have correct papers before you board the plane. My friend was bit allowed to board the plane when he did not have proper transit visa papers from US. And another one did not have proper papers for his kids when he was visiting India and he was denied boarding the plane too. Before putting all the blame squarely on Indian custom officials, we should consider that they were just following the rules. The frenchman was probably just on transit to India enroute to another destination. Your final destination was India and hence they will check for correct papers.
I think such officials need to be taken to task. There should be some standardisation / policies followed which are applicable to everyone. If a French national is allowed transit visa, the children of the Indian should also be eligible for it. Unless action is taken against such officials, India will never improve. They should be interrogated soon.
What a shocking behaviour from the cops? Not Even in the worst of my dreams can i accept that they behaved in a such an irresponsible manner.
And what about the frenchman!!! May be the greedy cops were looking to make a quick buck out of him or is it their slaveish mindset. Awful really and highly condemnable. This way which person in the world will have respect for our country.
All the same even Vijay was at fault for being careless with travel documents, May be he too thought he can bribe his way out of this mess in India.
I am sure even US would do the same albeit in a bit more polished manner. A lesson for all you NRIs,may be....
RE:mumbai immigration
by Look on Dec 20, 2006 11:04 PM Permalink
You want to walk into India, get an Indian passport for your kids. That way you don't have to remember to apply for and carry visas...
What the Immigration officers did was follow the rules. Granted, they could have given more time, but that is what discretion is for. You guys must have waved your GCs in front of them and bossed around.
Remember one thing, GC or foreign citizenship, you do not own India. I have travelled enough times through Mumbai immigration - the cops there are far superior to what you will find on the streets.... If you talk nicely, things get done. Of course, money helps. The ACP there probably earns in one month what you do in a day....
Don't blame others. How can someone "forget" visas and passports when travelling internationally ? Plan well in future. Enjoy your vacation.
Is that a sad incident or what? The ACP was probably trying to get a bribe without asking for one. We have a bunch of sick people in power, both in politics and the bureaucracy as well. The ACP needs to be suspended and Air France penalized for not verifying the documents well in advance. Verification of documents is not the responsibility of customs and immigration alone.
India is a strange country. At times we feel India do not have brains, A simple solution is turned into a heart breaking scenerio.The officers in Mumbai's immigration office should be fired as he is not fit for the job. He couldn't use any common sense and harrasing our own people, in our own country of origin is almost like coming to hell. I suggest the letter written to Rediff should be sent to Minister of tourism, Our Prime Minister and to the President. Comparing Indian and French treatment at the airport shows Indians still favours white skin. Write aletter to the officers wife and family memebers so this episode would haunt them.
