YOUR SAY

Indian Link Turns 25

As we marked 25 years on 24 Oct 2019, many of our readers sent in congratulatory messages.

Thanks to Rosy Lalmalsawmi Khuma, Kalyani Wakhare, Sri Bhargavi Peesapati, Bhupinder Jabbal, Aroop Shukla, Karthik Arasu, Preeti Thadani, Krish Na, Matana Pachuau, Varun Rao, Sachin Wakhare, Hardeep Madan, Helen Kaur, Petra O'Neill, Manisha Belani, Sarita Menon, Chandra Kishore, Gopal Ganwani, Kusum Vera, Gurmeet Kalsi, Wicky Choudhary, Aashish Sharma, Swarnalatha Peesapati, Sandip Hor, Madhvi Pradeep Mohindra, Nimisha Vishal Shah, Sukhnandan Grewal, Ekta Chanana, Rishi Singh, Dolly Somaiya, Ashish Chawla and Mala Mehta.

Confused Overseas Indian

KRISHNA NEELAMRAJU wrote online about some OCI card holders left in the lurch following change of rules that were not clearly communicated.

Vasanth Kumar wrote: I wish to advise your newspaper that I have not received a response on this matter yet from the Indian Consulate or anyone else that I have emailed (regarding this issue).

In addition to the advice from the Bureau of Immigration website that the Government of India has decided to dispense with the "U" Visa sticker on the foreign passport of OCI card holders with immediate effect, I have also found various other advice for travellers to India which state that you can apply for e-Visa or Visa on arrival in India! Under those advisory circumstances, I am at a loss to understand why many elderly people were not allowed to board flights in Oct. 2019 as reported by Indian Link. It is also unclear to me what the Law / Rules are in this matter, whether the 'Schemes' that have been incorporated regarding transfer of Visa sticker to new passports, etc, by the Consulate are consistent with the Law / Rules that apply in this matter, and why there are contradictory information on various Indian Government websites. I would have thought these are simple issues but it doesn't appearing to be working in that way.

I am wondering whether I should raise this issue on PM Modi's twitter page/ mail. As an Indian born person, it is embarrassing to me that our bureaucracy can't seem to get simple things right.

Darshak Mehta wrote: Very good article on OCI. Good on you.

@NarendraModi, Indian-origin Australians and New Zealanders being turned back from airports by airlines and prevented from flying to India due to OCI card ambiguities. Unresolved by MEA for three weeks despite reminders. Considerable inconvenience. Please intervene immediately.

My Insta

Send us a photo (or Instagram one) of Indian Link in your daily life, and we’ll pick one to present here.

LP Ayer of Thorngate SA wrote: Such beautiful work from the young ones. In my view every one of them is first prize material. Thanks for the Diwali card.