The fate of over 2,500 Afghan students, who were enrolled across different universities in India, hangs in limbo as not just are their visas not being renewed, they are also being denied online classes. As a result, most of them feel rudderless. While a few are exploring admissions elsewhere, many continue to wait for their Indian visas to be renewed, stated a report in The New Indian Express.
"I was a student of Public Administration in a postgraduate degree in India. However, after the fall of the Afghan government on August 15, 2021 and the takeover by the Taliban, the Indian visas that we had were considered void. We live in fear in Afghanistan as higher education for girls is not a possibility. There is uncertainty. For over two years we have tried for visas all in vain,'' said Tayyeba Saleh who was enrolled in Gujarat Technological University (GTU).
Many International students studying in India are granted admission under the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). ICCR administers various scholarship programmes annually and awards over 3,000 scholarships under 21 different schemes to foreign students from about 180 countries.
Consular services haven't begun in Indian Embassy in Kabul since the Taliban government took over two years back. That's one of the reasons for the non-renewal of visas. A few e-visas have been granted for people with medical emergencies but few students have managed it.
"I am pursuing a PhD degree from Mysore University and do have a valid visa to continue my studies. I have been representing Afghan students who are waiting for the visas and have written to the Indian authorities with the optimism that it would be considered for renewal,'' Onib Dadgar, who is a member of Afghan Youth Representative to ASIA (AYRA), told The New Indian Express.
Dadgar, who has been provided with a scholarship by the ICCR, added that many students have received cancellation of their admissions from a few Indian universities as these students didn't arrive in time to attend offline classes.
Afghan students have been making pleas to the Indian government for issuing them e-visas, at least for those students who had valid visas to study in India before the Taliban took over Afghanistan. While a few Afghan students have taken admission to Universities in Pakistan, Turkey, Iran and Russia, there is a large segment which wants to return to India.
"Some of the ICCR scholarship holders had government jobs in Afghanistan and it is mandated for them to update their progress report on their degrees in India. However, now many fear losing their jobs now,'' Dadgar added.
Meanwhile, even though the Indian Embassy is functional in Kabul, it is primarily involved in assisting with dispersing humanitarian aid and development work. India hasn't officially recognised the Taliban government as a result of which, consular services haven't yet begun from the Embassy premises.
