boycott amsterdam? what an absurd idea

Capital flows like rivers from melting ice, skies are opened, borders continue to become less meaningful, but not if you carry an Indian passport. I was doing a 4 month study course in Netherlands this spring, and I think I spent more time dealing with bureaucracies than school work. I shall spare people the details - but it involved getting a new birth certificate, getting it stamped by the Chandigarh authorities and the Ministry of External Affairs, and the Dutch embassy. Of course, once I got there, I was asked to apply for a resident card, wait two months for an appointment, asked to pay 500 euros and told that the card would take 6 months, and forbidden to leave Netherlands or travel in other European countries while my resident card was processed. I must apologise to the Dutch, but I was quite happy to leave Netherlands after my course was over - and ask them to stop processing my resident card. I know I am not special - the U.S. is now granting visa appointments in January for people applying now, and myriad other rules. Kafka would have been amused.

Europeans and Americans will probably offer their consistent arguments - security and illegal immigration - as underlying causes for a travelling Indian's predicaments. While I can argue credibly with the effectiveness of strict policies in keeping out people wanting to travel - lets grant the West the benefit of the doubt. I could argue, for example, that though I don't know better, I will bet my next bottle of Black Label that a Saudi, the nation of most 9/11 residents, can get an appointment with the U.S. Embassy faster. But such arguments would be churlish. They must be stringent on who they grant visas for entry. They must be watchful for undesirables entering the country. But do they have to make us practice the Great Indian Rope Trick while they do it. What if we asked Americans in India to go to Nepal to renew an Indian work visa? Rightly, one would laugh at the stupidity of such an enterprise. Last I remember, the U.S. government used to ask Indians working in the U.S. to do so.

Veterans of embassies will accuse me of flogging a dead horse. We all know what is happening, but there is nothing we can do about it. And they are mostly right. If one have to travel for education, visiting relatives, or business - one just has to suck it up. But what if one has a choice. Indians are increasingly major penders of tourist dollars or Euros. The Indian film industry is wooed by one and all for their production budgets. While I was running to pillar to post, the Dutch Prime Minister was at Schipol Airport welcoming Shahrukh Khan to the Indian International Film Awards (IIFA) being held in Amsterdam.

So here is what I propose, and only half in wit. We practice the Great Indian Boycott (a truly Indian invention), against countries who refuse to rationalise the process of granting visas to Indians. We recognize the need for scrutiny - but let it be reasonable and humane. Till it is not, we will not travel for pleasure (or hold film festivals) in the Netherands, in the United States (Readers can add to this list from their own Kafkeskian experiences).

So what if an Indian with means gets the urge for a vacation across seas and national borders. Well, there are plenty of countries less arbitrary and reasonable in their countries. Some even let Indians in without prior visas. Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong in South East Asia (plenty of shopping and beaches); Tanzania and Kenya (nice safaris); Jamaica and Cuba (very nice beaches) comes immediately to mind. (Readers can add to this list).

Any takers?