Foreigners in India, watch out!

Yesterday, I had gone to the FRRO to extend Ashwin's residency permit. There was an African national who had come to Bangalore to study in a "college" called Bangalore City Institute (I think). He was extremely angry and frustrated. Apparently, since he came to India, no classes have been conducted; there seems to be a paucity of teachers; the principal keeps asking for more money, citing different reasons. To top it all, it appears that the principal has the audacity to act very high-handed and aggressive. This African guy wants to seek redressal, but doesn't know where to go. He has already tried to request the police to intervene with no results. So, he had come that day to talk to the FRRO to see if they could help in any way.

As I stood in line, I witnessed the verbal exchange between one of the officials in the FRRO and the African and it was really appalling. The official was completely uncaring; he didn't bother to properly listen to the complaint; he kept brushing him off, saying that the police are the only people who can assist in the matter. I'm not saying that he was wrong, but he could at least have helped him contact a police station and set up some kind of arrangement, so that the FRRO and the cops could work together to assist the African. Instead, the African ended up leaving the FRRO even more frustrated and angry. Mind you, he spoke English extremely well and he was quite a well-read person. He showed his degree certificates which showed that he had some qualifications in IT/Software/Computers. In addition, the file / folder he was carrying contained documents that were very neatly organized (including some BESCOM bills, I may add!), which again is a sign of a well-read and systematic person.

All in all, the experience reiterated the lack of a proper structure for foreigners in this country. There appears to be no framework or support structure that is easily understandable or widely published that will help foreigners in times of need. Rules are made in a very arbitrary manner and left open to interpretation and enforcing by individual officers. For example, one official told us that we need two copies of all documents for submission; another told us that one copy is enough; a different official told us that we should attach a copy of our PAN cards; but they finally accepted the docket without the PAN cards.

So, that's my India grouse for the day! Still many more to come....