Dear Signers, 

Thank you so much for your support. We recently spoke with Dr. Raghav Sharma, Associate Professor and Director, Centre for Afghanistan Studies, Jindal School of International Affairs at OP Jindal University, who highlighted how the rhetoric about India’s unwavering commitment to help the people of Afghanistan in their hour of need, doesn’t match with the reality on the ground, i.e. India’s denial of visas to over 2,500 Afghan students who are enrolled in Indian colleges and universities, but have been stranded in Afghanistan since the Taliban invasion. Watch this video to know more. 

Click here to share this petition on WhatsApp. Help this petition get to 10,000 signatures so that the Indian authorities are apprised of our grievances and can take urgent steps to re-issue visas to Afghan students. Click here to share this petition on Twitter. 

In recent months, India’s Minister of External Affairs Dr. S Jaishankar has frequently reiterated how India’s focus in Afghanistan is on how it can help the Afghan people, and less political. Meanwhile, Afghan students who are enrolled in Indian colleges and universities continue to wait with bated breath for any word on when, or if, they’ll be able to resume their studies in India. The Indian government recently sent a technical team to its Embassy in Afghanistan; their stated job being to “monitor the situation” to see how New Delhi can support the Afghan people. 

On Twitter, in response to tweets about this petition on the official Change.org India handle, some users have replied expressing doubt about how India can issue visas to Afghan citizens without officially recognising the Taliban government in Afghanistan. To this, Happymon Jacob, a professor of Diplomacy and Disarmament at the Jawaharlal Nehru University and a noted expert on geopolitics, said governments, if they want, can always find a way to do these things, despite the political or diplomatic hurdles. 

And one country that has found a way to help the next generation of Afghans with credible educational alternatives is Japan. While India denies us visas, the Embassy of Japan has announced scholarships for Afghan students wishing to pursue their Masters and Doctorate degrees in Japan. The Embassy of Japan will conduct the selection process in cooperation with the Aga Khan Foundation and will be conducting examinations and interviews in Kabul for the same. On the other hand, the Indian Council of Cultural Relations has stopped awarding any scholarships to Afghan applicants since the Taliban invasion. For the 2021-22 academic session, ICCR had granted scholarships to 650 Afghan nationals, but this number dropped to zero when it became clear that India’s denial of visas for Afghan students won’t let those enrolled in India but stranded in Afghanistan, return to their campuses anytime soon.

I sincerely hope the Indian government can help us soon. In the video, you’ll hear the voice of an Afghan girl student who can’t even show her face or reveal her name for fear of retribution from the Taliban. 

Please continue sharing this petition within your social circles and also share this video. Let’s continue building the momentum for this campaign so that the Indian authorities realise the urgent need to grant visas to Afghan students.

Onib Dadgar