Chaos reigns at Indian embassy in Qatar
The Indian Embassy at Qatar was a revelation to me. Chaos rules the place. Spelling mistakes greet visitors upon entry and an over burdened and rude staff crowns the experience.
MY VISIT to the Indian embassy in Qatar revealed some shocking details. The first goof-ups I noticed as I stepped in were regarding spellings—compensation was changed to compansation and complaints to comlaints, how this missed the eye of the officials and the Indian ambassador baffles me and the score of the Indians who visit the Embassy.
The language commonly used for communication is English, but then Malayalam is for all official purposes the other language used, and notices have been prominently pasted in the embassy premises both in English and Malayalam but sadly not Hindi.
This prominent use of Malayalam, people informed me, is due to the fact that the Indian ambassador, although hailing from North India is married to a Malayali woman.
Chaos ruled at the embassy despite the token system being followed, with people crowding around the counters and the security personnel watching passively.
Rude and arrogant would be mild words to describe the attitude of the staff at the embassy. It starts with the person at the help desk, who dismisses any queries for Indian visas by Nigerians, Pakistanis, Iranians and Yemenis with disdain.
“No visas for Pakistanis, Iranis, Yemenis and Nigerians,” he shouted at the top of his voice as he turned back a Nigerian student who wanted a one-year visa to study at the Osmania University in Hyderabad.
After going through the Nigerian’s papers for visa application, the help desk official discovered that instead of clearing the first year at the University, the student had contravened the provisions of the Visa and instead enrolled in another institute.
“This cannot be allowed,” he told the student. “You can do that in your country.”
Later talking to me, the help desk official confirmed that visa norms for all nationals have been tightened.
Later talking to me, the help desk official confirmed that visa norms for all nationals have been tightened.
When questioned, if the greater terror threat and the recent David Coleman Headley fiasco had made India tighten up the visa procedures, he answered in the affirmative. Headley, a US national of Pakistani origin changed his original Muslim name to Headley to fox the authorities. He availed of a multiple entry Indian visa and was part of the cell which plotted the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
And, there is more bad news for Indians wishing to register themselves with the Indian embassy in Qatar.
And, there is more bad news for Indians wishing to register themselves with the Indian embassy in Qatar.
The embassy no longer accepts hand written or email requests for registration as Indian nationals in the database of the Indian embassy.
One of my Goan friends involved with lot of social, cultural and sports organizations in one of the GCC countries wrote to me saying: “A simple email or fax to the embassy will do – just state the name, passport number, the company/employer you are working for, Your coordinates (telephone, mobile, fax, email), etc…..
Another way the embassy records you in is when you have a passport application (for renewal or fresh passport).
There is a column to state if you have registered with the embassy or if you are a part of an association/organization known to the embassy. In some GCC countries the Indian mission registers organizations (a few years ago it was one state, one organization) but this did not work out well, and it has been changed.”
The Indian help desk official, who reverted to me, informed that the practice has since been discontinued after the computerization of records.
“There is no need to compulsorily register oneself with the Indian embassy, whenever you come to the embassy for any work, your data will be entered in the database,” he informed me.
With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asserting that NRIs will be given the right to vote, the first step will be to register the new NRI voters and also the old NRI voters who have been wiped off from the electoral rolls.
Not only have some of the people who have spent some 27 years in the Gulf been wiped out from the electoral rolls but have on by their own account lost touch with the country. It will be a huge task to add the new NRI voters on to the list and if that task is entrusted to the Indian embassies then it will be overburdening the staff.
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.Goan - keralite - Indian! - you yourself are against each other. I don't need to prove whether I am a mallu or a Goan! I am an Indian. I don't need to hide under any "goan sounding" name. I pity on you for such narrow minded thoughts mate. ...and why should writer take this up with Ambassador? because I reckon writer himself is an Indian and being a responsible "Indian" one has the duty to make a complaint if things don't work properly. now, lets fight again like kids and make divisions based on the states we are from. no wonder we are being treated like this outside, when we ourself divide based on state hood, caste and religion.
.hello Tom or whoever you are, Why should the writer of the article take up the issue with the Indian ambassador. Is he a Indian national or a Portuguese one. it is for the writer to point out the mistake and for the authorities to act. please celar the windscreen and see the raod ahead, and not fromthe narrow Mallu angle, my Mally boy or girl, hiding under the pseudo of a Goan sounding name.
.get your facts right mate. Amabassador is a lady! how can "she" get married to a malayali woman? So, depending on where one's home or husband's roots are, they use that language as the default language? that's just absurd. instead of taking this directly with responsible people, you just cry foul like a kid!
get real mate.
Hello Tom, a very sad tale that a Mallu Ambassador has let us down. Are the staff working at he embassy Kerala "nationals" . very hilarious that they spell compnesation wrongly, is it a new dicitionary they have introduced down from south of the country, known as God's Own country. and same on all who all Indians. No one had the courtesy to pinpoint out the glaring mistakes. Hats off to the writer and also accolades to you for pointing out the gender issue. may your tribe increase, writers and critics.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hello it seems the merinews staff edit in a hurry, the Indian ambassador is not a man but after editing she has been turned out to be one by the staff of merinews.
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