Several Afghan students who had enrolled in Indian universities are staring at a bleak future as they got stranded in Afghanistan after the strife-torn country fell to Taliban following which the Indian authorities stopped issuing visas to them citing diplomatic and Covid-containment reasons, among others. To add to their dismay, the Indian universities have done away with online exams and made it compulsory for these students to be physically present on the campus to take the exams. Sayed Sajid Sayed, a student fromAfghanistan's capital Kabul, has completed all six semesters of his Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree from MIT World Peace University, Pune, after paying the entire fee. Also, he took the exams of five semesters, including the 5th semester midterm exam online. But now his last semester’s exams are not being conducted by the university online, as the institute wants him to be present physically on the campus to take the exam. His classmates in India are already done with the course as they sat for the final exams recently. He is willing to fly to India to take the exam physically at the university, but the Indian authorities are not issuing him the visa despite his repeated requests. He said after the Taliban took overAfghanistan in 2021, no visas are being granted to students – even to those who had taken admission in various courses in Indian universities and colleges and had returned to Afghanistan during the Covid pandemic in 2020 and were taking classes online. “We understand the policy of the Indian government but the government would be doing a huge injustice to the students if they can't finish their course for no fault of theirs. We hope that the Indian government takes our cases on humanitarian ground as no authority would like to put the young students' future at stake by not allowing them to appear for the exam on this ground,” Sayed Sajid Sayed said, adding that the Indian government can definitely work out some plan with the universities/colleges concerned “to save our future so that we can go for higher studies after completing our graduation”. The university officials (requesting anonymity) at MIT said that they are ready to conduct exams online if any decision is taken at the government level, but at the moment the final exams are to be conducted physically only. Mustafa, another student who has done political science honours from Fergusson College (Pune) and waiting for the final exams now, is also sailing in the same boat. At present, he is living in Luxembourg with his relatives. He had even taken his viva exam online. “I have been asked to come to India to take the final exams physically but how can I come when visa is not being issued to me by the Indian authorities. I will not have any degree even after putting three years studying the course. I am in Luxembourg for more than a year now and can't go for higher studies for want of a bachelor's degree,” said Mustafa. Like these two students, there are hundreds of Afghan students who are almost done with their degree course in India but are staring at a bleak future as they can't appear for their final exam physically for not having a visa to come to India. Jaber Kohistani, from Kabul, is doing PhD in India, but his career too is hanging in the balance. He cleared his PhD entrance test in 2021 and opted for pursuing the doctoral programme in economics from the Department of Economics, Panjab University, Chandigarh. He has completed one research paper and currently working on another under a guide at PU. However, due to Covid-19, he along with other students returned to Afghanistan for mid-semester vacation but have been stranded in their country since then after the Taliban took over the reins. “As the diplomatic ties between the two countries have taken a beating since Kabul fell to Taliban, the careers of students like me are in limbo now as I can't travel to India without a visa. Indian government is not issuing the visa. Despite sending dozens of emails and complaints, we have not received a desired response from the Indian government,” said Jaber Kohistani. Like him, four more PhD students from PU including Mansoor Faqeezai (public administration), Masror Sarfraz (education), Mohammad Irfan Qurishi (public administration) and Khoshal Jabarkhi (communication studies) were provisionally allowed to join the pre-PhD course work online. “But the departments have been asking for submitting the requisite documents (including research visa) for completing the enrollment. We can't fulfil this formality for want of visa. So, officially we have been denied the permission to sit for the exams,” said Jaber Kohistani. “Afghanistan and India have had a cordial relation for long. The education exchange initiatives launched by the Indian government (in the form of scholarships, fellowships and other educational schemes) have stood students like us in good stead. It gives hope to students like us and we want it to continue. We hope the government takes reasonable steps in this regard as it's a matter of great concern for students,” Jaber Kohistani added. In India, several student leaders are taking up their cases with the authorities concerned at the Afghan and Indian Embassies but to no avail. Abdul Monir Kakar, an Afghan student doing PhD in political science from Punjab University, Chandigarh, and who is the founder of Afghan students Unity Group Punjab and Chandigarh, said, “After the fall of Kabul on August 15, 2021, India shut its doors to Afghans, including Afghan students studying at various universities in India. These students had gone to Kabul for vacation but got stranded there for want of visas. Owing to India's Covid containment policies, visas were not issued. Afghan students tried their bit to resolve the deadlock. They had gathered in front of Indian Embassy in post-Taliban Kabul and contacted Afghanistan-specific representatives at the United Nations in their bid to reach out to the Indian government. Although some progress has been made, the problem of stranded Afghan students has not been fully resolved.” Abdul Monir Kakar said that he has been trying to help out these students. He attributes the uncertainty regarding the status of Afghan students enrolled in Indian universities to a communication gap between various authorities, including the Taliban-led Afghan authorities, the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi, Foreign Ministry in India and the respective universities where these students are enrolled, among others. The female students are the worst-affected as they are neither able to join any universities in Kabul nor are able to apply for fresh admissions to other universities abroad, he added. Abdul Monir Kakar said that these female students are receiving offers from Western universities. But then it requires a bachelor's or master's degree for enrollment, and their current situation gets in the way of availing of these opportunities, he added. Sources in the Afghanistan Embassy in India said that the problem is from the Indian side because the Indian government has no policy of granting visas to anyone at the moment. Regarding students’ cases, an officer said only the media can help. A senior media officer, Hashimi, at the Afghan Embassy was contacted, but somebody else picked up his phone and said that he was not available right now. The officer on the line added that he will convey the message. The Indian Express tried to contact again later, but there was no response. Afghanistan Education Attaché in India Sediq Sahar did not respond to the messages and calls.
