Visa issues

After news first emerged that David Headley had made multiple visits to India to recon possible targets for Pakistan-based terrorists,Indias security mechanism clicked into overdrive. Sadly,its first,knee-jerk responses left much to be desired. They were too blunt which meant that they were both ineffective and collaterally damaging,inconveniencing many if not most regular travellers of precisely the sort that an India slowly opening itself to the world needs. If that was Headleys,and Lashkar-e-Toibas eventual aim,to put up roadblocks in the highways between this country and outside world that have become a crucial source of its growing prosperity,then the home ministrys immediate reactions will have helped them along.

Fortunately,the medium-term reaction looks like going in a more useful direction. The basic big idea is that the home ministry will build up a centralised database of all visitors,one that will be continually updated in real-time with links to foreigners registration offices,immigration checkposts,and visa-issuing authorities abroad. The theory is sound: a system this comprehensive will allow for more targeted scrutiny of visitors of concern,and should allow for alarm to spread through the network if someone with Headleys profile comes visiting repeatedly. The plan is to eventually update this with biometric information and with data from airline databases. The entire project is expected to take four years. As a first step,three new visa-issuing systems will be set up in Islamabad,Dhaka,and London.

However,the spirit in which this system is implemented will determine whether it is,in the end,as effective as it could be,or as problematically choked with meaningless red tape as what weve got now. There is absolutely no doubt that more,finer,and better organised data will give Indias immigration authorities the space to simultaneously ensure that visitors are inconvenienced less while those with suspicious connections are watched more carefully. But only if the ministry and visa-issuing stations abroad want it to be so; the tools will only do what the workmen wish them to. There is nothing in this system that automatically ensures that,in the absence of political and bureaucratic will,the blanket refusals of visas will stop,or even that harassment of hotels and travel agents will not start. Putting the infrastructure in place is nevertheless a start. And it is good to hear that the home ministry recognises that theres work to be done.