Chandigarh, July 19

Are wards or spouses of those who sought political asylum in western countries eligible to get visas to visit their relatives and friends in India?Until recently, there were reportedly unwritten instructions to all missions abroad that applications of such wards should not be entertained. But now, there is a change in the policy.

Kuljeet Kaur Chahal of the US, whose father had taken asylum in the US on the plea of political persecution back home, has been given a visa to visit India by the Indian Consulate-General in California.

“I have been raising the issue of ‘black list’ for a long time,” says Tarlochan Singh, MP, maintaining that he had been in regular correspondence with both the Home and External Affairs Ministries on the subject.

“For me, Chahal case was a test case and I am happy that ministries have seen reason and decided not to hold wrongs of asylum seekers against their wards,” he adds.

Tarlochan Singh says that the Indian Consulate in San Francisco refused a visa to Chahal, who wanted to take ashes of her husband to Kiratpur Sahib in Punjab to fulfil his last wish of immersion of his ashes as per Sikh traditions. Traditionally, these are immersed in the Satluj in Punjab at Patalpuri in Kiratpur Sahib.

The reason for refusal of a visa to Chahal was that her father had taken political asylum when Chahal was a child. How could a child be penalised who has not violated any law and is a US citizen? She is being punished just because her parents migrated to the US, says Tarlochan Singh.

“I was pained and anguished to read a letter Chahal had written to me and found that this was entirely a wrong policy being adopted by the Home Ministry,” Tarlochan Singh said. He wrote to the Home Minister and pleaded for a review.

“I hope you will kindly call for this case and issue instructions because there may be many such cases where innocent persons may be suffering like Chahal,” wrote Tarlochan Singh.

Subsequently, the Indian Consul-General asked Chahal to furnish a copy of the death certificate of her husband before granting her a visa.

Tarlochan Singh is hopeful that others like Chahal can now expect to get a reprieve and visas to visit India and holy shrines as well as their relatives back home.