This news took India by storm, and articles have been making the rounds ever since it was made known by the mainstream media.
Firstpost.com published this report – a witty and sarcastic take on the issue.
Despite London being one of my favourite cities (among the ones I have visited yet), I feel angered enough to promote what the author, Sandip Roy has to say about having to pay a £3000 bond in order to be allowed entry into the United Kingdom.
I cannot understand how tourists can be asked to pay an equivalent of INR 277,000 over and above visa fees to step into UK territory. The implications on students, people who have families there and every other person who wants to visit but not stay there forever are most definitely damning.
What enrages me most is that, this decision is hardly one that will benefit the UKBA in leaps and bounds. If you read the news reports, you will figure more and more that not only is this policy degrading, it is also racist. I have a problem in believing that applicants from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nigeria and Ghana and the only ‘high-risk’ candidates applying for a visa to the UK.
When I mentioned this to someone I know, who is the proud owner of a British passport, I was told – yes, it serves them right. All these Indians and Bangladeshis, infiltrating their country and refusing to leave. I don’t know why – but I was reminded of the East India Company. Needless to say, a dirty look was thrown their way.
I don’t really care much at this point about the Kohinoor, or the fact that seeing ‘Spotted dick’ on a menu just makes me want to throw up – but I have no doubt that ‘VisitBritain’ in India is definitely going to out of business soon.
Despite my love for the overcast skies, the London Underground, the street food and the Victorian charm, this has gotten out of hand. Like I was telling a friend the day I read of this news, the British gave us Benedict Cumberbatch – but even that might not be enough to make it all better.
Despite my love for the overcast skies, the London Underground, the street food and the Victorian charm, this has gotten out of hand. Like I was telling a friend the day I read of this news, the British gave us Benedict Cumberbatch – but even that might not be enough to make it all better.