If the Ministry of Home Affairs ask, then I’m happy to admit it, my team invited Aaron Gray- Block, a Greenpeace employee, and former Reuters journalist, to India. Although we didn’t know they’d black listed him?
I’m still proud to live in the world’s largest democracy, but sometimes you do have to ask questions. Like when did the MHA start black listed citizens of friendly nations, because they wrote a blog about India’s forests?
09 June 2015
Aaron Gray- Block was denied entry to India on 6th June 2015
Greenpeace India is a legally registered society in Chennai. We pay our tax, fill out our papers each year and have offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Patna, Hyderabad and of course Chennai. We used to have more but its tough time to be a civil society organisation in India.
I work in Human Resources, and it’s rare you’ll see my name on the news. I am familiar with the details of the 340 Indian citizens who work for the society, their hopes and ambitions, the stress they are under, and the details of the organisation. Our senior management team is all Indian, so is our board and even to this day I wonder what it is that makes our critics call us ‘un-Indian’?
Greenpeace India is also part of a global federation of Greenpeace offices, of which India is one of the most independent but still we manage to work together.
At any time there are probably 4-5 Indian staff working overseas – and on occasion we invite 1-2 colleagues from other countries to India. They come for training events, planning meetings and to learn from India’s unique environment – especially the pace of change that makes our country such a dynamic place to work. They come to learn as well as share and to understand how we work.
How do they get here – well the process will be familiar. Like any other Indian organisation with international connections, they apply for a business visa. They fill out a very long form, and then they pay their fees. They get their paperwork together and apply to the High commission of India in their country. That’s where my team come in, we support their applications by writing an official ‘invitation letter’ that explains why they are coming here, the purpose of their visit, how long they will be staying for etc. i.e. we give the authorities every possible detail to help them make their decision. Then the High Commissioner, or often the agency they’ve outsourced the work, says yes – come.
After a 16 hour flight to India, to be turned away at the arrivals desk, because of a mysterious black list you didn’t know you were on, and then to have to fly back home again, despite having a valid visa seems a little ridiculous – and not great news for the MHAs international reputation.
I’m still proud of living in the world’s largest democracy, but I’m not happy with the idea that the MHA puts people on black lists. Or that those black lists get leaked to the media, but no-one tells the people concerned. Or that the relevant government department is happy to give people visa’s but then turn them away at the border. And then I read in the papers it’s because he wrote a blog about forests.
Gets one thinking - is this how a modern democracy,in a global world, should or will do business, in the 21st century? So we’ve just sent a letter to the MHA to ask for clarification and if you’d like to get involved and help stop the MHAs crackdown on civil society then please sign the petition.