Reading that some consulate overseas is advising their OCI travellers to India to carry a copy of the GOI order should they be visiting their banks in India, that OCI holders are exempt from Aadhar IDs, it brings to mind how various Govt departments and entities in India are a law unto themselves.
There was the case in Saligao of course where the whole village had to rise up in arms to protest against the zeal of the bank branch manager who was implementing an order that was to take effect only after 31st December. This stubbornness, stupidity or whatever you may wish to call it, is nowhere better exemplified than when applying for an OCI status. The rules and guidelines set out on the internet by the MEA are casually disregarded by local consulate personnel even for ex Indian citizens who have to jump through arbitrary hoops. You can imagine the plight of people of Indian origin from the former British colonies of East Africa or worse still Goan-Pakistani Canadians applying for the OCI. The Ministry of External Affairs who deals with all such matters is a ministry staffed with higher educated personnel. Can you imagine the plight of other Ministries where the personnel are typically pig-headed, corrupt and lesser educated babus. A citizen’s nightmare. Wonder why this has to be. Why can’t the Govt of India function like any other Govt that is not of a dire, poverty stricken country? Is India still miserable dire and poverty stricken, contrary to the posture adopted on the world stage? Roland Francis Toronto.
