On 6/19/07, Srini Ramakrishnan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
This could be just another of those hopeless email forwards that don't
contain a shred of truth, but I find it rather hopeless for our
country that this scenario sounds all too possible.
I doubt the authenticity of the forwarded email. It has several of the
signs of bogus chain emails:
1. Emotional and hysterical tone
2. Copious and inappropriate use of punctuation marks such as double quotes
3. Dire consequences for people who don't do as advised ("Keep an eye
on that immigration officer, and check your passport")
4.. Names of people to whom bad things have happened (viz. Aramco's Arifuddin)
We do indeed have a systemic break down of this nation where the
morality of the government is constantly suspect, and the safety of
its citizens is not even worth a wager.
While I doubt the authenticity of the forwarded email, I do agree with
you about the faith Indians have lost in our public institutions.
I have traveled to and from India for the last 14 years and this has
_never_ happened to me. My interactions with airline, customs and
immigration officials have been uniformly pleasant. Not once has
anyone asked me for a bribe. Not once has anyone harassed me. And even
on occasions when I had to undergo extra security screening (tripod in
hand baggage looks like a disassembled sten gun, hand-carrying a
delicate glass lamp, etc.), the Central Industrial Security Police
(IIRC) were much more polite than many of the US
rent-a-baggage-screener or Canadian immigration officials.
Thaths
--
Homer: He has all the money in the world, but there's one thing he can't buy.
Marge: What's that?
Homer: (pause) A dinosaur.
-- Homer J. Simpson
Sudhakar Chandra Slacker Without Borders
