I could not help but comment on such an awesome article (‘It’s inhumane’: How a clunky US visa system has kept Indian H-1B holders away from their families). I almost had tears because everything the writer said was so true and relatable. I missed two important life moments because of the pandemic and visa issue. My only brother had delayed his marriage because of my pregnancy, but I could not be with him because visa offices were not operational. Also, my family in India has never met my 20-month-old baby because we did not get visa appointments after the offices opened again.
America is known to be a technologically advanced country, and yet it does not have the right mechanism in place to handle such a situation. The backlog of two years is already so high, it is time for them to have a system in place to avoid adding more to the pending work. – Anonymous
***
Since 2018, my fiance is not able to travel to India from the US. We are planning to get married for the last two years, but he is not getting a visa appointment in India. What is the point of having just a few slots? – Vidhi Yadav
***
The US seems to have an unofficial policy of not wanting any more Indians. Unfortunately, cultural issues exhibited by some are making things difficult for all. – Jennifer Gatens
Failed urban planning
The report is remarkable and fairly detailed (How not to develop a hill station). However, one glaring issue is the absence of the names of officials and the private citizens who have profiteered. Barring a handful of senior politicians, there are almost no names at all, not even that of the judges of the Supreme Court who inexplicably overturned the stay order issued in the High Court.
The uniform lack of names hints at an atmosphere of stonewalling. One can only try and imagine how difficult it has been to gather enough data to bring out this assessment. One can only hope that reports like this awaken enough consciences to try and restore some sense, and some balance, before the blame is consigned to “an unforeseen disaster”. – Vickram Crishna
Misleading title
I find the title of this article misleading (Mahadevi Varma’s almost unknown book about animals in her life is rich with detail and observation). Mera Parivar is not an “almost unknown” book, but a very well-known book. Its stories are included in the middle school text of many school boards in India. Mera Pariwar might be unknown to the author of this article. – Rajeev
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!