Welcome to armed forces, hindrance to academics: India's Sri Lanka policy

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 February 2009, 08:11 GMT]
While the genocidal armed forces of Sri Lanka are warmly welcomed in India for training, the academics of the island of Sri Lanka, seeking registration to do doctoral research in Indian universities, including Buddhist monks, are waiting to get clearance from the Foreign as well as Human Resource Development ministries of India for nearly a year now, student sources in Colombo said.

Earlier the Indian universities were directly taking in foreign research students for doctoral degrees.

Since last ten years the Government of India insists on a clearance and a research visa before getting admitted to such degrees.

The candidates have to first get an assurance of placement in a university and apply to respective Indian Missions abroad for clearance. The application in 12 copies go to various agencies for scrutiny and the clearance is usually given in a period of three months.

However, this time more than 20 candidates are waiting for the clearance for nearly a year.

Both Colombo and New Delhi are busy in something else and they have no time to sort out cultural and academic interaction, student sources said.