Many Afghan students enrolled in Indian schools are awaiting visas, while others who have finished their studies are dreading the prospect of returning to Afghanistan. Many Afghan students enrolled in Indian schools are awaiting visas, while others who have finished their studies are dreading the prospect of returning to Afghanistan.
The future of thousands of Afghanistan nationals who came to India for higher studies has become increasingly bleak since the Taliban captured their country in August last year. According to the Indian Foreign Ministry, an estimated 14,000 Afghan students are pursuing higher education in India, mainly with the support of scholarships provided by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.
In the wake of Kabul’s fall to the Taliban last year, the government permitted all Afghan students who recently finished their academic program in India to apply for a scholarship to fund further studies.
Many however have not been able to procure financial aid to pursue further studies.
“I cannot go back. There is no future in our country and I am banking on the Indian government to extend my scholarship,” Zareen Khan, a computer programmer told RFI.
Returning home is not an option for the women students who are torn between fear of the Taliban and concern for their families in Afghanistan.
Many Afghan students enrolled in Indian schools are awaiting visas, while others who have finished their studies are dreading the prospect of returning to Afghanistan.
Hameed Khan, 21, who is pursuing a master’s program at Mumbai University, has yet to get a visa to come back to India with the university open.
“I am missing out on my studies and I am in the midst of a postgraduate program. Many students have been sending numerous emails to the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi requesting for granting our visas.
“Unfortunately, there has been no response yet,” Khan told RFI.
“I have already lost one semester of studies and I am apprehensive of what is going to happen.”
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