The Covid-19 pandemic is testing the UK-India partnership in more ways than one. While leaders of both countries across portfolios have been in perpetual contact with each other and signed some heavy-duty agreements and roadmaps that aim to benefit the partnership, India announced last week that British citizens coming from the UK will now have to quarantine for 10 days when they land in any Indian city.
The new rule came into force on 4 October which is being termed as a tit-for-tat move by India because the UK’s Covid protocols demand Indians to undergo a mandatory 10-day home quarantine upon arrival in the UK.
This news came few days after the hint of reciprocal action against the UK by India’s Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla in September. Travellers coming in from the UK will also have to undergo a mandatory RT-PCR Test for Covid-19, within 72 hours of landing in India. There’ll be an RT-PCR test on arrival as well and on the eighth day after arrival.
Reacting to the announcement, Sanam Arora, NISAU UK Chairperson tweeted: “There continues to be so much confusion over the scrapping of Amber list. Yes, Covishield is recognised now but the administration isn't yet - so quarantine rules continue to apply.”
Deputy Mayor of London for Business Rajesh Agrawal said, “I urge the UK and the Indian authorities to work closely together and resolve this situation ASAP. It’s causing a huge amount of economic loss on both sides as well as inconvenience to tourists, business visitors, students and families.”
As many British Indians plan to visit India for the upcoming festivals of Durga Puja, Dussehra and Diwali, Asian Voice reached out to them for their comment. Many of those who are hoping to travel, haven’t been home in two years due to the pandemic.
Some individuals (who do not wish to be named) told Asian Voice that they have cancelled their tickets to India because of this new rule. “People have not seen their families for years. This is not helping. We cancelled our tickets due to so much uncertainty,” a London based family told us.
Saddened by this decision
Bhaskar Bhattacharjee, who is originally from Kolkata, is living in the UK for the last 15 years. Speaking to Asian Voice, he said, “I haven’t been to India for almost 3 years now. And in October we had a 2-week window (due to school half term) and we planned for a much-awaited India trip. For me holiday In Christmas is difficult as I work in the hospitality industry and it’s one of the busiest times of the year.
“We got even excited when UK relaxed the rules for British citizens coming back to the UK from 4th October onwards. But due to the new guidelines from the Indian government (which I presume is a tit for tat), we had to drop the plan. We were saddened by this decision by the Indian government.”
Ridiculous rules which should be abolished
Aditya, who stays in London told Asian Voice, “Don’t think it was tit for tat but a weird rule to harass people of Indian origin. Tourist visa route for British citizens unless emergency is still not open. So people who are travelling to India at the moment are Indians (maybe with or without a British passport) to meet their family especially during major festivals like Durga puja and Diwali.
“The UK government does not ask travellers coming to the UK to go through RT-PCR at the airport. But the Indian government does ask this. Because of this rule, people must wait at the airport to catch a connecting flight. If someone reaches at odd hours and connecting flight is only once a day, then the wait could be up to 24 hours! Imagine the pain of travellers with infants or senior citizens.
“The UK does not ask for RT PCR of infants coming to the UK while the Indian govt does ask for this even for babies who are months old.
“Moreover, India already has 7-day advisory quarantine for international travellers even before the announcement which now has been changed to 10.
India has correctly reciprocated quarantine rules
Ankit Goel from Harrow told us, "India has correctly reciprocated quarantine rules for UK nationals as there is no valid argument to treat fully vaccinated people as ‘unvaccinated’ and only weakens the global fight against the virus. India is the technology hub of the world and the world’s largest democracy which has its vaccination program digitised from day one so casting doubts on its vaccine or certification process is nothing else but superiority complex by the UK. The Indian diaspora in the UK has been greatly affected by this move including my family because many are due to travel soon to see their loved ones for Diwali festivities. The cost of travel between the two countries is already high enough during pandemic & adding additional expensive tests and long quarantine compounds the hassle people have to face especially those travelling with children. The UK government should be aware that the Indian community is closely watching & currently feels let down as this could have been handled better."
Aastha Kapoor told the newsweekly, “I agree that the Indian government took this step in retaliation to the UK not recognizing Covishield as an approved vaccine but I feel that it is going to end up inconveniencing the Indian diaspora more than the British populace. Especially with Diwali and other festivals just around the corner, loads of people who would have been planning to visit their families after not being able to travel for two years would be impacted by this move.”
Sohel Modi said that this is an absolutely absurd move. “Don’t think there is any explanation to this other than,” he added.
“Just returned from India and saw how testing is a total farce, which makes one doubt their certification. Totally with the UK on this,” Shikha Wadhwa said.
Shilpa Garg who recently returned to the UK from India said, “I also got back recently and got my testing done at Max hospital. You should be going through the right channels. If you are trying to find a shortcut, it is your fault and not any Government. Moreover, CoWin has been approved by WHO.”
Sagar Srivastava commented, “I find Indian testing cheaper, hygienic & timely as compared to the UK. And if someone wants to do some forgery, they can do it through Photoshop irrespective of the country.
Meanwhile, as India and UK navigate through what one may possibly call, the last leg of the pandemic (with soaring vaccination rates and controlled cases), it is apparently being said that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson might personally visit Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sometime this month. Allegedly, Johnson wants to make peace with Modi and put a band-aid on this tit-for-tat tussle amid vaccine racism and quarantine rules, in order to welcome Modi to the Cop26 climate summit in Glasglow in November.
