India banned over 370 foreign Tablighi Jamaat workers in 2018-19 for visa violations

Workers of the Tablighi Jamaat have allegedly been repeat visa offenders, participating in religious congregations while on tourist visa.

File photo of members of the Tablighi Jamaat being transported to various hospitals from the Nizamuddin Markaz in New Delhi for screening in April 2020 | Photo: Suraj Singh Bisht | ThePrint

New Delhi: More than 370 workers of the Tablighi Jamaat, the Sunni organisation under the scanner for allegedly violating Covid-19 social distancing guidelines, were blacklisted in 2018-19 for visa violations, ThePrint has learnt. 

According to a source in the government, the workers participated in religious congregations and preaching activities while in India on a tourist visa. The workers, the source added, should have availed of a “missionary visa”.

“To be a part of any religious activity, one needs to come on a missionary visa. The requirements for that visa are different,” the source said. “If one travels on a tourist visa and participates in religious activities, then it is illegal and a clear case of visa violation.” 

Once a person is blacklisted for a visa violation, he or she is barred from entering India for at least seven years.

The source said members of the organisation had routinely been known to flout visa violations. In light of the Covid-19 scare, over 1,000 foreign nationals who came to India to participate in Tablighi Jamaat activities are again under the scanner for visa violations.

If proved guilty, the workers can be blacklisted and booked under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act, which pertains to visa violations.

However, a second source said accidental violations — if a tourist chances upon a religious congregation and decides to participate — didn’t constitute an offence.

Repeat violations

According to Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) data, in 2018-19, more than 6,000 people were blacklisted for visa violations.

Visa violators are sometimes let off with a warning. But if a case is registered, then it is first investigated by local police. Once the investigation is over, the accused is handed over to the Bureau of Immigration, overseen by the home ministry, which then deports the person.

The visa status of the 1,000 foreign Tablighi Jamaat workers currently under the scanner came into focus after more than 24 participants staying at its Delhi-based international headquarters, the Nizamuddin Markaz, tested positive for coronavirus Monday. 

A congregation at the Nizamuddin Markaz between 13 and 15 March has so far been linked to over 100 cases of Covid-19 and seven deaths.

So far, 1,339 Tablighi Jamaat workers from the mosque have been shifted to quarantine facilities at Narela, Sultanpuri and Bakkarwala, as well as hospitals around Delhi, including Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, Guru Teg Bahadur and AIIMS-Jhajjar. 

Not the first time, sent multiple reminders

The aforementioned source told ThePrint that this was not the first time that workers of the Tablighi Jamaat had applied for a tourist visa to participate in religious congregations and preaching activities in various states.

“Last year, too, a lot of such cases were brought to our notice, following which action was taken and many of them were blacklisted,” the source said.

Another source in the government said the MHA had received many such complaints from the authorities concerned.

“As this was becoming a regular feature, the MHA had already issued guidelines that they should not indulge in missionary work on tourist visa,” the second source said. 

“Despite that, many complaints of visa violations were received. Many of them were also blacklisted, but this year as well, they continued to come on a tourist visa,” the source added.

“The state police will now be examining categories of visas of all these foreign Tablighi workers and take further action in case of visa violations,” the source said.

Difficult to track violation

The second source in the government said these violations often went unchecked as there was no provision to monitor a person who had entered India on a tourist visa. 

It is only when a complaint is received by authorities or some information is shared with them by local police or intelligence, that they can act, the source added.

“Foreign nationals visit India in huge numbers on tourist visa and there is no provision to track or report them. It is difficult to check if he or she has actually come for the purpose of tourism or not,” the source said. “It is only after we receive a complaint from police or any other source that we can check the case and act upon it.”

The source added, “For instance, if a beat constable spots a foreigner either doing business or taking part in any activities and, on checking his visa, the constable finds that he is in India on a tourist visa, then it is a clear case of violation and should be reported to authorities,” he said.

In the case of Tablighi workers, the source said, there was a possibility that the alleged violators were tourists who just happened to chance upon an event of the organisation and participated.

“Now, that is not a violation since that person is not involved in any preaching activity. He was a mere participant, a listener,” the source said. “That is not a violation. So, each case has to be looked into separately.”