srinivas@dsd.UUCP (Srinivasan Venkatesan) (07/18/85)
With reference to recent net.nlang.india articles on visa denials at the US consulate in Madras, it seems that the official in charge now is pretty rude. A friend of mine had been to the consulate recently for filing his wife's immigration papers and encountered a very hostile and disgusting attitude from the lady in charge. A few years back, when there was a different person in charge at the Madras consulate, that official's behavior when dealing with visa applicants (though he did not refuse visas at the current denial rate) was, to be highly charitable, unfriendly. It won't be surprising if a lot of the visa applicants (even those who get their visas) initially have a negative impression about Americans in general since these visa-issuing officials are pretty much the first personal contact the applicants have with Americans. If any of the Indian diplomats in this country behaved like that towards Americans going to India, there will be a zillion complaints lodged with the Indian Embassy as well as with the media. It is very unfortunate that the State Department even considers posting these kind of officials abroad, let alone as Vice Consuls(I believe that is the title of the visa issuing officer). Other countries do seem to bother about the image they convey in the form of their diplomats, wherever they are posted; I wonder why the USA at times does not seem to - maybe the State Dept. is unaware of the behavior of its 'diplomats' overseas (or is there a country-specific unawareness ?). In a country like India where people in general are fatalistic, the reaction to this kind of behavior, especially towards someone belonging to officialdom, is usually mild-mannered. But I sometimes wonder, and I hope I am wrong, if the welcoming committees in Wiesbaden air base are active at least in part because of some American 'diplomats' who went to more turbulent and hot-headed areas of the world and behaved over a long period of time like the lady at the Madras consulate. That would indeed be a pity, for those who choose to and eventually come here see a people very pleasantly different from the jerks they might run into at a U.S. consulate overseas. (Maybe this should really be in net.politics) -- srinivas