E-Paper
China agrees to allow ‘some’ Indian students to return. Conditions apply
The announcement by China and the Indian embassy is good news for the students but there are riders - not everyone will be allowed back and no timeline was given.
Selected Indian students studying in China but stranded in their home country since early 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic will be allowed to return to their Chinese universities, the Chinese foreign ministry and the Indian embassy said on Friday.
The announcement, first by China and then by the Indian embassy, is good news for the students but there are riders - not everyone will be allowed back and no timeline was given.
People familiar with the matter in Delhi said this was not an open-ended process for the return of Indian students to China. There are conditions attached to the process and there is no guarantee that all students will be able to return to their courses in China, they said.
“China is ready to receive some of Indian students under the current complicated severe epidemic situation,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian said on Friday, emphasising that their return will depend on the “international pandemic situation, the evolving circumstances, and their majors”.
The Indian embassy said the return will be decided on a “need-assessed basis”.
“The Chinese side has expressed its willingness to consider facilitating the return of Indian students to China on a need-assessed basis,” the Indian embassy in Beijing said on Friday.
“In order to facilitate this, the Indian Embassy intends to prepare a list of such students which will be shared with the Chinese side for their consideration,” the Indian statement said.
The statement asked Indian students to submit their details by May 08, 2022.
The criteria for selecting the returning students wasn’t explained by either China or India but it’s likely that it will depend on which year - especially for the large number of medical students- of the course the students are in.
“I don’t have the information about the specifics you asked but I am sure these details will be sorted out through communication through existing channels including the embassy so that we will actually deliver the good news,” Zhao said when asked about the selection criteria.
The information quickly made its way across social media especially among students’ groups, which have petitioned both governments for long to arrange for their return to Chinese campuses.
“China attaches high importance to Indian students’ concerns about returning to China for studies. We have shared with Indian side the procedures and experience of other countries’ students returning to China. Actually, the work for Indian students’ return has already been started,” Zhao said.
“All that remains to be done is for the Indian side to provide the list of students who really need to come back to China,” the spokesperson said.
“We understand that there is a large number of Indian students studying in China. India may need some time to collect the names. China is ready to receive some Indian students under the current complicated severe epidemic situation,” he said.
Most of the students had left China in 2020 around the time the Covid-19 pandemic was spreading here but have been ready to return to continue their education for over two years.
They have, however, been unable to do so because of pandemic-related restrictions imposed on international travel by the Chinese government.
The deteriorating Sino-India ties because of the ongoing military tension along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh since May, 2020 readded to the uncertainties and doubts in the minds of Indians stuck home.
The question many asked was whether Indian nationals - other than diplomats – were being stopped from returning to China because of the pandemic or politics?
Whether the decision to allow at least “some” Indian students to return to China is a sign of a thaw in bilateral ties remains to be seen.
