Students stuck in Afghanistan facing trouble to come back to India for studies

“I have stopped following the news,” says one of the Afghan students at Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi, who has been in tears since the Taliban took control of his homeland. He is particularly worried for the women back home.

The 31-year-old, who did not want to reveal his name, is among 27 Afghan nationals pursuing master’s and PhD programmes at two IITs — Delhi and Bombay. This doctoral scholar is among the only three, the other two are at IIT-Bombay, who are currently in India; others are in their war-torn home country.

The students who are stuck in Afghanistan want to come back to India to complete their studies and the institutes are doing everything to help them out, said IIT officials. But with the Taliban taking over in Kabul, it is uncertain when, or whether, they will be able to return to campuses.

"With the temporary closure of the Indian embassy and the agency appointed by the Indian embassy for processing visas, these students are facing a tough time," said IIT-Delhi professor Naveen Garg, who is also the dean of alumni affairs and international programmes.

The institute is in constant touch with these students and is doing everything possible, from helping with paperwork to facilitate the visa process to even giving emotional support, Garg said.

The passport of one of the IIT-D students now in Afghanistan is with the embassy-assigned agency for handling visa issues, and he is unsure how to get it back since everything is shut there, said Garg. “This student is very anxious as the passport is the only way to enter India and return to the campus.”

There are about 130 students of foreign origin currently studying at IIT-Delhi. Of these, 23 are from Nepal, followed by 21 from Ethiopia and 16 from Afghanistan. A female student is among the Afghan nationals studying at the IIT and she is also currently back home.

The number of foreign students at Delhi is increasing every year and Afghanistan is among the top in sending students, said Garg.

At IIT-Bombay, nine of the 11 current students from Afghanistan got admission this year. Though classes for the new batch haven’t started yet, as a special gesture the institute is giving an option of deferring admission to next year to these nine students. The two IIT-B students who are currently in India got admission last year.

While uncertainty remains on their future, the doctoral scholar who is currently in Delhi says he is “very grateful” to IIT and India.

“I want to complete my PhD and gain as much knowledge as possible and then go back to my country when it is more peaceful,” he said. “Here my family is safe and I have access to the best of R&D facilities.”