Why This Harassment?

A reputed research institution in Kolkata had invited an Australian citizen of Bangladeshi origin as visiting professor for a week. The citizen concerned is a retired professor of the University of Western Sydney and had held high posts both in the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, New York and UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok. However, he has been denied a visa by the Government of India. The scholar had applied for a visa to visit the research institute. However, he was asked so many questions and over such a long period, that the time scheduled for visiting the institute lapsed. What reason can our Ministry of External Affairs advance for such behaviour which smacks of the worst days of McCarthyism in the US?

Amiya Bagchi