New Zealand YouTuber Karl Rock who has been barred from entering India has violated the terms of his visa, the Union Home Ministry said today.
The vlogger took to Youtube to allege that he has been blacklisted by the Indian government. He is a traveller who had shifted to India about 2 years ago to explore the country.
“I left India in October 2020 to travel to Dubai and Pakistan. When I left through the New Delhi International Airport, they cancelled my Visa. They would not tell me why they were cancelling my visa,” Mr Rock said in a YouTube video posted yesterday and titled “Why I haven’t seen my wife in 269 days #Blacklisted”.
It was the Indian High Commission in Dubai that apparently informed him of having been blacklisted. Karl Rock In a Tweet tagging New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, he said “they blacklisted me without telling me, giving reasons, or letting me reply”.
Although the Indian Home Ministry allege he has violated terms of his visa, saying he was doing business on a tourist visa, the truth behind his ban is something different.
Who is Karl Rock?
Karl is a vlogger from New Zealand who worked in his homeland for many years before moving to India in 2016. He then began YouTube channel posting videos on travel safety, interesting destinations, avoid scams etc — in both English and Hindi — and has close 1.8 million subscribers to his YouTube channel.
He gained immense popularity as a Youtuber receiving silver and gold play buttons. Later he got married to Manisha Malik of Haryana in 2018. In July 2020, he was praised by Delhi CM Arwind Kejriwal for donating plasma.
The Truth:
This can be seen as another case of Indian Government’s usual clampdown against voices of dissent. On December,2019 Karl Rock was posted a ground report wherein he participated in the anti-CAA protests. Although this is a violation of Foreigners Act, 1946 and and Foreigners (Amendment) Act, 2004, the punishment of a one year ban especially since his wife contracted the deadly coronavirus during the second wave, seems harsh.
Karl Rock and his wife have also been targeted by Indians on the social media after Manisha praised the Pakistani etiquettes and how clean Pakistan is compared to India on her visit to Kartarpur site through the newly opened corridor.
What now?
“We have written multiple emails to the Home Ministry. No reply. My wife turned up at the Home Ministry’s doorstep in Delhi. No help,” Mr Rock said.
Officials in the Union Home Ministry today said his entry to India has been restricted till next year following the violation of the terms and conditions of his visa.
Online petition to remove Karl Rock from the visa blacklist
On Friday, content creators Abhi and Niyu shared an online petition which has been created by Karl Rock. In his petition, he said, “We request my name be removed from the blacklist so I can return home.” At the time of writing this report, the petition had over 93,000 digital signatures.
Wife moves court
Manisha Malik, wife of Karl Rock has moved the Delhi High Court seeking quashing of a blacklisting order issued against which has prevented him from returning to India.
In a petition filed through Advocate Fuzail Ahmad Ayyubi, the plaintiff challenged the order to blacklist Karl Rock, saying it was “arbitrary and unreasonable”. The petitioner also stated that the order deprived her of living with her husband, and her fundamental right to life and dignity under Article 21 has been violated.
The petition also claimed that Karl Rock, who has dual nationality of New Zealand and Netherlands, has been visiting India since 2013 and has strictly followed all the laws as well as the conditions of the visa. Further, the petition said that Karl Rock was granted an X-2 visa, a visa granted to spouses or children, which is set to expire in May 2024.
(image source: Youtube)