This refers to Dr Almut Hintze’s letter ("Patronage and priests,” Readers’ Forum, Parsiana, March 21-April 6, 2025) in response to our earlier letter (Parsiana, February 21-March 6, 2025) on the same subject. Nowhere in our earlier letter was it stated that Hintze and her team of researchers did not do "due diligence with regard to obtaining an S-5 visa as required by the Government of India.”
At no stage did our Institute make any "allegation” that the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) did not follow the required procedure "for issuing and operation of the research visa for research scholars.” In fact, under the guidelines, a research visa is given only to a "research professor or scholar” and not to an institution such as SOAS. Thus how SOAS could have obtained the "research visa” from us or other institutions is not for us to answer. An application for a visa for research work in India requires a letter of admission (not a letter of invitation, which is for attending a "conference/seminar/meeting”) from the institute concerned.
As far as the case of Dr Chiara Grassi is concerned, she came to the Institute only after her arrival in Bombay and then asked us for an "invitation letter” to visit the library. To issue such a letter would have overridden the endorsements in her existing S-5 research visa issued to her by the Indian High Commission in London which specifically mentioned only the Dadar Athornan Institute and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. The Cama Institute does not wish to violate the S-5 visa conditions.
Our Institute has followed the required guidelines and stipulations laid down by the Government of India regarding the process of issuing a "research visa” to Hintze. For the record, no applications were made by any of the other researchers who accompanied her.
The trustees of The K. R. Cama Oriental Institute are working out specific guidelines to facilitate the entry of genuine researchers to acquire valid research visas. Each case will then be considered on merit. Foreign nationals with proper documents and valid visas with the name of "The K. R. Cama Oriental Institute” can have access to the manuscripts in the library. HOMA D. PETIT
President
The K. R. Cama Oriental Institute