NEW DELHI, Feb. 02, 2007
Sonia Sharma
The NRI minister (Overseas Indian Affairs Minister) Vayalar Ravi
and Minister of State for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhury
made a proposal and agreed to make it mandatory for the marital
status of women to be stamped on their passports and ensuring
that the men are taken to task under Indian laws are among the
measures mulled by the Centre to deal with complaints of women
being deserted by their NRI husbands. The stamp will have details
like the place and the date of marriage.
It also included making it compulsory for the marital status
of the woman to stamped on her passport as a legal proof of her
marriage. This proposals will soon be taken up with the Ministry
of External Affairs. The official said, "Irrespective of
the citizenship that they have acquired, these men should be recalled
(by extradite) to be tried under Indian laws."
It is recommended that the US and UK, with the largest population
of NRIs, to specify the marital status on the visa. It is also
recommended that NRI marriages including mandatory registration
of NRI marriages, bilateral agreements between India and other
countries.
It is estimated that more than 30,000 women have been deserted
by NRIs in India. It is also estimated that 50% of all cases are
from the Jallandhar, Doaba region of Punjab.
