Tariq Tapa, a Fulbright scholar from the California Institute of Arts, wanted to make a documentary on ‘The Imaginary Princess: A Muslim Girl’s Story’ at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. His visa application was rejected by the UPA government without giving him any reason. He chose not to re-apply.

He was one of the scholars whose application was rejected in the last three years, as was highlighted by the Indian Express in a series of reports. Responding to an e-mailed questionnaire, Tapa shared his experience with Shubhajit Roy and explained his passion for his subject, why he did not re-apply and his thoughts after the ordeal.

• Which category did you get the Fulbright in?

Filmmaking. It is a documentary that observes my 8 year-old cousin’s daily routine as a case study to show how education reform and secular Islam are impacting the woman’s role in Indian society.

• When did you apply for clearance? When was it rejected?

I was told in February 2006 that Institute of International Education (IIE) in New York was recommending my project to United States Educational Foundation in India (USEFI). In April 2006 USEFI congratulated me that my project was accepted and I should plan to be in India in August 2006. In June 2006, at the Washington conference where the fellows (students) and scholars (tenured faculty) met, the USEFI told us that none of us had been cleared yet. A series of apologetic, uninformative emails from USEFI appeared every two weeks, and as August approached, I became suspicious. I began privately raising just enough money to arrive and start shooting for a six-month stay. I arrived in India on October 4, 2006 with my PIO card. I was notified of GOI’s overturning of my accepted project by USEFI on October 26.

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