Ministry of Home Affairs blacklisted 2550 international Tablighi Jammat members and banned their entry into India for ten years. These members were living in different parts of the country during the nationwide lockdown and have been blacklisted for violation of visa rules and regulations under "Category A" of the Visa Manual 2018.
MHA in addition mentioned involvement in Tablighi activities as a specific visa violation can lead to a penalty of $500 fine. The ministry has added a new category imposing restriction on engaging in Tabligh activities in the general policy guidelines relating to an Indian visa.
This decision was put into action after consultations with different state governments that provided the details of members who were found to be illegally living in various religious seminaries. Several were even tested positive for Corona Virus. On March 28, the MHA had written to state governments alarming them of around 2000 Tablighis from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand who might be potential carriers of Corona Virus.
The blacklisted foreigners include four Americans, nine British, six Chinese, three French, 379 Indonesians, 110 Bangladeshi, 63 Myanmarese, 33 Sri Lankan, 77 Kyrgyzstan, 75 Malaysian, 65 Thai, 12 Vietnamese and nine from Saudi Arabia among many other foreign nationals.
