Stranded Australians in India feel ‘betrayed, abandoned’ by coronavirus travel ban

Australia’s move to ban flights and penalise citizens for returning home from India amid its Covid-19 surge has left thousands in limbo

The restrictions have been criticised as discriminatory and unconstitutional, but PM Scott Morrison said travellers were unlikely to be jailed

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People queue outside a vaccination centre in New Delhi as India tries to contain its surging coronavirus crisis, while Australians in the country are unable to return home. Photo: AFP

Published: 5:00am, 5 May 2021Updated: 1:17pm, 5 May 2021

When Australian citizen Vikas Mahajan travelled to India in February with his wife and two small children to help look after his elderly parents, he did not expect to be caught up in the country’s devastating second wave – or to be banned from returning home to Melbourne.

“We’re feeling betrayed and unfairly targeted by the federal government’s controversial decision. The Australian government has abdicated all its responsibility towards its citizens and left us all to die here,” the 41-year-old entrepreneur said from Jalandhar in Punjab.

Mahajan is one of about 9,000 Australian citizens stranded in India facing a hefty fine or up to five years in jail if they breach the country’s coronavirus regulations by returning home. According to the Australian Associated Press, about 650 of them are listed as “vulnerable”.

With direct flights also banned, a Facebook page titled Australians stuck in India has attracted nearly 18,000 members, with many angry posts and pleas from people desperate to be evacuated from the country.

The move has been widely condemned and the government has been accused of racism and discrimination, while legal experts have questioned the legality of the unprecedented policy.

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