Sprawa wicekonsul Devyani Khobragade i kryzys w stosunkach amerykańsko‑indyjskich

Abstract

In December 2013 Devyani Khobragade, deputy consul general of the Consulate General of India in New York, was charged with committing visa fraud and providing false statements in order to obtain a visa for her Indian domestic servant, whom she had paid illegally low wages. She was arrested the next day by agents of the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service and transferred into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. There she was subjected to a body‑cavity search and placed in a holding cell with common criminals, before being released on bond later the same day. She had to surrender her passport and was barred from leaving New York. Her arrest and treatment received much public attention, causing angry protests in India, and sparked a full‑scale diplomatic crisis between India and the United States. Indian authorities fully backed the diplomat, demanding an apology from the US State Department, and proceeded to retaliate against American diplomats when she was indicted. The crisis ended in May 2014 when the BJP party won national elections in India. This paper provides an in‑depth analysis of this complex and unusual incident, including its causes and direct consequences for Indo‑American relations.