India - visas and borders

I will be trekking in Tibet extensively and it might happen that I enter India without going through border post.

What will happen to me if policemen or any other authority in India catch me in the country without passport stamp?
Big trouble or "just" pay some fine?

Thanks
David

Big trouble. Jails anywhere are not nice places.

Indian jails are not nice places. There is an account by a westerner, I believe by Taylor, of her years behind bars in India. There is a recent case of just such an illegal entry by a westerner. I hope they release the nut case after a few years. For comparison, Indian jails make Mexican jails look good..

You will be risking a lot if you are planning on trying to save the visa fees. The worst would be some ministry official accusing you of spying. This is a country famous for paperwork and documentation.

Her name is Mary Tyler :

"In a village in Bihar, where electricity was practically unheard of, the country jail practiced electrode torture . .

Suspected Naxalite prisoners were kept in iron bar fetters day and night for five years though the jail manual specified that fetters were only to he used on maniacs and those who:tried to escape…

Sanitation was extremely primitive and medical attention poor...

In general, one had a feeling that most prisoners would not have a chance, let alone of a trial, but of being taken to court at all..."

Mary Tyler , My Years in Indian Prison

If you try to cross the border , I would expect one of the armies guarding it will pick you up , this is one more heavily monitored borders in the world.

I did not mean to go to INdia without visa. I will have visa but I might be crossing the border on some point where there are no border posts. So no entry stamp ...

The case of British Chef might be what Ed was refering to above.

Anyhow, there are regulations as to where you can officially enter India and entry stamps are proof that you entered the country thru such points on such and such date. They would check these again on departure. Thus better safe than sorry!

Fantastic Vistet, its a very old memory that did inform me of some of potential hazards. Much appreciated and kp also. I had a link but it was to a competing site and thought that impolite..

I think the border is heavily guarded on the Tibet side, and I would be surprised if you were able to get anywhere near the Indian border, let alone stray across it.

Talking of memories a friend of mine from the 90's did this for fun. On one such trip he was caught by the Chinese and spent 8 weeks in a jail. Before his next trip I treated him to a big meal, prawns, pomfret!, and beer. I never regretted spending for the meal especially because he never checked in after that. His famiily said they always expected that. I thought that pretty cold. He was one of the few forens I enjoyed travelling with..