Academic and British-Indian professor, Nitasha Kaul, encountered a refusal of entry upon arriving at Bengaluru airport and subsequently faced deportation from India, as per her account shared through a series of tweets. Kaul, aged 48, asserted that she had been invited by the Karnataka government to participate in a conference, but immigration authorities turned her away, purportedly citing her previous criticisms of the RSS, a right-wing Hindu nationalist organization.
“India’s denial of entry to me, despite my advocacy for democratic and constitutional principles, is disheartening. I was extended an esteemed delegate invitation by the Government of Karnataka (a state governed by the Congress party), yet the central government barred my entry. My travel arrangements were duly facilitated by Karnataka, and I possessed all necessary and valid documents (including a UK passport and OCI),” tweeted Nitasha Kaul, a Kashmiri Pandit and professor at the University of Westminster in the UK.
She expressed bewilderment over the lack of a specific explanation from immigration officials other than references to directives from Delhi. “Despite having official documentation provided by Karnataka, I received no prior notification from Delhi regarding the denial of entry,” she added.
“My body of work spanning decades should speak for itself. The officials informally cited my historical criticism of the RSS, an ultra-conservative Hindu nationalist group, despite my numerous previous visits to India. Despite being invited by a state government, my entry was obstructed by the central government,” she further noted on Twitter.
Kaul detailed her distressing experience, including lengthy waits at immigration, followed by 24 hours of detention in a confined area with limited facilities, and ultimately a return flight to London with inadequate support and amenities.
In addition, Kaul highlighted the persistent threats and harassment she has endured from right-wing Hindutva trolls, mentioning previous instances of intimidation directed at her elderly mother, despite her own residence in the UK and the unrelated nature of her work to her mother’s life.
The Karnataka BJP swiftly responded to Kaul’s tweets, criticizing the Congress party and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for extending the invitation to the author. The BJP accused the Congress of employing Karnataka as a platform for its divisive agenda, potentially jeopardizing national unity, and expressed gratitude to security agencies for preventing the purported entry of an “anti-India element.”