ISLAMABAD: Leading international scholars have flayed the Narendra Modi-led Indian government’s denial of entry at Delhi airport to a prominent Hindi and Urdu scholar from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.
Professor Francesca Orsini arrived in Delhi from Hong Kong on a valid five-year e-tourist visa but was stopped by immigration officials and asked to return immediately, Indian media reported on Wednesday.
An Indian media outlet, citing government sources, claimed that Orsini was blacklisted in March 2025 for allegedly violating her tourist visa conditions during a previous visit in October 2024.
Meanwhile, speaking to The Wire from Delhi airport, Orsini said that no explanation was provided. “I am being deported. That is all I know,” she said.
Professor Orsini is a literary historian working primarily with Hindi and Urdu materials with an interest in exploring how multilingualism works and continues to work within the literary cultures of South Asia.
Ashok Swain, professor of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University, Sweden, while condemning the denial of entry in a post on X, said: “The list of Modi deporting scholars and writers out of India is getting longer, and when it happens, Indian media only then remembers my on-going struggle with the Modi regime.”
Dr Audrey Truschke, professor of South Asian history, in her social media post stated: “Academics matter. And Hindu nationalism is no match for us. Hindu nationalists know their weakness."
"That's why they fight to keep professors out and crush those within their borders; it's their only tool to suppress critical inquiry and knowledge,” she added.
Ramachandra Guha, historian of modern India and biographer of Gandhi, shared the news on social media platform X, commenting, “Stopping Francesca Orsini From Entering India is an Insult to the Very Concept and Culture of Knowledge…”.
Professor Srila Roy lamented in her post on X: “We don't talk enough about the lack of academic freedom in India.”
Author Saba Naqvi, while sharing the news, commented: “Small diminished minds. Big talk about Vishwaguru. Does this fit in?”
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