Renowned Hindi expert Francesca Orsini deported from Delhi Airport
Foreign scholars barred as India’s academic freedom shrinks
New Delhi: In yet another incident exposing India’s growing intolerance toward academic freedom, globally acclaimed scholar of Hindi language and literature, Professor Francesca Orsini, was deported from Delhi airport last night despite holding a valid five-year e-visa.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Orsini — Professor Emerita at SOAS, University of London, and author of the acclaimed book The Hindi Public Sphere 1920–1940: Language and Literature in the Age of Nationalism — was denied entry without any explanation after arriving from Hong Kong. “I am being deported. That is all I know,” Orsini told Indian media before being placed on a return flight. Her deportation marks yet another case of arbitrary academic exclusion under the Modi regime, which has repeatedly targeted foreign researchers perceived as critical of its policies.
In recent years, several international academics have been denied entry to India despite valid documents. Among them are British anthropologist Filippo Osella and architecture professor Lindsay Bremner, both deported in 2022 without explanation, as well as UK-based Kashmiri academic Dr. Nitasha Kaul, whose OCI card was later revoked after she was barred at Bengaluru airport. Similarly, Sweden-based scholar Professor Ashok Swain, known for his social media criticism of Hindutva politics, had his OCI card canceled before securing legal relief from the Delhi High Court.
Observers say such incidents reflect the Modi government’s tightening grip on intellectual freedom and dissent. Since 2021, India’s Home Ministry has reportedly restricted participation of foreign scholars in conferences and online seminars without prior “political clearance.”
A recent global report cited India as a prime example of shrinking intellectual space, where universities and political groups routinely suppress free expression and debate. The report highlights that seminars, protests, and academic discussions now require prior government approval, while police and right-wing student organizations often intimidate or attack those expressing dissenting views.
Incidents across campuses reinforce this trend. At Sri Venkateswara University, a Dalit professor was assaulted by Hindu nationalist activists; at Jawaharlal Nehru University, seminars with Middle Eastern diplomats were abruptly canceled; and in Udaipur, RSS-linked groups disrupted a film festival, forcing its closure.
