Indian-origin British academic Nitasha Kaul on Sunday said her Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) status was cancelled, alleging it was a response to her scholarly work critical of the Narendra Modi government’s “anti-minority and anti-democratic policies.”
“I received a cancellation of my OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India) today after arriving home. A bad faith, vindictive, cruel example of TNR (transnational repression) punishing me for scholarly work on anti-minority and anti-democratic policies of Modi rule,” Kaul posted on X.
Overseas Citizen of India is an immigration status that allows foreigners of Indian origin to live and work in India indefinitely.
She went on to say: “Modi BJP govt humiliated themselves and insulted non-BJP Karnataka state govt that invited me last year by ill-treating me and in spite of my 20,000 word response to their ridiculous inanity about ‘anti-India’, they have chosen to do this by a rigged process.”
“Will overseas PR delegations of GOI say why ‘mother of democracy’ denies me access to my mother? This is thin-skinned, petty insecurity with no respect for well-intentioned dissent that arrests/imprisons citizens in India and bars access to family for overseas citizens of India,” she added.
In a post on X, Kaul shared a communication from the Union government that accused her of indulging in “anti-India activities” that were said to have been motivated by a disregard for facts or history.
The communiqué from the government read: “Through your numerous inimical writings, speeches and journalistic activities at various international forums and on social media platforms, you regularly target India and its institutions on the matters of India’s sovereignty.”
“Know that arresting academics in India for speaking against hate is closely tied to removing access to country and family for academics outside India. Idea is to send a signal – don’t dare challenge us within and don’t dare analyse what’s going on to convey to audiences outside,” Kaul said.
Kaul who is a professor of politics, international studies and critical interdisciplinary studies at London’s University of Westminster, served as a key witness before the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, testifying about the human rights violations in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
In February 2024, she said she was denied entry into India and deported from the Bengaluru airport on the orders of the Union government “for speaking on democratic and constitutional values.”
 status was cancelled, alleging it was a response to her scholarly work critical of the Narendra Modi government’s “anti-minority and anti-democratic policies.”){kind=link}