<p>The deportation of Francesca Orsini, an eminent scholar of Hindi and South Asian literature, from the New Delhi airport on Monday was a misplaced assertion of authority, which shows India in a poor light. Orsini, a professor emerita at the University of London, is noted for her acclaimed book on the role of Hindi in national life during India’s freedom struggle. </p><p>She has a valid five-year tourist visa, but was denied entry because she had violated visa conditions during her previous visit by engaging in research activities. While her action, technically, may be a violation, it should not have attracted a humiliating deportation on entry. It must be noted that the government has not pursued extreme action on these lines against many visitors who commit similar violations.</p>.<p>Orsini is not the first foreign scholar with a valid visa to have been denied entry to India. In 2022, a British anthropologist, Filippo Osella, and an architecture professor, Lindsay Bremner, were deported on arrival. UK-based Indian academic Nitasha Kaul was deported from Bengaluru last year. The OCI card of another academic, Ashok Swain, was cancelled, but he secured relief from the court later. </p><p>The government has restricted the entry of foreign scholars and insisted on clearance for their involvement in seminars and other academic activities. This is in line with the action against non-government organisations engaged in charitable activities or institutions that operate in academic spheres. The narrative projected in such cases is that the visitors are a threat to national interests. Research institutions such as the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) have faced government action. A global report on academic freedom this year placed India 156th among 179 countries.</p>.<p>These actions do not show the strength of a state but only expose its insecurity. They don’t align with the claims of a Vishwaguru that nurtures ambitions of being a guide to the world. India has pitched itself as a country open to ideas from around the world. It can not lead the world by isolating itself from ideas. The Indian State and the country’s culture are not so fragile as to be threatened by ideas from other lands and cultures. </p><p>Engagement with diverse ideas, even critical perspectives, can only strengthen the country. Interactions with these views are necessary for it to remain lively and dynamic. India’s culture and civilisation have survived because of its ability to absorb ideas. Many foreign intellectuals have done commendable work to enrich Indian languages and other areas of scholarship. They should be encouraged, not penalised.</p>
<p>The deportation of Francesca Orsini, an eminent scholar of Hindi and South Asian literature, from the New Delhi airport on Monday was a misplaced assertion of authority, which shows India in a poor light. Orsini, a professor emerita at the University of London, is noted for her acclaimed book on the role of Hindi in national life during India’s freedom struggle. </p><p>She has a valid five-year tourist visa, but was denied entry because she had violated visa conditions during her previous visit by engaging in research activities. While her action, technically, may be a violation, it should not have attracted a humiliating deportation on entry. It must be noted that the government has not pursued extreme action on these lines against many visitors who commit similar violations.</p>.<p>Orsini is not the first foreign scholar with a valid visa to have been denied entry to India. In 2022, a British anthropologist, Filippo Osella, and an architecture professor, Lindsay Bremner, were deported on arrival. UK-based Indian academic Nitasha Kaul was deported from Bengaluru last year. The OCI card of another academic, Ashok Swain, was cancelled, but he secured relief from the court later. </p><p>The government has restricted the entry of foreign scholars and insisted on clearance for their involvement in seminars and other academic activities. This is in line with the action against non-government organisations engaged in charitable activities or institutions that operate in academic spheres. The narrative projected in such cases is that the visitors are a threat to national interests. Research institutions such as the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) have faced government action. A global report on academic freedom this year placed India 156th among 179 countries.</p>.<p>These actions do not show the strength of a state but only expose its insecurity. They don’t align with the claims of a Vishwaguru that nurtures ambitions of being a guide to the world. India has pitched itself as a country open to ideas from around the world. It can not lead the world by isolating itself from ideas. The Indian State and the country’s culture are not so fragile as to be threatened by ideas from other lands and cultures. </p><p>Engagement with diverse ideas, even critical perspectives, can only strengthen the country. Interactions with these views are necessary for it to remain lively and dynamic. India’s culture and civilisation have survived because of its ability to absorb ideas. Many foreign intellectuals have done commendable work to enrich Indian languages and other areas of scholarship. They should be encouraged, not penalised.</p>
