Why UK-based renowned Hindi scholar was deported despite valid visa
What's the story
Francesca Orsini, a Hindi scholar and emerita professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, was deported from Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport on Monday. She arrived from Hong Kong but was denied entry despite having a valid five-year e-visa, according to The Wire. An Indian government official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Orsini was deported because the purpose of the trip did not match her visa category, The Wire report added.
Official
She last visited India in October 2024
The scholar, however, was able to travel to India in October 2024. When it was pointed out to the official that she was visiting on a tourist visa to meet friends, the official insisted that a previous pattern of visa violations had been noted and that she had purportedly engaged in research activities on an earlier visit on the same visa.
Official response
Why she was deported
A source in the Ministry of Home Affairs told PTI that Orsini has been on a blacklist since March 2025 for violating her tourist visa conditions. "Francesca Orsini was on a tourist visa, but she has been violating visa conditions," they said. "This is a standard global practice that if a person is found violating visa conditions, he/she can be blacklisted," they added.
Academic backlash
Orsini's deportation sparks controversy
Orsini is best known for her book The Hindi Public Sphere 1920-1940: Language and Literature in the Age of Nationalism. Her deportation has sparked a controversy, with historian Ramachandra Guha calling her "a great scholar of Indian literature." Guha slammed the government's decision to deport Orsini without reason, saying, "To deport her without reason is the mark of a government that is insecure, paranoid, and even stupid."
Twitter Post
Guha's post on X
Professor Francesca Orsini is a great scholar of Indian literature, whose work has richly illuminated our understanding of our own cultural heritage. To deport her without reason is the mark of a government that is insecure, paranoid, and even stupid.https://t.co/j5Fz1uOphS
— Ramachandra Guha (@Ram_Guha) October 21, 2025
Scholarly criticism
Other academics criticize government's decision
Guha further slammed the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government for its treatment of scholars and scholarship. He said, "The visceral hostility of the NDA government to scholars and scholarship is something to behold." Another academic, Mukul Kesavan, also criticized Orsini's deportation on X (formerly Twitter). He wrote, "A government ideologically committed to Hindi has banned Francesca Orsini. You can't make this up."