Academic Nitasha Kaul on Sunday took to X claiming that she was denied entry to India based on ‘orders from Delhi’, though she had all the necessary documents and was invited by the Karnataka government to speak at a conference. The Indian-origin UK professor said she was denied entry because of her earlier criticism of the RSS. Her post on X went viral with many right-wing accounts asserting that if she has been stopped from entering India, it was the right thing to do as she spread misinformation.
“I was given no reason by immigration except ‘we cannot do anything, orders from Delhi’. My travel & logistics had been arranged by Karnataka & I had the official letter with me. I received no notice or info in advance from Delhi that I would not be allowed to enter,” Prof Kaul wrote.
IMPORTANT: Denied entry to #India for speaking on democratic & constitutional values. I was invited to a conference as esteemed delegate by Govt of #Karnataka (Congress-ruled state) but Centre refused me entry. All my documents were valid & current (UK passport & OCI). THREAD 1/n pic.twitter.com/uv7lmWhs4k
— Professor Nitasha Kaul, PhD (@NitashaKaul) February 25, 2024
“I spent 12 hours in a flight from London to Bangalore, several hours at immigration where they shuttled me here & there, provided no info on process, then 24 hours in a holding cell (no BA flight back until next day) under direct cctv w restricted movement, a narrow area to lie down and no easy access to food and water, made dozens of calls to airport for basic things as a pillow and blanket, which they refused to provide, then 12 hours on the flight back to London,” Kaul added.
The UK-based professor wrote she is not anti-India but anti-authoritarian and pro-democracy. “Decades of my work speaks for me. The officials informally made references to my criticism of RSS, a far-right Hindu nationalist paramilitary from years ago. I have travelled to India numerous times since. I was invited by a state govt, but refused entry by the central govt,” Kaul wrote in a long Twitter thread.
While many prominent academic figures condemned the harassment that Kaul faced, a Karnataka VHP leader Girish Bharadwaj said the shame is on the Siddaramaiah government for inviting “such anti-nationals”. “Why should such parasites lecture us on Constitutional Values? @NitashaKaul you peddle bullshit against a country and expect us to give you a warm welcome?
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