An Indian-origin professor in UK, Nitasha Kaul, said that the Government of India had cancelled her Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) status for “indulging in anti-India activities”. Kaul was deported from the Bengaluru airport last year within hours of landing there.
Kaul on May 18 shared the notice regarding the cancellation of her OCI status on social media. She attached an image of a part of the official letter from the Government of India.
“IMPORTANT NOTE – 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 & anti-democratic policies of #Modi rule,” Kaul wrote on X.
The part of the notice shared by Kaul read, “…and whereas it has been brought to the notice of the Government of India that you have been indulging in anti-India activities, motivated by malice and complete disregard for facts or history.”
The notice added, “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.”
Nitasha Kaul is a faculty member in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Westminster. Kaul graduated from Delhi University’s Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), and did her master’s and PhD from the UK’s Hull University.
In a trailing post, she referred to the incident from last year when she was deported within hours of landing at the Bengaluru airport, and called it an insult to the non-BJP Karnataka state government that had invited her.
Kaul was invited by the Karnataka government to speak at a convention, but she alleged that immigration officials refused entry to her by “informally” making “references” to her “criticism of the RSS”.
“Denied entry to India for speaking on democratic & constitutional values. I was invited to a conference as (an) esteemed delegate by (the) Govt of Karnataka (Congress-ruled state) but (the) Centre refused me entry. All my documents were valid & current (UK passport & OCI),” the Kashmiri Pandit academician posted last year.
The OCI status that she referred to in her post has now been cancelled.
Karnataka unit of the BJP had slammed Kaul and the Congress-led Karnataka government in response to her allegations last year.
“Congress party has disgraced Indian Constitution by inviting a Pakistani sympathiser who wants India’s break up,” it posted on X.
“It is now apparent that the Congress party is now using Karnataka as its laboratory to prepare ground for its divisive agendas, potentially undermining national unity & integrity,” the BJP tweeted.
