Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 05:33am on 22 Oct 2025,Wednesday India Global
Francesca Orsini, a renowned Hindi scholar and Professor Emerita at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, was denied entry into India on October 20, 2025. Despite holding a valid five-year tourist visa, she was deported from Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport to Hong Kong. Indian authorities cited previous visa violations as the reason for her blacklisting since March 2025. Orsini, who had arrived from Hong Kong after attending an academic conference in China, had planned to visit friends in India. Her deportation has sparked criticism from academics, including historians Ramachandra Guha and Mukul Kesavan, who condemned the move as an attack on scholarly freedom. (PC: X)
