UK-based academic and Kashmiri Pandit scholar Professor Nitasha Kaul said on Sunday that the Government of India has cancelled her Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) status, citing her alleged involvement in “anti-India activities.” The move has reignited debates over academic freedom, dissent, and the rights of overseas Indians critical of the Indian government.
Professor Kaul, a British citizen of Indian origin and a political economist and writer, shared part of the cancellation notice on X (formerly Twitter), calling the decision “a bad faith, vindictive, cruel example” of transnational repression. She claimed the action was in retaliation for her scholarly work critiquing what she described as the anti-minority and anti-democratic policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
The notice, portions of which she made public, accused Kaul of targeting India and its institutions through her writings, speeches, and appearances at international forums, describing her actions as “motivated by malice” and showing a “complete disregard for facts or history.”
Past Controversies
Kaul had made headlines in India earlier this year when she was denied entry at Bengaluru airport in February 2024. She had been invited by the Congress-led Karnataka government to speak at an academic event. The visit drew criticism from the state’s Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leaders and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who accused the Congress of “threatening the unity and integrity of India” by extending the invitation.
Following her denial of entry, Karnataka VHP leader Girish Bharadwaj had written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, urging the cancellation of Kaul’s OCI card — a demand that now appears to have been acted upon.
OCI status allows foreign citizens of Indian origin to enter and stay in India without a visa and grants them rights similar to those of Non-Resident Indians, though it does not confer dual citizenship. The cancellation of Kaul’s OCI has drawn criticism from several academic and human rights circles, who argue it sets a worrying precedent for overseas scholars and intellectuals critical of government policy.
