India deports 'blacklisted' UK researcher Franceska Orsini from Delhi airport over visa norm violation

Immigration authorities at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport deported Francesca Orsini, a prominent Hindi scholar and professor emerita at School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London University, around midnight on Monday-Tuesday. Officials confirmed that Orsini had been placed on India’s blacklist in March 2025 for violating the conditions of her tourist visa.

According to a source in the Immigration Department, “Francesca Orsini was on a tourist visa but was found engaging in activities that violated its conditions. She was therefore blacklisted in March 2025. This follows standard global practice, where individuals found breaching visa norms can be blacklisted.”

Authorities said that Orsini was denied entry strictly in accordance with visa regulations, after agencies learned that she had been conducting research in India while on a tourist visa. A senior government official stated, “To carry out research in India, a foreign national must obtain an ‘R’ visa. Engaging in research under a tourist visa constitutes a clear violation of visa conditions.”

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Officials emphasised that India, like every other sovereign nation, reserves the right to admit or deny entry to foreigners. “As the subject was already blacklisted, there was no obligation to provide an explanation at the time of deportation,” the official added.

Sources clarified that tourist visas are issued liberally, but visitors are prohibited from participating in political, religious, or research-related activities. Orsini had previously been found engaging in research work while on a tourist visa, leading to her being blacklisted and subsequently deported “as per existing international norms," reported TOI.

Orsini arrived at IGI Airport on the night of October 20-21 from Hong Kong, following her participation in an academic conference in China.

Who is Francesca Orsini?

Francesca Orsini is an acclaimed scholar of Hindi literature and author of The Hindi Public Sphere 1920–1940: Language and Literature in the Age of Nationalism. Her deportation has drawn criticism from several academics and public figures.

Historian Ramachandra Guha wrote on X that Orsini’s removal “marks a government that is insecure, paranoid and even stupid,” calling her a “great scholar of Indian literature” whose work has deepened understanding of India’s cultural heritage.

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Historian Mukul Kesavan also criticised the decision, commenting, “The visceral hostility of the NDA government to scholars and scholarship is something to behold. A government ideologically committed to Hindi has banned Francesca Orsini. You can’t make this up.”

In a similar case last year, UK academic Nitasha Kaul was deported from Bengaluru Airport following a lookout circular issued against her over alleged “anti-India” and “pro-separatist” remarks on Kashmir. Her Overseas Citizen of India status was later revoked.

For researchers seeking to undertake academic projects in India, officials reiterated that an R visa is mandatory. The application must include the project’s subject, planned travel locations, prior visits to India, a certificate of affiliation from a recognised Indian institution, and proof of sufficient financial means to cover the stay.