Francesca Orsini, a leading Italian scholar of Hindi literature and professor emerita at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, was reportedly denied entry into India on Monday night despite holding a valid five-year visa.
According to a report by The Wire, Orsini arrived at Delhi Airport from Hong Kong after attending an academic conference in China.
Immigration officials, however, allegedly refused her entry without explanation and informed her that she would be deported.
“I am being deported. That is all I know,” she told The Wire from the airport.
Orsini is one of the most respected foreign scholars of South Asian literature. Her works include The Hindi Public Sphere 1920–1940: Language and Literature in the Age of Nationalism and East of Delhi: Multilingual Literary Culture and World Literature.
She completed her PhD at SOAS after studying Hindi at the Central Institute of Hindi and Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.
She is currently a professor emerita of Hindi and South Asian Literature at SOAS’s School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics.
Scholars, academics react
The incident has triggered strong criticism from Indian academics and public intellectuals.
Historian Ramachandra Guha called the move “the mark of a government that is insecure, paranoid, and even stupid,” describing Orsini as “a great scholar of Indian literature whose work has illuminated our understanding of our own cultural heritage.”
It is also “an insult to the very concept and culture of knowledge,” he said on X.
Delhi University professor Apoorvanand described the decision as “a direct attack on scholarship,” adding that “her visits to India have been entirely for scholarly purposes.”
Another historian and writer, Mukul Kesavan, remarked that the government’s treatment of Orsini reflects its “visceral hostility to scholars and scholarship,” adding, “A government ideologically committed to Hindi has banned Francesca Orsini.”
Growing pattern of entry denials
Orsini’s deportation adds to a growing list of academics and activists who have been denied entry into India in recent years, often without clear reasons.
In early 2024, British academic Nitasha Kaul, a political scientist at the University of Westminster, was deported from Bengaluru Airport despite holding a valid visa.
She had been invited by Karnataka’s Congress government to speak at a conference on constitutional values.
Similarly, in 2022, British anthropologist Filippo Osella was turned away at Thiruvananthapuram Airport upon arrival, and architecture professor Lindsay Bremner was also deported without explanation.
.jpg?width=512&format=jpg&quality=80)
Concerns over academic freedom
The denial of entry to Orsini comes amid broader concerns over the shrinking space for academic freedom in India.
Recent international reports have highlighted rising restrictions on university discussions, protests, and seminars, as well as pressure on institutions to align with political directives.
Instances of intimidation and censorship have been reported across campuses — from the cancellation of seminars involving foreign diplomats at Jawaharlal Nehru University to disruptions of film festivals by nationalist groups in Udaipur, Rajasthan.
