British academic of Indian origin alleges she was deported from Bangalore airport

Nitasha Kaul, a British writer of Indian origin and professor of politics at the University of Westminster in London, said in a post on X on Sunday that she was denied entry into the country on Friday and deported from Bangalore airport on the orders of the Union government, “for speaking on democractic and constitutional values”.

Kaul had been invited by the Congress government in Karnataka to speak at its Constitution and National Unity Convention on Saturday and Sunday to speak on the topic “Constitution and Democracy”. After she landed in Bengaluru, she was denied permission to leave the airport despite having a valid visa.

A Kashmiri pandit by birth, Kaul has been known for her criticism of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological parent of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Kaul is an Overseas Citizen of India. This is an immigration status that allows foreigners of Indian origin to live and work in India indefinitely.

In 2019, Kaul served as a key witness before the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, testifying about the human right violations in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

“I was given no reason by immigration except ‘We cannot do anything, orders...

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