In a massive development, a staunch critic of the Modi government, Nitasha Kaul on Monday was detained by the immigration officials at the Bengaluru Airport and was deported back to London. Nitasha Kaul who has compared to RSS to a terror organization in the past on multiple public forums and even called Prime Minister Narendra Modi its product was not given entry to India by the immigration officials. Nitasha Kaul was invited by the Congress-ruled Karnataka Government to speak at a convention, but immigration officials reportedly refused entry to her by "informally" making "references" to Kaul's "criticism of the RSS". Now, the question arises who is Nitasha Kaul and why she was deported from India? Below is everything you need to know about Nitasha Kaul-
Who is Nitasha Kaul?
Nitasha Kaul is a professor from the University of Westminster in the United Kingdom (UK). Going by her X profile, Nitasha Kaul is a professor of Politics and International Relations. Apart from being a professor, she is also a novelist, writer, and poet. Kaul is also the Director of Centre for the Study of Democracy (CSD), School of Social Sciences, University of Westminster, London. Kaul has done her BA Honours from Sri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), University of Delhi. Nitasha Kaul was invited by the Karnataka government to deliver a lecture at a conference on the topic ‘The Constitution and the Unity of India’. The conference was held on February 24 and 25. Nitasha said that she had a valid UK passport and an OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India) card.
Why was Nitasha Kaul deported from India?
In a series of tweets, Kaul wrote, "IMPORTANT: Denied entry to #India for speaking on democratic & constitutional values. I was invited to a conference as esteemed delegate by Govt of #Karnataka (Congress-ruled state) but Centre refused me entry. All my documents were valid & current (UK passport & OCI)..I was given no reason by immigration except ‘we cannot do anything, orders from Delhi’. My travel & logistics had been arranged by Karnataka & I had the official letter with me. I received no notice or info in advance from Delhi that I would not be allowed to enter...
"I spent 12 hours in a flight from London to Bangalore, several hours at immig where they shuttled me here & there, provided no info on process, then 24 hours in a holding cell (no BA flight back until next day) under direct cctv w restricted movement, a narrow area to lie down..and no easy access to food and water, made dozens of calls to airport for basic things as a pillow and blanket, which they refused to provide, then 12 hours on the flight back to London."
Kaul further wrote, "I am a globally respected academic & public intellectual, passionate about liberal democratic values. I care for gender equity, challenging misogyny, sustainability, civil & political liberties, rule of law. I am not anti-Indian, I am anti-authoritarian & pro-#democracy....Decades of my work speaks for me. The officials informally made references to my criticism of RSS, a far-right Hindu nationalist paramilitary from years ago. I have travelled to India numerous times since. I was invited by a state govt, but refused entry by the central govt."
What did netizens say about Nitasha Kaul's deportation?
Sharing some tweets and video of Kaul, a retired IAF veteran wrote, "With this thinking, is this person @NitashaKaul fit to be allowed in India? Good job @PMOIndia @HMOIndia denying her entry in our beloved nation. We don’t need anti-India rhetorics from such people in India. Jai Hind."
Another user wrote, "Ms @NitashaKaulYou may have been denied entry into Bharat as probably you are a threat to its Sovereignty & Security.. You need to introspect and reduce content of your 'Victim Card Propaganda'..You surely need to know facts and be able to analyze and not spread Anti-India hate..Kindly guide her better to not instigate Anti-India sentiments through her ill-motivated Propaganda ..Let's find more such people who are biased against Bharat and take precautionary actions."