Who Is Francesca Orsini? UK-Based Hindi Scholar Deported From India Over Visa Violations

Francesca Orsini, a UK-based scholar of Hindi literature and professor emeritus at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, was denied entry into India and deported from Delhi on October 20. Authorities said she had violated visa rules, according to reports.

Orsini, who arrived in India from Hong Kong, had been blacklisted since March 2025 for allegedly misusing a tourist visa for academic work. A source in the Ministry of Home Affairs told news agency PTI that Orsini was travelling on a tourist visa, but her earlier activities in India were academic in nature.

“Francesca Orsini was on a tourist visa but violating visa conditions. This is standard global practice; anyone found violating visa norms can be blacklisted,” the source said.

She was deported to Hong Kong within hours because her stated purpose of travel did not match her visa category. Orsini reportedly told officials that she held a valid five-year visa and was entering India to meet friends. She had recently attended an academic conference in China before trying to enter India.

Orsini is a scholar of Hindi literature and the author of “The Hindi Public Sphere: 1920–1940”. Her deportation drew criticism from several historians. Ramachandra Guha called Orsini “a great scholar whose work has richly illuminated our understanding of our own cultural heritage” and added, “To deport her without reason is the mark of a government that is insecure, paranoid, and even stupid.”

Historian Mukul Kesavan described the government’s actions as showing “visceral hostility” toward scholars and scholarship. He said, “A government ideologically committed to Hindi has banned Francesca Orsini. You can’t make this up.”

Orsini had last visited India in October 2024. The incident has drawn comparisons with the case of British academic Nitasha Kaul, who was deported from Bengaluru earlier this year and later had her Overseas Citizen of India card revoked over alleged anti-India activities.

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