Who is Francesca Orsini, the Hindi scholar India denied entry despite a valid visa?

Renowned SOAS professor stopped at Delhi airport, deported to London (Image credit: @abhijitmajumder - X)

Francesca Orsini, a London-based scholar celebrated for her decades-long contribution to Hindi and South Asian literature, was reportedly denied entry into India on Monday despite holding a valid tourist visa.

According to News18, Orsini has been blacklisted since March 2025 for allegedly violating visa conditions during her previous visits. A senior government source told the outlet that she had travelled on a tourist visa but was found 'in breach of visa rules.'

“Being blacklisted for such violations is a standard global practice,” the source was quoted as saying.

Orsini, Professor Emerita at SOAS, University of London, arrived in Delhi on October 21 via Hong Kong after attending an academic conference in China. However, immigration officials stopped her upon arrival and sent her back to London via Hong Kong, according to reports from PTI and The Indian Express.

Her husband, Peter Kornicki, emeritus professor at the University of Cambridge, confirmed to ThePrint and The Indian Express that she was denied entry without being given any explanation.

“She was not given any reason by the immigration authorities. She was simply told she could not enter and was put on a return flight,” Kornicki said.

According to The Wire, Orsini’s deportation marks at least the fourth case of an academic denied entry into India in recent years, despite holding a valid visa.

She had last visited India in October 2024 without any issues and had planned a short stay this time to visit friends, The Wire reported.

Officials in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) told The Indian Express that Orsini was denied entry due to 'violation of visa conditions' during earlier visits. However, Kornicki said he had 'no knowledge' of any such matter or whether his wife had attended conferences in India recently.

“Whether the visa violation claim is accurate or not, no formal explanation has been shared,” he added.

Born in Italy, Orsini studied Hindi at the Central Institute of Hindi and Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi before earning her PhD at SOAS. She is the author of the acclaimed 2002 book The Hindi Public Sphere 1920–1940: Language and Literature in the Age of Nationalism (Oxford University Press), a work that reshaped modern understandings of Hindi’s evolution during the nationalist era.

Orsini has also studied Urdu and Persian, and delivered multiple lectures in India, including at Delhi University, Ambedkar University, and the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), over the past decade.

A Delhi University professor who has known her for years told The Indian Express,

“She came to India to learn Hindi and fell in love with the country. Her scholarship on Hindi and Urdu literature has deepened global understanding of India’s multilingual heritage.”

The decision to deport Orsini has sparked outrage among academics and public intellectuals in India and abroad.

Historian Ramachandra Guha wrote on X: “Professor Francesca Orsini is a great scholar of Indian literature, whose work has richly illuminated our understanding of our own cultural heritage. To deport her without reason is the mark of a government that is insecure, paranoid, and even stupid.”

Professor Francesca Orsini is a great scholar of Indian literature, whose work has richly illuminated our understanding of our own cultural heritage. To deport her without reason is the mark of a government that is insecure, paranoid, and even stupid.https://t.co/j5Fz1uOphS

— Ramachandra Guha (@Ram_Guha) October 21, 2025

TMC MP and journalist Sagarika Ghose called the move 'shocking and sad,' saying: “Francesca Orsini is a world-renowned scholar of South Asian literature and Hindi who has been deported despite her valid visa. The narrow-minded and backward-looking Modi regime is destroying the open-minded scholarship India has always stood for.”

Shocking and sad. Francesca Orsini is a world renowned scholar of South Asian literature and Hindi who has been deported despite her valid visa. The narrow-minded and backward looking @narendramodi regime is destroying the open-minded scholarship and excellence India has always… https://t.co/v5ezSCK5Ia — Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) October 21, 2025

While the government has cited 'security and visa compliance' reasons, critics argue that such actions risk damaging India’s image as a global hub for scholarship and cultural exchange.