Deported Hindi Scholar Francesca Orsini Was Blacklisted Since March For Visa Violation: Sources

Last Updated:October 21, 2025, 21:03 IST

Francesca Orsini, SOAS Professor Emerita, was denied entry into India at Delhi airport despite valid visa

London-based Hindi scholar Francesca Orsini. (File photo via X/@lhrlitfest)

Francesca Orsini, a renowned London-based scholar of Hindi and South Asian literature, was reportedly denied entry into India on Monday despite holding a valid tourist visa. Sources told News18 that Orsini has been blacklisted since March this year for allegedly violating visa conditions.

“She was travelling on a tourist visa but was found to be in breach of visa rules. Being blacklisted for such violations is a standard global practice," the source said.

They source further added that misuse of a visa can lead to restrictions, even if a valid visa is held.

According to reports, Orsini, Professor Emerita at SOAS, University of London, landed at Delhi airport on October 21 via Hong Kong after attending an academic conference in China. However, immigration officials stopped her at the airport and sent her back to London, also via Hong Kong, instead of a direct return rout.

Her husband, Peter Kornicki, emeritus professor at the University of Cambridge, confirmed to ThePrint that Orsini was not given any explanation by immigration authorities at the airport. She was subsequently placed on a return flight to London via Hong Kong, instead of being allowed to take a direct route back.

According to The Wire, Orsini had planned to visit friends during her stay and had last travelled to India as recently as October 2024 without incident. This also incident makes Orsini at least the fourth academic reportedly denied entry into India in recent years despite holding a valid visa.

Orsini is widely known for her influential 2002 book, “The Hindi Public Sphere 1920–1940: Language and Literature in the Age of Nationalism," and has dedicated much of her academic life to the study of Hindi language and Indian literary culture

Her deportation has drawn sharp criticism from scholars and public figures online. Historian Ramachandra Guha posted 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."

TMC MP Sagarika Ghose called the move “shocking and sad", writing: “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 stood for."

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