"you regularly target India and its institutions"
Professor Nitasha Kaul has claimed her Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) has been cancelled for her alleged anti-India activities.
Nitasha, who teaches at the University of Westminster, took to X to claim the decision was linked to her work on the Indian government’s “anti-minority and anti-democratic policies”.
Appearing to have received the notice in the post, she wrote:
“A bad faith, vindictive, cruel example of #TNR (transnational repression) punishing me for scholarly work on anti-minority and anti-democratic policies of #Modi rule.”
The letter accused Nitasha Kaul of “indulging in anti-India activities, motivated by malice and complete disregard for facts or history”.
The letter further highlighted her repeated “anti-India” stance:
“Through your numerous inimical writings, speeches and journalistic activities at various international forums and on social media platforms, you regularly target India and its institutions on the matters of India’s sovereignty.”
Nitasha Kaul was born in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, and currently serves as the director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy at Westminster’s School of Social Sciences.
She holds a BA Honours in Economics from Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi.
Nitasha went on to earn a Master’s in Economics specialising in Public Policy, and a joint PhD in Economics and Philosophy from the University of Hull.
IMPORTANT NOTE – I received a cancellation of my #OCI (Overseas Citizenship of #India) *today* after arriving home. A bad faith, vindictive, cruel example of #TNR (transnational repression) punishing me for scholarly work on anti-minority & anti-democratic policies of #Modi rule. pic.twitter.com/7L60klIfrv
— Professor Nitasha Kaul, PhD (@NitashaKaul) May 18, 2025
Her academic work and public commentary have often focused on Kashmir, Indian democracy, and the treatment of minorities.
She has authored several books, including Residue, Future Tense, and Imagining Economics Otherwise.
Residue, her debut novel, was shortlisted for the 2009 Man Asian Literary Prize. Both Residue and Future Tense explore themes of identity, trauma, and displacement in Kashmir.
The cancellation of her OCI comes over a year after Nitasha Kaul said she was denied entry into India despite being invited by the Karnataka government to speak at a public event on constitutional values.
She claimed she was detained for 24 hours before being deported to London.
Describing the conditions, Nitasha said she was held “under direct CCTV with restricted movement, a narrow area to lie down and no easy access to food and water”.
Nitasha had been scheduled to speak at a conference titled The Constitution and Unity of India, held in Bengaluru on February 24-25, 2024.
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