"It clearly sends a chilling effect."
A British professor of Indian origin says she will challenge the Indian government’s decision to revoke her long-term visa, a move she says is politically motivated and prevents her from seeing her elderly mother in India.
Nitasha Kaul, a professor at the University of Westminster in London, said her Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card had been cancelled on the grounds of “anti-India activities”.
The document accused her of being “motivated by malice and complete disregard for facts or history”.
It added: “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 said: “It’s reflective of increasing arbitrariness, which betokens authoritarian rule and part of a broad-ranging multidimensional vindictiveness towards people and academics who question because they want to make examples of us, signal to others that this will happen to you if you speak against us.
“Keep your head down and avoid saying anything critical of the government – that’s the broader message at play here.
“It clearly sends a chilling effect.
“Other academics and scholars will now think a hundred times before speaking out, because the government has made it clear that even asking the most basic questions can come at a steep personal cost.”
Nitasha Kaul, a 48-year-old Kashmiri Hindu born in Gorakhpur and raised in Delhi, moved to the UK for further education and now lives in London.
She holds a joint PhD in Economics and Philosophy from the University of Hull and has written widely on issues such as Hindu nationalism, Kashmir, and democratic backsliding in India.
She has been a prominent voice in international discussions on India’s political trajectory.
In 2019, Nitasha testified before the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs about human rights in Jammu and Kashmir following the revocation of the region’s semi-autonomous status.
In 2020, she published Future Tense, a novel set against the backdrop of conflict in Kashmir.
In May 2024, after India’s military action against Pakistan, Nitasha published an opinion piece in The Conversation exploring the complexity of the Kashmir conflict and growing anti-Muslim rhetoric in Indian media.
She stressed the need for a nuanced approach to the region’s tensions.
A televised interview she gave to Al Jazeera on the subject was later removed from YouTube India, sparking concerns about censorship.
In 2023, she wrote a detailed academic article titled “Increasing Authoritarianism in India under Narendra Modi”,
In it, she argued that while India maintains democratic procedures on the surface, the core tenets of democracy, such as minority rights, civil liberties, and institutional accountability, have eroded significantly under BJP rule since 2014.
Professor Nitasha Kaul previously faced issues with Indian authorities.
In 2024, she was denied entry at Bengaluru airport and deported to the UK despite holding a valid visa. She had travelled to India at the invitation of the Karnataka state government to speak at the Constitution and National Unity Convention.
At the time, no official explanation was given, but Ms Kaul said she was labelled “anti-national”.
Following that incident, she submitted a 20,000-word document rebutting the accusations in full.
She said: “I didn’t then hear back for almost a year and on Sunday, I received this letter saying OCI has been cancelled.
“It is heartbreaking for me that I can’t travel there and I can’t see my mom as she lives in India and she is elderly.
“I cannot be silenced. I will not stop doing what I do in the face of this intimidation and punishment.
“The use of intimidation, violence, and silencing shows that they are resorting ever more to repression because you are confident of your power.
“It really betokens a kind of insecurity, pettiness, and vindictiveness to do this kind of thing.”
The action against Nitasha comes as Indian authorities face growing scrutiny for their treatment of dissenting voices, particularly among academics and journalists.
She said her case should be seen as part of a broader trend:
“There’s a clear crackdown. Objective indicators of academic, media, and democratic freedoms show a steady backsliding.”
“This isn’t just opinion – it’s measurable.
“If this continues, our ability to analyse, question, and hold power accountable will keep shrinking.”
Amnesty International criticised the cancellation of Nitasha Kaul’s visa:
“The authorities must stop punishing Nitasha Kaul just because she is critical of the government.
“This campaign of harassment and intimidation against dissenting voices must end now.”
Nitasha Kaul says she will take legal action to overturn the cancellation and intends to continue speaking out against what she describes as India’s democratic decline.
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