Nitasha Kaul, an Indian-origin, UK-based professor at University of Westminster, took to her social media profile on Sunday night (IST) to reveal that her Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) had been cancelled the same day. She appears to have received the notice in her mail after she arrived home. Sharing a cropped snap of the official letter from the Indian government, she wrote on X, “. A bad faith, vindictive, cruel example of #TNR (transnational repression) punishing me for scholarly work on anti-minority & anti-democratic policies of #Modi rule.”
Part of the mail she shared online indicated that the Government of India had taken note of her “indulging in anti-India activities, motivated by malice and complete disregard for facts or history.” The document 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 sovergnity.”
Who is Nitasha Kaul?
According to one of her February 2024 X threads, Kaul’s origin is tied to a “downtown mohalla in Srinagar, Kashmir.” Additionally, the Westminster professor said that she was born in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, which she also labelled as “the land of saffron to the ‘saffronisation’ heartland.”
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
As a professor of Politics, IR and Critical Interdisciplinary Studies, Nitasha Kaul has a BA Honours in Economics from SRCC, University of Delhi, and a Masters in Economics with a specialisation in Public Policy, and a Joint PhD in Economics and Philosophy from the University of Hull, UK, as per her CV linked to her X profile.
The multi-hyphenate academic is also Director of Centre for the Study of Democracy (CSD) at Westminster’s School of Social Sciences. She has authored multiple books, including “Residue,” “Future Tense,” and “Imagining Economics Otherwise.” As a Kashmiri-origin individual herself, both her novels “Residue,” and “Future Tense,” explore the conflict-ridden state of Kashmir, often linked to themes of “identity, trauma and displacement.”
Kaul’s debut novel “Residue” being about “Kashmiri outside of Kashmir” was one of five works from Asia to be shortlisted for the 2009 Man Asian Literary Prize. On top of that, the multi-disciplinary author co-edited “Can you Hear Kashmiri Women Speak? Narratives of Resistance and Resilience.”
Nitasha Kaul was denied entry into India, deported back to London last year
The latest development surrounding the British-Indian scholar comes after Nitasha Kaul claimed to have been denied entry into India when she was reportedly invited by the Karnataka government to speak on “democratic & constitutional values” last year. In a follow-up post, the Kashmiri-origin scholar looked back at the same event, saying “Modi BJP govt humiliated themselves & insulted non-BJP Karnataka state govt” by “ill-treating” her. the PhD academic also claims to have put across her side of the argument to defend herself in a 20,000-word response to what she calls the PM Narendra Modi-led government’s “ridiculous inanity about ‘anti-India’, they have chosen to do this by a rigged process.”
Kaul plugged her yesteryear X post from February 2024, which alleged that she had been “invited to a conference as esteemed delegate by Govt of #Karnataka (Congress-ruled state) but Centre refused me entry. All my documents were valid & current (UK passport & OCI).”
Modi BJP govt humiliated themselves & insulted non-BJP Karnataka state govt that invited me last year by ill-treating me & in spite of my 20,000 word response to their ridiculous inanity about ‘anti-India’, they have chosen to do this by a rigged process. https://t.co/xAqWIIDBUp
— Professor Nitasha Kaul, PhD (@NitashaKaul) May 18, 2025
As proof of her invitation to the Indian event, she shared an official letter signed off by Minister of Social Welfare of Karnataka, HC Mahadevappa, noting that a conference, titled “The Constitution and Unity of India” was to be held in Bengaluru on February 24 and 25, 2024.
With the conference reflecting on themes of ‘Constitutionalism,’ “Justice,’ ‘Inclusiveness,’ and ‘Identity,’ the Karnataka government extended an invitation to Kaul, saying, “Your unique vantage point, and body of work will undoubtedly enrich the conference and enable us to collectively achieve our shared goals.” The British-Indian professor also pinned her registration confirmation for the constitution conference.
In her last year’s lengthy diatribe, Kaul also highlighted that officials had informally referenced her “criticism of RSS, a far-right Hindu nationalist paramilitary from years ago.” Moreover, she attached screenshots of death threat comments under one of her YouTube videos. “Rightwing #HindutvaTrolls have for years threatened me w death, rape, ban etc. In the past, authorities have sent police to my elderly ailing mother’s home to intimidate, even though I live in UK & my work has no connexion to her, a pious temple-going dezhor-wearing retired Hindi teacher & my sole surviving parent,” she added in the long explainer thread at the time.
Nitasha Kaul has repeatedly asserted her stance as pro-democracy, instead of being ‘anti-India.’ Even at the time, as she upheld her side of the story, the public intellectual said that she was always “passionate about liberal democratic values,” as she deeply cared for “hallenging misogyny, sustainability, civil & political liberties, rule of law.”
Detailing the experience she was subjected to during her deportation from India in 2024, Kaul underlined that she initially spent several hours at immigration. When that was over, she was held in detention for 24 hours “under direct cctv w restricted movement, a narrow area to lie down and no easy access to food and water, made dozens of calls to airport for basic things as a pillow and blanket, which they refused to provide, then 12 hours on the flight back to London.”
