SOAS Professor Francesca Orsini Deported from India Over Visa Violation

Francesca Orsini, a Hindi scholar and professor emerita at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, was deported from Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport on Monday for allegedly violating visa conditions, according to sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Orsini had arrived from Hong Kong when the authorities reportedly discovered that she was on a ‘Black List’ since March 2025 for non-compliance with her tourist visa.

“Francesca Orsini was on a tourist visa, but she has been violating visa conditions,” a ministry source said. “This is a standard global practice: if a person is found violating visa conditions, they can be blacklisted.”

Orsini is widely recognized for her scholarship on Hindi literature, particularly her book The Hindi Public Sphere 1920–1940: Language and Literature in the Age of Nationalism, which explores the intersection of language, literature, and nationalism in India.

Prominent historian Ramachandra Guha reacted to the deportation, describing Orsini as a “great scholar of Indian literature, whose work has richly illuminated our understanding of our own cultural heritage.”

The professor reportedly last visited India in October 2024.