New Delhi: Francesca Orsini, a Hindi scholar and professor emerita at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, was deported from the Indira Gandhi International Airport for allegedly violating visa conditions, sources said on Tuesday.

According to a Ministry of Home Affairs official, Orsini was deported on Monday soon after her arrival from Hong Kong. She has been on a “Black List” since March 2025 for repeated violations of visa conditions, the source added.

“Francesca Orsini was on a tourist visa, but she has been violating visa conditions,” the official said, adding that “blacklisting for such violations is standard global practice.”

Orsini, known for her acclaimed work The Hindi Public Sphere 1920-1940: Language and Literature in the Age of Nationalism, has been widely regarded as a leading scholar of Hindi literature and culture.

Reacting to the incident, historian Ramachandra Guha described Orsini as “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,” Guha wrote on X.

Historian Mukul Kesavan also criticised the action, calling it an example of the NDA government's “visceral hostility” towards scholars and scholarship.

“A government ideologically committed to Hindi has banned Francesca Orsini. You can't make this up,” Kesavan posted on X.

Orsini had last visited India in October 2024.