"Not a Home Run by a Patriarch": Nitasha Kaul Slams Govt Over OCI Cancellation (image-X/NitashaKaul)
The Indian government has cancelled the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) registration of UK-based academic and author Nitasha Kaul, citing alleged “anti-India activities” carried out through her writing, speeches, and journalism. Kaul, a Kashmiri Pandit and professor at the University of Westminster in London, called the action “intimidation in order to silence”.
Kaul received the cancellation notice while reviewing academic work on a Sunday. The government claimed her work undermined India’s sovereignty. The notice specifically referenced her articles, social media activity, and public appearances, including a recently removed Al Jazeera interview and an article she wrote two days after the Pahalgam terror attack, analysing policy failures in Jammu and Kashmir.
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“A country that calls itself a secular democratic republic is not a home run by a patriarch. Calling people antinational & denying them access to country of birth & family is the hallmark of authoritarian regimes — keeping citizenry fooled by metaphor, rhetoric, emotions so they don’t see through any of it is an important mechanism to carry on holding power without accountability,” she tweeted.
A country that calls itself a secular democratic republic is not a home run by a patriarch. Calling people antinational & denying them access to country of birth & family is the hallmark of authoritarian regimes — keeping citizenry fooled by metaphor, rhetoric, emotions so they…
— Professor Nitasha Kaul, PhD (@NitashaKaul) May 19, 2025
“Know that arresting academics in #India for speaking against hate is closely tied to removing access to country & family for academics outside India. Idea is to send a signal — don’t dare challenge us within & don’t dare analyse what’s going on to convey to audiences outside,” she wrote.
Know that arresting academics in #India for speaking against hate is closely tied to removing access to country & family for academics outside India.
Idea is to send a signal — don’t dare challenge us within & don’t dare analyse what’s going on to convey to audiences outside. https://t.co/Gn4DgZRBH2
— Professor Nitasha Kaul, PhD (@NitashaKaul) May 18, 2025
Over the past few weeks, Kaul has spoken against media censorship, the mass blocking of X accounts, and the brutal online bullying of foreign secretary Vikram Misri – all while voicing her concern for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
A frequent critic of human rights violations in Kashmir, Kaul previously testified before the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs in 2019 following the abrogation of Article 370. This is not her first clash with the Indian government — she was denied entry to India in 2024 despite holding a valid OCI card when she was invited to speak at a constitutional conference in Bengaluru hosted by the Karnataka government.
Kaul responded to the incident with a 20,000-word rejoinder to the central government, but claimed the government merely reiterated its accusations. She has continued to maintain that her criticism stems from democratic values, not animosity toward India.
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Despite holding Indian roots — born in Gorakhpur, educated at Delhi University’s Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), and later migrating to the UK in 1997 — Kaul said she has faced online abuse, including being called a “jihadi bride” and being told to apply for Pakistani citizenship. Her mother, who still lives in India, became a target of doxxing during a medical procedure.
“There’s a thousand textures in which you belong to your country. It’s impossible to explain the feeling.” she told The Print.
