Francesca Orsini, noted historian and professor emerita at SOAS, University of London, was denied entry into India on Monday evening despite holding a valid tourist visa, according to her publisher and colleagues. Orsini, a distinguished scholar of Hindi and Urdu literature, arrived at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport from China via Hong Kong.
While she could not be reached for comment, Orsini told a news portal from the airport that she was not permitted entry even though her visa was valid. Her phone has since remained switched off. The Union government has not yet issued an official statement on the matter.
Scholar Was Blacklisted In March 2025
Officials familiar with the development said Orsini had been placed on a government blacklist earlier this year for alleged violations of visa conditions. “She had been placed on a blacklist since March 2025 for violation of visa conditions. This is a standard global practice that if a person is found violating visa conditions, he/she can be blacklisted,” one official said.
The specific purpose of her latest visit remains unclear. Orsini last travelled to India in October 2024.
Academic Community Expresses Concern
Independent publisher Permanent Black, which has published several of Orsini’s works, expressed dismay over the incident. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the publisher wrote: “Francesca Orsini’s scholarship has greatly enriched Hindi literary studies and the history of the book in India. She is a renowned scholar, published worldwide in English and in Hindi. She has just been denied entry into India, with no reason given.”
Permanent Black is the publisher of Print and Publishing in Colonial India (2009), Orsini’s seminal work on the evolution of Hindi and Urdu print cultures following the First War of Independence.
A Distinguished Academic Career
According to SOAS, University of London, Orsini is a literary historian specialising in Hindi and Urdu studies. She studied Hindi at Venice University, later continuing her research at the Central Institute of Hindi in New Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru University, before joining SOAS.
Her scholarship has been widely recognised for bridging literary and cultural studies across India and Europe.
