Stopping Francesca Orsini From Entering India is an Insult to the Very Concept and Culture of Knowledge

The morning after the festival of lights, Diwali, came news of darkness. Francesca Orsini, a renowned scholar of Hindi, was turned back from Delhi Airport despite having a valid visa. Orsini is a scholar of Hindi, respected worldwide, and has devoted her entire life to the study of the Hindi language and literature. She is a respected Professor Emerita at the ‘SOAS’ (School of Oriental and African Studies), University of London, where she has served for many years.

It is worth asking – when Orsini had a valid visa, then why was she stopped from entering India? Orsini is possibly the fourth scholar who has been denied entry into India despite holding a valid visa. The question is – who feels threatened by Orsini's arrival in India? If one pauses to think, it becomes clear that the present BJP government has constructed an imaginary narrative.

That narrative is that foreign people write all sorts of nonsense about India, which tarnishes the great image of the country. Clearly, since no restriction can be imposed on their writing, a ban is being placed instead on their entry into India. However, Orsini's writings have never led to any kind of political or academic controversy.

On the other hand, it is also clear that during this government’s tenure, almost every central university has been issued a circular aimed at controlling universities. The circular states that before inviting speakers to any academic event, the list of speakers must be checked and approved by the respective university administration.

From both these things, it is evident that this government is deeply anxious about its image and its imaginary narrative. To ensure that no question is raised about this imagined image and narrative, the government has resorted to repression and control. Orsini being denied entry into India appears to be the next step in this very sequence.

How ironic and ridiculous it is that at precisely this time, the clamour about India being a “Vishwaguru” is spreading all around! The reality is that we are losing even the ability to become humble students in the context of vast world of knowledge which knows no national boundaries.

Why else would a world-renowned scholar of the very Hindi language that is promoted as the “national language” be stopped from entering India? What should have happened is this: even if she did not have a valid visa or other required documents (which, in fact, she did have), her contributions should have ensured that a visa and all formalities were completed right there at the airport.

After all, will there be any difference in our treatment of a scholar and of a suspicious individual – or will everyone be driven with the same stick? Orsini has produced standard-setting work on modern and medieval Hindi literature. Her being barred from entering India is also proof of how grave a threat currently looms over the country’s academic culture.

It is equally absurd that, on one hand, this government is allowing foreign universities to establish campuses in India and to conduct teaching and research here, while on the other hand, it is insulting scholars in this manner. It is strange but painful that people outside India are doing extensive work on Indian languages and literatures, whereas within our country, neither is an environment created for such high-quality work nor are any facilities provided.

Even if we think from the so-called “nationalist” perspective, it is shameful that the ability to search meanings of words in Indian language dictionaries online became possible only because of the Digital Dictionaries of South Asia project at the University of Chicago in the United States. There are many such examples before us today. In any case, knowledge cannot be policed, nor can it be imprisoned within the borders of a nation.

What happened to Orsini may appear, on the surface, to be an ordinary incident, but the signs it carries are deeply frightening. One can imagine the terrible impact this incident will have on those foreign scholars who dedicate their life, time, and money to working seriously on India’s languages and literatures. Before coming to India, how fearful each one of them will feel! Because of this fear, those talents who wish to work on India with enthusiasm, dedication, and commitment will begin to feel an unnecessary pressure and anxiety – the long-term effect of which may be that their interest itself begins to fade away.

This loss will be borne by Indian languages and literatures. For centuries, foreign scholars have been working on India’s languages and literatures. It may be that at times we disagree with their methods or perspectives, but their labour, dedication, and standards cannot be doubted. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is the ruling party at the Centre, makes grand claims about India’s past – one of those claims being that the Vedic age was highly advanced and great. But is there not, in that very Rigveda, the verse "ā no bhadrāḥ kratavo yantu viśvataḥ (Let noble thoughts come to us from every direction)? Is stopping Orsini in harmony with this Rigvedic verse? Not at all – absolutely not.

Barring Orsini's entry into India is, in both literal and figurative senses, an insult to this verse. In the field of knowledge, generosity holds a place of great importance. It is through generosity that the environment is created in which new, superior, and benevolent ideas arrive before us from many directions. This incident has proved that our claim of considering the whole world as one family is hollow. Stopping Orsini from entering India is an insult to the very concept and culture of knowledge.

The author teaches Hindi at the Central University of South Bihar.

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