How I was deported from India

Although no official reasons for my deportation were provided, I could take a guess. In February 2012, when Amnesty International decided to move me to a research position, we discovered a restrictive clause listed on India’s Bureau of Immigration website stating that OCI and PIO were prohibited from conducting “research, missionary or mountaineering activities without the prior permission of the Government of India.” As I was being hired to research abuse of power and human rights in Jammu and Kashmir, there was a debate about the consequences I might face, including deportation and loss of my overseas citizenship status.

There are hundreds of PIO and OCI cardholders who have been working as journalists, development workers, and researchers in India without any problems. The provision seemed outdated. The AII management was confident that the United Progressive Alliance government wouldn’t use the little-known and apparently rarely used provision against me. It decided that attempting to apply for permission would only draw unnecessary attention to my work, and invite the government to deny permission outright.

I left India on the evening of November 22, 2014. Six months have passed since I was deported, but I have refrained from telling my story publicly. Nor have I seriously considered a challenge in court — until now. Would speaking out about my deportation eliminate the possibility of the Indian government ever allowing my return to the country? Would my organisation be targeted if I spoke out, undermining the work that it is struggling to continue to do in the current climate?

Six months after my deportation, the Narendra Modi government continues to muzzle NGOs. Even organisations such as AII have struggled to address questions that are critical of the government, knowing well that doing so might threaten the survival of their operations. Richard Verma, the U.S. ambassador to India, was right to be concerned about the “chilling effect” on India’s NGOs and activists. Like many individuals and organisations, I stayed silent, hoping this might earn me another chance to publish or continue my work. Yesterday, my silence was broken. Amnesty International published the report I spent nearly two years working on. It was time for me to speak out.

My idea of India is a country of thriving debate, intellect, and diversity; a country that should be able to confront its darkest aspects and rectify its mistakes. There are many stories like mine. There are thousands who have faced worse, including imprisonment and torture for their work. My hope is that India won’t be indifferent to the stories told and the questions raised about the tactics the Indian government uses to suppress dissent. If individuals are targeted for no recognisable crimes, then this diminishes the democratic essence of a country that prides itself as being the world’s largest.