Nitasha Kaul: The UK Professor Who Said She Lost Overseas Citizenship For "Anti-India Activities"

British-Kashmiri academic Nitasha Kaul has alleged that the Indian authorities have revoked her Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) status over her alleged "anti-India activities."

Ms Kaul, a Professor of Politics at the University of Westminster, shared on X that the government accused her of being motivated by "malice" and spreading disinformation about India's sovereignty and democratic institutions.

The move follows her 2024 denial of entry into India, when she was invited to speak at a Bengaluru conference.

Who Is Nitasha Kaul?

Nitasha Kaul is a Kashmiri novelist, Politics/International Relations academic, poet, economist and artist living in London. She was reportedly born in Uttar Pradesh and her family had migrated from Srinagar.

According to reports, she completed her Bachelor's degree in Economics from Sri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi.

Ms Kaul completed a Joint PhD in Economics and Philosophy at the University of Hull, UK.

She began her academic career as a Seminar Tutor and Lecturer in Economics at the University of Bath and later taught at the University of the West of England, Bristol. She also held a position in Creative Writing at Royal Thimphu College, Bhutan, before moving into Politics and International Relations at the University of Westminster. Starting as a Visiting Lecturer, she gradually rose through the ranks and now serves as a Reader/Associate Professor in Politics and International Relations. 

Between 2007 and 2015, she was a Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Democracy in London. In 2008, she became an Honorary Fellow at the University of Bristol. She was a Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University in Canberra in 2009 and at the Central University of Hyderabad in 2010. In 2011, she worked as a Fellow at the Centre for Bhutan Studies.

Her first novel, Residue, about Kashmiris outside Kashmir, was shortlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2009, even before it was published.

She has received many important research grants and awards. In 2018, she got a British Academy/Leverhulme grant to study democracy in Bhutan. She also won several awards from the University of Westminster between 2019 and 2024.

Ms Kaul also reviews research grants for big groups like the European Research Council and UKRI, and helps with US-UK projects on responsible AI and security research.

In February 2024, Nitasha Kaul was invited by the Karnataka government to speak at a seminar on India's Constitution. Upon arrival at the Bengaluru Airport, she was denied entry and deported back to the UK.