‘Forced’ To Leave India After Working For 23 Years, Claims French Journalist

New Delhi: French journalist Vanessa Dougnac, who was based in India for 23 years, claimed that she was being forced to leave the country by the Central government.

Vanessa, married to an Indian national, was recently issued a notice by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) over the cancellation of her Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) status – that allows her to live and work in India — due to “malicious” reporting.

“Last month, I was sent a notice that accused me and my articles of being ‘malicious’, of harming the ‘interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India’ and required me to respond to why my OCI card should not be cancelled. The notice further claimed that my articles could ‘provoke disorder and disturb peace’,” Vanessa said in a statement shared with The Indian Express on Friday.

She was given time till February 2 to respond.

“I am fighting these accusations before the competent forums and I have full faith in the legal process. But I can’t afford to wait for its outcome. The proceedings with respect to my OCI status have shattered me, especially now that I see them as part of a wider effort by the Government of India to curb dissent from the OCI community,” she said.

“Today, I am unable to work and have been unfairly accused of prejudicing the interests of the state. It has become clear that I cannot keep living in India and earning my livelihood,” Vanessa said.

“I am being forced to leave by the Government of India. The MHA denied my right to work 16 months ago… no reason, justification was provided,” Indian Express quoted from her statement.

Vanessa lamented leaving a country “where I came 25 years ago as a student, and where I have worked for 23 years as a journalist… the place where I married, raised my son, and which I call my home.”

Vanessa, who worked as South Asia correspondent for media outlets like La Croix, Le Point, Le Temps and Le Soir, has written on various topics including Maoist insurgency in India.

French officials had raised Vanessa’s case during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to India last month.

“They (France) appreciate this understanding that the frame of reference in which we are looking at is the compliance of the rules,” India’s Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said during a press briefing in January.

Neither MHA nor French Foreign ministry made any immediate comment on Vanessa’s departure from India.