Renowned Anthropologist Deported To UK After Arrival At Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: A renowned anthropologist and sociologist from the UK was denied entry and deported to his country after he landed in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday.

Filippo Osella, Professor of Anthropology and South Asian Studies at University of Sussex, is a specialist on Kerala society, having conducted extensive research for more than 30 years in the southern state.

Osella, whose association with India dates back to the late 1980s, was scheduled to attend a conference on Kerala’s coastal communities on Friday.

Osella confirmed to The Indian Express in an email from Dubai airport — where he was waiting to board a flight to the UK — that he was denied entry to India without any explanation.

“He was denied entry as per orders from higher officials. No reason can be revealed,” an immigration officer at Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) at Thiruvananthapuram airport said.

According to Osella, he was told to contact the flight assistants as he was deboarding from an Emirate flight at Thiruvananthapuram.

“I was taken to the immigration desk, and processed as is normally done. But after they scanned my passport, took my photo and fingerprints, they told me that I was not allowed to enter India, and that I would be deported immediately… Indeed, the decision had already been taken prior to my arrival, as an Emirates employee was already there to arrange my deportation via Dubai flight,” Osella told the Express.

Immigration personnel refused to explain why he was not allowed in, and deported, Osella said, adding that he was only told that it was a ‘government of India decision/order’.

His one-year research visa is valid till mid-April, and his return flight was “well before the expiry date”.