Kerala CM Vijayan writes to PM Modi, urges him to look into deportation of anthropologist Filippo Osella

In the letter to Modi, Vijayan said the matter should be looked into with the seriousness it deserves and urged the prime minister to issue instructions to prevent such incidents in the future.

Vijayan said that Osella, professor of Anthropology and South Asian Studies at University of Sussex, United Kingdom, had come to attend a seminar at Cochin University of Science and Technology. “Our country has a rich tradition of welcoming foreign scholars and social scientists, who showed interest in conducting extensive field studies in various places covering diverse aspects of our social life and economy. These scholars have produced valuable research publications. We need to continue this tradition of being friendly and welcoming to scholars. It is distressful that a reputed scholar like Prof Osella had to face deportation at Thiruvananthapuram airport when he arrived to participate in a seminar in Kochi,’’ wrote Vijayan.

After he was deported on March 24, Osella said in an email to The Indian Express that he was denied entry by Indian authorities without any explanation. When contacted, an immigration officer at the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) at the Thiruvananthapuram airport said the reason for Osella’s deportation could be revealed. “He was denied entry as per orders from higher officials. No reason can be revealed,” he said.

Osella is a specialist in Kerala society and has conducted extensive research for over 30 years in the state, mapping its social and cultural transformation.

Osella, whose association with India, especially Kerala, started in the late 1980s, has published extensively on the lives of people, relationships, trends and reforms within communities in the state. Among his recent works is an exploration of the emergence of various strands of Islamic reforms in Kerala, and the relationship between religious practice, politics and economic action.