Critic stripped of automatic right to return to India
Dr Sapna Samant. Photo: Supplied via RNZ
An Indian New Zealander has been stripped of her automatic right to return to her home country, being told she has tried to "fuel disharmony" among the community.
GP and filmmaker Dr Sapna Samant was warned in January her Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) status could be revoked, but she was allowed a written appeal.
The decision has now been upheld by the Indian High Commission in Wellington.
It has not replied to requests for comment.
"It has been brought to the notice of the government of India that [Samant] has reportedly involved herself in activities that are inimicable to the sovereignty and integrity of India and the interests of the general public," the High Commission's letter said.
It named her Twitter account, YouTube Channel, and a broadcast on radio station 95bFM.
"Contents used by the foreigner on the said platforms can cause disharmony among various members and sections of the diaspora and Indian society.
"She has been active in anti-India activities, and is often found carrying out anti-India propaganda. She has been issuing posts/tweets extensively, calling India an 'authoritarian country' and a 'majoritarian terrorist regime'. She has been trying to fuel disharmony among various members and sections of the Indian of the India community."
The Commission's decision did not mention one of the more controversial grounds given in January for rescinding her OCI - her involvement with the Green Party, or specifically, her presence on its website.
She stood as a candidate in the 2023 elections.
It said her appeal was "bereft of plausible explanation" and had not clarified or submitted facts which denied her role in the activities it had named.
First in New Zealand
The Indian government has cancelled more than 100 OCI cards over the last decade, but hers is believed to be the first in New Zealand.
The OCI is a status given to Indians who become New Zealand citizens, allowing them to keep certain birthrights - including travelling to India.
Samant said the appeal's outcome was not unexpected but was still disappointing, as she had held onto a little hope of a change of heart.
"It still makes me sad that we have to reach such a stage where India has fallen from being this vibrant democracy where arguing is a national trait," she said.
"And all kinds of perspectives were perfectly valid, because we all knew that we all loved India, and we want this country to flourish.
"India is an authoritarian regime country at this point. It's an electoral autocracy, so you have elections in the name of democracy, but your representatives are actually not about democracy."
It meant she could not visit India unless the Government changed, and she worried about Indians at home and overseas being 'silenced' by the government's approach, she said.
Supporters of Indian PM Narendra Modi deny the administration is a threat to an inclusive society.
Samant said she had been hoping to take her foster son to India this year, and that she had received 'solidarity' from activist colleagues and friends.
"Nothing lasts forever. And I have great faith that I will visit my ancestral temple one day, which is on the west coast of India in a little village. I'm not sad that I can't ever go or I won't ever go, but I am sad in the moment. But I also know that there's a bigger cause. I'm not trying to make myself into a martyr, but it's a collective force."
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