Latest news with #Section7D
Mint
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Mint
OCI explained – the status under which UK professor Nitasha Kaul lost citizenship for ‘anti-India acts'
The Ministry of Home Affairs has launched the revamped portal for Overseas Citizens of India (OCI), a special status for Indian nationals residing in another country, which will provide a user-friendly experience for accessing OCI services. Home Minister Amit Shah, on Tuesday, in a post on social media, stressed that Indian-origin citizens residing in various countries "must face no inconvenience when visiting or staying in India." Incidentally, the launch happened just two days after Nitasha Kaul, a British Kashmiri Professor of Politics and International Relations at London's University of Westminster, claimed that her OCI was cancelled by the Indian authorities over alleged 'anti-India activities'.According to PTI report, Kaul has been accused of 'numerous inimical writings, speeches and journalistic activities at various international forums and on social media platforms' that target 'India and its institutions on the matters of India's sovereignty'. Also read | Big relief for academic Ashok Swain: Delhi High Court sets aside govt's order cancelling OCI Card OCI, or Overseas Citizenship of India, is a special status granted to individuals of Indian origin who are citizens of another country. It allows them to travel to and stay in India without restrictions, offering a lifelong, multiple-entry visa, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs. The OCI scheme was introduced in 2005 through an amendment to the Citizenship Act of 1955. It enables Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) to register as OCI holders, provided they were citizens of India on or after 26 January 1950, or were eligible to become citizens on that date. However, those who are or have been citizens of Pakistan or Bangladesh - or whose parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents were - are not eligible. The new OCI portal aims to fix past issues and make the process easier for users. It incorporates the latest technology and feedback from OCI cardholders over the years. The portal offers several helpful features, such as account sign-up, automatic filling of profile details in OCI application forms, an online payment system, and clear guidance on which documents to upload based on the type of application. The current OCI services portal, developed in 2013, is active in over 180 Indian missions worldwide and 12 FRROs within India, handling around 2,000 applications each day. The MHA cancelled 57 OCI registrations in 2024, which is almost half the total number of such cancellations made in the past 10 years, according to a report by The Hindu. From 2014 to mid-2023, the MHA executed cancellations OCI registrations 122 times under Section 7D of the Citizenship Act, 1955. The number of cancellations rose sharply in 2024, and 15 more have already been made this year (until 19 May), the report further added. Recently, Kaul received a cancellation notice from the Indian government under Section 7D. The academic described the move as a 'vindictive, cruel example of transnational repression' and accused the Central government of 'targeting' her for expressing her views. Professor Nitasha Kaul is an Indian-origin British citizen who works as a scholar in the UK. A Professor of Politics, International Relations, and Critical Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Westminster in London, Prof Kaul also describes herself as a 'Kashmiri novelist'. Her focus areas include "right-wing politics, postcolonial neoliberal nationalism, the Hindutva project in India, and the history and politics of Kashmir".
The Hindu
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
194 OCI registrations cancelled under citizenship law since 2014: RTI
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) cancelled 57 Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) registrations under Section 7D of the Citizenship Act, 1955, in 2024, which was nearly half the number of cancellations in the previous 10 years, according to data obtained by The Hindu under the Right to Information Act. The MHA executed the cancellations under Section 7D 122 times from 2014 to 2023 (decadal data until mid-2023 was first reported that year by legal news portal Article 14), 57 times in 2024, and fifteen times until May 19 this year. British academic Nitasha Kaul received a notice about the cancellation of her OCI registration under Section 7D this month. 'Through your numerous inimical writings, speeches, and journalistic activities at various international forums and on social media platforms, you regularly target India and its institutions on the matters of India's sovereignty,' stated the Union government's notice to Ms. Kaul. The academic has called the move a 'vindictive, cruel example of transnational repression' while accusing the Central government of 'targeting' her for her views. Under Section 7D, the Union government can issue notice to an OCI holder and cancel their registration, essentially barring them from entering India, on any of the these four grounds: the use of fraudulent means to obtain the OCI, withholding of information, displaying 'disaffection' with the Constitution, and aiding an 'enemy' during a war. OCI is the Indian response to demands for recognition of dual nationality, and OCI card holders, typically people of Indian descent who no longer live in the country or foreign nationals married to Indians, have historically been able to travel freely within India and work in the country, with the caveat that they cannot vote or own agricultural land. OCI cancellations have spiked in recent years. Some of the people whose registrations were cancelled have linked the actions with their political views and dissent. In 2021, the Union government added further restrictions on OCI registrations by requiring an additional permit from the MHA for journalists, missionaries, and mountaineers. French journalist Vanessa Dougnac's registration was cancelled in 2024, but she was reissued the card in March this year. The OCI registration of Sweden-based academic Ashok Swain was cancelled in 2023. He alleged that he was being 'witch-hunted' for his views on the 'political dispensation of the current government'. The Delhi High Court cancelled the order revoking his OCI in March while allowing the government to restart the process. U.S. journalist Raphael Satter, working for the newswire agency Reuters, similarly had his OCI registration revoked in 2023. Mr. Satter approached the Delhi High Court against it this March. The court has issued a notice to the Union government. The case has been scheduled for Thursday.
