Vanessa Dougnac, a freelance French journalist living in India for 25 years, saw her life turned upside down on January 18. That day, at her apartment in New Delhi, she was given an envelope from the Indian Ministry of the Interior. For her, this was good news. "Then I read the letter. It was the complete opposite. It was really bad news."
The official letter informed the reporter of the revocation of her resident status.
Aged 51, Vanessa Dougnac worked for 23 years as a correspondent in India for a number of French newspapers, notably La Croix and Le Point. This country has become her home: the wife of an Indian citizen, she also has a son.
But this January 18, his name joins a list made up of those who criticize, abroad, Hindu nationalist policies of the government of Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and who are prohibited from entering the territory, according to the NGO Human Rights Watch.
The bans are part of the Modi administration's broader crackdown on Indian citizenship laws. But the aim of the "ever growing arsenal of laws and policies" is singular: "to target and punish dissident voices", explains Amnesty International in a press release, highlighting the human rights abuses which have multiplied in India during the ten years of power of Narendra Modi.
Ahead of the 2024 legislative elections, which begin April 19 and are expected to return Narendra Modi for a third term, experts warn: India's centuries-old democracy is being reshaped into an intolerant, majority-Hindu nation to dissent and minority religious communities.
A rich Indian diaspora
Vanessa Dougnac held an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card, which is in the form of a sky blue document – resembling a passport – giving her a visa and residence rights.
OCI is a form of permanent residency granted to people of Indian origin and their spouses. © Handout
Since India does not authorize dual nationality, OCI cards are then issued, for an amount of 275 dollars, to foreign citizens of Indian origin and the spouses of Indian citizens. Nearly four million people are affected to date.
You should know that the Indian diaspora is the largest in the world, with nearly 18 million people in 2020, according to UN figures. It is also one of the richest. In 2022, remittances to India hit a record of nearly $108 billion – about 3% of GDP – more than any other country. This resident status is yet another attempt by different governments to exploit the economic potential of the diaspora.
However, the term "citizen" of India abroad is misleading as the holder does not have the guarantees of citizenship or the right to vote.
An element which had hardly aroused protest until the re-election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019 and the introduction of new regulations on citizenship and visa.
“The procedures concerning my OCI status broke me”
Within months, the Indian parliament, dominated by the ruling BJP party, passed a controversial citizenship law, which sparked deadly protests in the country.
On January 18, 2020, protests against new citizenship regulations in New Delhi. © Altaf Qadri, AP
The new law, which offers citizenship to non-Muslim migrants and refugees from neighboring countries, has been widely criticized for its discrimination, particularly against practitioners of Islam.
However, regulations have become even stricter. In 2021, India required its "citizens" abroad to seek "special permission" to "undertake" research, journalistic, missionary or mountaineering "activities".
So when Vanessa Dougnac received the letter from the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO), she thought she had finally received her permit to practice journalism, which had been refused to her in September 2022, for no reason given. Against all expectations, she was accused, in this letter, of harming “the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India”. It is up to her to explain the reasons why her OCI should not be canceled.
Despite various appeals, almost a month later, the independent journalist had to return to France.
In a press release released on February 16, Vanessa Dougnac emphasized that it had become “clear that I could no longer live in India and earn my living. I am fighting these accusations before the competent authorities and I have great confidence in the legal process. But I can't afford to wait for his results. The procedures regarding my OCI status have broken me," she said.
Refusal due to “animus” towards India
The list of shattered lives has grown in recent months, perpetuating a climate of fear among Indians abroad. An investigative report, published on February 12 by the Indian news site Article 14, revealed that more than 102 Citizen of India statuses abroad were canceled between 2014 and 2023.
Many OCI status holders prefer not to speak out on the subject for fear of derailing their appeals procedures and being deprived of the opportunity to see their families again, particularly elderly parents and sick relatives.
Some cases even made the news. Like that of the American-British writer and journalist Aatish Taseer, whose OCI was revoked in 2019, after an article for Time magazine on Hindu nationalism advocated by Narendra Modi, described in the title as "chief divider of India.”
Indian authorities have accused Aatish Taseer of "trying to conceal" his father's Pakistani nationality. An argument refuted by the journalist, who was raised in India by his single mother and wrote a book, in 2009, about his trip to meet his father, the former governor of Pakistani Punjab Salman Taseer – assassinated two years later.
Official explanations for the cancellation of the recent round of OICs include ill-defined allegations of “animosities” towards India or “attempts to destabilize the social fabric” of the country.
“In some cases, authorities openly cited criticism of the BJP's government policies to justify visa revocation,” says Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
“Of course, every government has the right to determine who can and cannot benefit from a visa. But these rights cannot be based on discriminatory ideas,” she explains.
"All democracy is based on a fundamental principle of allowing dissent. This is what distinguishes it from authoritarianism. Now, all dissent and all ideas may not be accepted by the state. But the fact that these opinions are expressed should not be immediately seen as a criticism of the country, but rather as a criticism of the policies pursued by governments, which are called upon to change.
“I miss India”
In its attempts to ensure that the government does not change after the 2024 general elections, the Modi administration has increased election promises popular with the BJP's Hindu nationalist base.
On March 11, just weeks before the elections, the Indian government announced the implementation of the new citizenship law. Approved by Parliament in 2019, the Modi government delayed its application after the deadly protests.
The United States expressed “concern,” with a State Department spokesperson emphasizing that Washington is “closely monitoring how this law will be implemented.”
This concern was echoed by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. “As we said in 2019, we are concerned that the Indian Citizenship Act, 2019 (CAA) is fundamentally discriminatory in nature and at odds with India's international human rights obligations. 'Man,' a spokesperson said.
This is an "internal matter", an Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson told reporters in New Delhi, adding that the US State Department's statement was "inappropriate, ill-informed and unjustified." .
But for Meenakshi Ganguly, changes in citizenship and residency laws deserve attention from India's democratic allies, particularly measures affecting their own nationals of Indian origin. "This needs to have the attention of foreign governments, because there is a lot of interest in the Indian market and strategic partnerships. These are legitimate interests. But when they want to do business with India, foreign governments need to be aware that any desire for partnership between democracies is seriously compromised if the government (Indian, Editor's note) is repressive against freedom of expression and against its detractors", she indicates.
As India heads towards crucial elections, Vanessa Dougnac is in France, thousands of miles away. "I covered elections in India for 20 years. Now, for the first time, I won't be there covering them. I miss India." she says.
As her appeal continues through the Indian courts, the French journalist says she is still in a state of shock. “Really, it’s too much emotion for me,” she said. "I have led a life full of adventure and interaction across the subcontinent, and have had the opportunity to witness two decades of Indian history. Now that I am in France, I have the impression of being in exile in my own country."
This article has been translated from the original into English.
The France 24 summary of the week
invites you to look back at the news that marked the week
I subscribe
Take international news everywhere with you! Download the France 24 application