Indian authorities decline visa for Kshama Sawant amid political uproar
In a surprising turn of events, Kshama Sawant, a former Seattle City Council member of Indian-American origin, has been denied a visa to visit her ailing 82-year-old mother in Bengaluru, India, for the third time since May 2024. This denial comes amidst a series of similar experiences for Swedish Indian-origin professor Ashok Swain and British writer of Indian origin Nitasha Kaul.
Sawant, who led Seattle to become the first U.S. city to ban caste-based discrimination in February 2023, has been a vocal critic of India's Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC). Her office passed a resolution condemning these policies and expressing solidarity with India's farmers' protests against certain government policies.
The Indian government, however, has not provided an official explanation for Sawant's visa denials. Some critics contend that these actions suppress dissent and discourage critical discourse.
Sawant's appeal to India's External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, in June 2024, received no response. She has since initiated an online petition urging the Indian government to grant her and her husband visas to visit her ailing mother.
Notably, the Indian embassy or consulate responsible for the applicant's location is the authority that decides on visa applications. Typically, visa requests for India are processed online, but approvals are made by Indian immigration authorities connected to the Ministry of Home Affairs or the Bureau of Immigration in India.
The visa denials have raised concerns among supporters of Sawant and other critics of the Indian government. Some argue that these actions are political retaliation by India's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.
As the Indian government plans to implement an Online Gaming Law starting from October 1, debates surrounding freedom of speech and political dissent continue to intensify. Some supporters of the government's actions argue that such measures are necessary to protect national security and sovereignty.
However, the ongoing visa denials for Kshama Sawant and others like her have sparked a broader conversation about the Indian government's approach to dissenting voices and its potential impact on democratic values and human rights.
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