Pinarayi Vijayan writes to Narendra Modi, to look into deportation of Filippo Osella from Thiruvanathapuram airport

Pinararyi Vijayan asked to take serious note of the same  with due  seriousness and urged the prime minister to issue instructions to prevent such incidents in future

Thiruvananthapuram :Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to look into  the deportation of Prof Filippo Osella’,well-known anthropologist  from the Thiruvananthapuram airport last week.

Prof Filippo Osella is a professor of Anthropology and South Asian Studies at the University of Sussex, United Kingdom. He came to  Kerala during the  last week to attend a seminar at Cochin University of Science and Technology.

“India 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  Chief Minister Vijayan to the Prime Minister.

Earlier Filippo Osella had told that he was denied entry by Indian authorities without any explanation. Immigration officer at the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) at the Thiruvananthapuram airport said that he  was denied entry as per orders from higher officials. No reason can be revealed,” he said.

Osella is  associated with  Kerala since 1980s. He has written  and publishe many papers on the lives of people, relationships, trends and reforms within communities in the state. India needs to continue the tradition of being friendly and welcoming to scholars, Pinarayi Vijayan wrote in his letter to PM Modi. Osella was deported from the Thiruvananthapuram airport on March 24.