Sébastien Farcis, a seasoned French journalist, has reported that he was compelled to leave India following the Ministry of Home Affairs’ decision to deny the renewal of his journalist visa. Farcis, who served as the India correspondent for Radio France Internationale and Libération, expressed his dismay over the unexplained work ban.
“I was forced to leave India on June 17, a country where I have lived and worked for 13 years as a South Asia correspondent for several international media outlets,” Farcis said in a statement. He detailed how, three months prior on March 7, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) refused to renew his journalist permit. Despite his efforts to seek clarification and appeal the decision, he received no justification for the ban, which has left him without income and the ability to continue his work.
Après 13 ans à couvrir l'Inde pour @RFI , @radiofrance et @libe, les autorités indiennes ont refusé de renouveler mon permis de travail.
J'ai donc été forcé de quitter le pays.
Mon communiqué ci-dessous. pic.twitter.com/vyrK4lKL0V— Sébastien Farcis (@sebfarcis) June 20, 2024
Farcis, who has been reporting from India since 2011, noted that he had always complied with Indian regulations for foreign journalists, securing the necessary visas and accreditations. “I have adhered to all regulations and have never reported from restricted areas without proper permits. The MHA has even granted me permits to report from border regions on multiple occasions,” he said.
He expressed shock at the timing of the ban, which coincided with the eve of the Indian general elections, preventing him from covering this significant event. Farcis, who is married to an Indian woman and holds Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) status, lamented the abruptness and lack of explanation for the expulsion, which has disrupted his life and uprooted his family from what he considers his second home.
Sébastien Farcis is not alone in facing difficulties as a foreign journalist in India. In recent years, several other journalists have also encountered significant hurdles, leading to their expulsion or departure from the country.
Angad Singh: An American journalist and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholder, Singh, who produces documentaries for Vice News, was deported from New Delhi in August 2022 upon arrival. Authorities deemed his 2020 documentary “India Burning” to be overly critical, accusing him of “anti-national propaganda.” By January 2023, the government had classified him as a “blacklisted subject,” a designation they communicated to the Delhi High Court.
Aatish Taseer: A writer and columnist born in Britain and raised in India, Taseer’s OCI card was revoked in November 2019, six months after he published an article in Time magazine that referred to Prime Minister Modi as “Divider in Chief.” The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) cited his failure to disclose that his father, the late Salman Taseer, was a Pakistani national, as the reason for the revocation.
Vanessa Dougnac: A seasoned South Asia correspondent based in Delhi for more than two decades, Dougnac worked for four French publications, including La Croix. She initially came to India as a student, later becoming a journalist, marrying, and raising a son in the country. However, in September 2022, the MHA informed her that she was banned from working as a journalist in India. By January 2024, the MHA reportedly threatened to revoke her OCI card, accusing her of “malicious reporting” that allegedly painted a negative picture of India, incited disorder, and involved unauthorized travel to restricted areas and reporting on neighboring countries. Dougnac left India in February 2024, marking the end of one of the longest tenures for a foreign correspondent in the country.
Avani Dias: Serving as the South Asia bureau chief for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Dias was told that her visa would not be extended due to her reporting on the murder of Canadian Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, which had become a contentious issue in diplomatic circles. In a June 16 statement, Dias claimed that the Indian government had pressured YouTube and Facebook to remove her videos. She had applied for a visa renewal in January 2024 while working on a documentary in Punjab, but left India on the day the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections commenced. Indian authorities have disputed her account, asserting that her visa was extended on April 18, a day before she was scheduled to return to Australia.
In June 2023, the last remaining journalist from China’s Xinhua News Agency in India was denied a visa extension and subsequently left the country, adding to the growing list of foreign journalists forced to exit India.