Noted UK anthropologist Filippo Osella deported from Kerala airport

Filippo Osella, 65, a renowned anthropologist and sociologist from the UK, was denied entry and deported to his country as he landed in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday morning. Osella, who is Professor of Anthropology and South Asian Studies at the University of Sussex, is a specialist in Kerala society and has conducted extensive research for over 30 years in the state, mapping its social and cultural transformation. Sources said he was to attend a conference in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday on Kerala’s coastal communities that was being organised by the Cochin University of Science and Technology; Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram; University of Kerala; and the University of Sussex.

Immigration officers have not cited any reason for the deportation. They told The Indian Express that they were given orders from higher authorities. The organisers of the event have also expressed surprise at the deportation. Osella said that he was asked to contact flight assistants when he was about to leave Thiruvananthapuram airport after landing early on Thursday morning. “I was taken to the immigration desk, and processed as it is normally done,” he told The Indian Express. “But after they scanned my passport, took my photo and fingerprints, they told me that I was not allowed to enter India, and that I would be deported immediately.” The anthropologist suspected that the decision to deport him had been taken before his arrival as an employee of the airline Emirates had already arranged for his flight via Dubai.He described the behaviour of the immigration supervisor as “extremely unfriendly and impolite”.“They refused to explain why I was not allowed in, and deported...[They] only said that it was a ‘government of India order’,” Osella said.