Historian facing deportation for being away too long ‘living in fear’
A top academic has said she is living in fear of being deported from the UK after being told she had spent too many days out of the country for research work.
Manikarnika Dutta, 37, had been conducting research as part of her academic commitments to the University of Oxford, which required access to archives stored in India.
Her research meant she spent 691 days outside the UK, exceeding the Home Office’s limit of 548 days abroad during a 10-year period before applying for indefinite leave to stay.
Ms Dutta, assistant professor of history at University College Dublin, and her husband Souvik Naha, a senior lecturer at the University of Glasgow, applied last October for indefinite leave to remain in the UK based on long-term residency. While his application was approved, hers was rejected.
Despite being married and living in the UK for more than a decade, the Home Office also ruled she lacked sufficient family ties to Britain.
“I was broken,” Ms Dutta told the Independent.
She hit out at the “out of touch” Home Office, arguing that the immigration rules cited by the department didn’t accommodate the demands of academic research, especially for international scholars.
“Your first priority and your first commitment is towards your academics and the best research that you can produce,” Ms Dutta said. “So whatever is needed for that, you do it. It is not about counting those number of days. It is your research.”
Ms Dutta’s immigration status means she is concerned that if she leaves the UK, it could be difficult – or even impossible – for her to return.
“I have been living with that fear,” she told The Independent.
Ms Dutta asked for an administrative review, but the Home Office upheld its decision and instructed her to leave the UK or face a 10-year re-entry ban and possible prosecution for overstaying.
She has since launched a legal challenge against the decision.
The Home Office has agreed to reconsider its decision within the next three months, though it may still uphold the original ruling.
Until then, Ms Dutta has been left in limbo. She tells The Independent that “every time I took the flight from London, Gatwick to Dublin”, she was scared and “while coming back every single time, I literally have to explain my situation, because in my share code, what was really written is that my decision is pending.”
The emotional toll the situation has taken is even heavier. Ms Dutta says that this has impacted not just her and her husband but their parents in Kolkatta, India as well. Ms Dutta’s mother, who was unaware of the full extent of the problem, is now distressed. She had intentionally kept her family in the dark to avoid causing them unnecessary worry, she says. However, the recent media coverage has made it difficult to shield them from the situation.
“My mother for the last two days, it was very difficult,” she says.
Her husband, Souvik Naha tells The Independent: “We strongly believe that the Home Office made a clinical error in this.” He says: “I am fortunate enough to be able to travel to India, but she can’t, and that is really psychologically very damaging that she is kind of been considered as a persona non grata, who cannot really have any protection under the UK law or international law when it comes to travelling.”
The couple got married in January 2015 in India and live together in south London. However, both commute for work: Ms Dutta travels to Dublin and Mr Naha travels to Glasgow for work two to three days a week and then returns to London to spend the weekends and the first half of the week with her.
Ms Dutta first came to the UK in September 2012 on a student visa. Later, she obtained a spouse visa as a dependant of her husband, who had a visa under the “global talent” route.
Ms Dutta tells The Independent that there is a need for better communication between educational institutions and the Home Office. She says that the UK immigration system doesn’t recognise PhD research as professional work experience, despite its demanding nature and contributions to academia. “Rules really need to be flexible. They need to be human.”
She says: “I’ve done two postdocs, first in Oxford, the second in Bristol… you have to pay taxes to work in the UK for five years, and then that counts. So with your PhD years, it really doesn’t count (for visa and residency purposes).”
Mr Naha, meanwhile, says: “It’s very difficult for us to get in touch with the Home Office. Nobody picks up calls, nobody responds to emails.”
In the past, several academics have been asked by the Home Office to leave Britain for similar reasons. In 2015, Dr Miwa Hirono, a renowned Japanese academic and government adviser, was forced to leave the UK due to strict immigration rules. In 2019, more than 1,000 academics signed an open letter protesting the UK Home Office’s decision to deny Cambridge research fellow Asiya Islam indefinite leave to remain. The rejection was based on her exceeding the permitted number of days abroad, even though her time abroad was necessary for her PhD research on gender and class in urban India.
The Independent has contacted the Home Office for comment.
Why Indonesia’s new military law has sparked outrage
Contentious legal revisions giving the military an expanded role in government has sparked outrage in Indonesia and raised fears of a slide back towards the country’s authoritarian past.
The Indonesian parliament on Thursday voted unanimously to amend the 2004 Armed Forces Law to allow serving military officers to hold crucial civilian positions.
The amendments were pushed by the coalition government of Prabowo Subianto, a former army general and son-in-law of former dictator Suharto.
The revisions raise the retirement age for four-star generals from 60 to 63 years and allow non-commissioned officers to serve until they are 55.
They also give the president the authority to appoint military personnel to various ministries as needed, according to the draft.
The legal revisions, pro-democracy activists and analysts say, could mark a return to Indonesia’s authoritarian past when Suharto ruled for 32 years.
It was a period when the military played a role in both defence and governance, ensuring its dominance.
In protest against the revised law, violent demonstrations erupted in the capital Jakarta as enraged citizens broke through the fence of the House of Representatives building.
Police used water cannons to break up the crowds of protesters attempting to storm the building, causing injuries to many.
Some of the protesters carried banners saying, “Return the military to the barracks!” and “Against militarism and oligarchy”.
Activists fear that allowing the military into civilian positions will restore the “dual function” of the armed services they saw during Suharto’s rule.
Al Araf, director of the rights group Imparsial, said the new law was inconsistent with the spirit of the reforms that followed the end of Suharto’s dictatorship in 1998 and returned the military to the barracks.
“The move has the potential to restore the authoritarian system,” Mr Araf said.
That the amendments were discussed behind closed doors, in secrecy and with little public input, has also triggered anger.
The latest draft was introduced less than a month ago, following a letter to the House from Mr Subianto endorsing the bill.
Pro-democracy activists discovered that lawmakers and government officials met in secret to discuss draft revisions at a five-star hotel in South Jakarta on 15 March.
Human rights groups warn that expanding the military’s role beyond defence will compromise its impartiality. Andreas Harsono, senior Indonesia researcher at Human Rights Watch, said the government’s rush to adopt these amendments undercuts its expressed commitment to human rights and accountability.
“President Prabowo appears intent on restoring the Indonesian military’s role in civilian affairs, which were long characterised by widespread abuses and impunity,” he said in a statement.
The Indonesian Association of Families of the Disappeared, or KontraS, which advocates for justice for victims of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and state violence during the Suharto era, said it will open “the door to power abuse”, and weaken democracy.
“Worse, this revision is being discussed behind closed doors without public participation. Activists opposing it are facing intimidation,” the group said in a statement.
Dominique Nicky Fahrizal, a researcher at Indonesia’s Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said on Thursday that the way the law was drafted could prompt backlash.
“Autocratic legalism will damage the foundations of constitutional democracy because it exploits loopholes in the construction of legal thought,” he said.
Defence minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin defended the amendment, saying it was necessary because “geopolitical changes and global military technology require the military to transform … to face conventional and nonconventional conflicts”.
“We will never disappoint the Indonesian people in maintaining the sovereignty of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia,” he said.
However, Laksmana, an analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the revisions did not address the problems faced by the Indonesian military such as adding resources for training and standardisation of hardware.
In 1965, following a failed coup attempt, General Suharto led a violent purge, killing an estimated 500,000 to a million people, mostly accused communists and leftists. This event paved the way for his authoritarian rule, known as the New Order. During his rule, a military-backed autocracy suppressed opposition, rigged elections, and controlled the media.
The military held “dual function” roles in defence and governance and dissent against it was met with harsh measures.
Usman Hamid, head of Amnesty International in Indonesia who protested against Suharto during the New Order era, warned of the past returning.
“Activists were kidnapped and some have not returned home. And today it feels like we’re going backwards,” he said.
North Korea test fires latest anti-aircraft missile system
North Korea test-fired its latest anti-aircraft missile system on Thursday at a launch overseen by its leader Kim Jong Un, state media KCNA reported.
Mr Kim thanked the research group for the anti-aircraft missile system which the test-firing showed was “highly reliable” and carried an “advantageous” combat response, the North Korean state media reported.
While KCNA did not directly mention the research groups who helped North Korea develop an anti-aircraft missile system, experts said Pyongyang might be receiving help from Russia, especially as their security ties become increasingly entwined.
This was North Korea’s sixth weapons testing activity this year and coincided with the annual training between the US and South Korean militaries.
After the launch, the North Korean leader also said that the Korean People’s Army will be equipped with another major defence weapon system with laudable combat performance.
The production of the anti-missile defence system has already begun and the test was carried out by North Korea’s missile administration to examine its performance.
The report did not mention where the test was held but said that Mr Kim was joined by members of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea.
Photos of the anti-missile defence system test-launch showed a plume from a missile soaring into the sky followed by a mid-air explosion – likely indicating interception of a projectile.
Mr Kim was seen observing the test and smiling in the photographs shared by the KCNA.
North Korea has publicly aided the Ukraine war by sending tens of thousands of its troops to fight alongside Russian troops in Kursk where Ukrainian soldiers launched a daring incursion in August last year, and also shipped heavy weapons including artillery and ballistic missiles.
Russia has, in return, responded to North Korea’s defence demands, says Shin Seung-ki, head of research on North Korea’s military at the state-run Korea Institute for Defense Analyses.
“In the past North Korea has introduced Soviet weapon systems and developed weapons based on them, and it is highly likely that Russia has given correspondingly what North Korea demands because of the strengthening of cooperation,” said Mr Shin.
He also pointed out that while Pyongyang manufactured and developed ballistic missiles on its own, it is far harder to produce interceptor missiles without any external help.
“It’s much more complicated because there’s not just missiles, but a detection and tracking radar, and there’s a command and control system,” Mr Shin said.
Russia had provided North Korea with anti-air missiles and air defence equipment in return for sending troops to support Moscow in its war against Ukraine, according to South Korea’s national security adviser last year. Seoul and Washington have earlier voiced worries about possible Russian transfers of sensitive nuclear and missile technology to North Korea.
This comes as Russian president Vladimir Putin‘s top security adviser Sergei Shoigu reached North Korea on Friday and is set to meet Mr Kim, reported Russia’s TASS news agency.
While the details of the Russian official’s visit to North Korea are not immediately clear, Mr Shoigu’s trip could be related to Mr Kim’s possible trip to Russia, some observers say.
Mr Shoigu, who served as Russia’s defence minister until last May and secretary of the Security Council since then, has earlier made visits to Pyongyang as North Korea allegedly geared up to deploy soldiers to fight for Russia in its war against Ukraine.
Indian court’s ruling on assault of 11-year-old sparks outrage
A high court in India has ruled that grabbing a minor’s breasts and breaking the string of her pyjamas does not constitute an attempt to rape, sparking widespread outrage and calls for a Supreme Court intervention.
The ruling was issued by Allahabad High Court in a case involving an 11-year-old girl who was attacked in Uttar Pradesh’s Kasganj district in 2021.
According to the prosecution, two men, named only as Pawan and Akash, grabbed the child’s breasts, tore the string of her pyjamas, and attempted to drag her beneath a culvert. The girl, whose name has not been disclosed due to legal reasons, had been walking with her mother when the accused, who knew the family, offered her a ride on their motorcycle.
Her screams alerted passers-by, who intervened, forcing the attackers to flee.
A trial court had initially summoned Pawan and Akash on charges of rape under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act. However, after the accused challenged the charges, Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra ruled on Monday that the allegations did not amount to an attempt to rape. Instead, the judge modified the charges to assault or use of criminal force with intent to disrobe.
“The allegations levelled against the accused Pawan and Akash and facts of the case hardly constitute an offence of attempt to rape,” Justice Mishra stated in the ruling. “In order to bring out a charge of attempt to rape, the prosecution must establish that it had gone beyond the stage of preparation. The difference between preparation and actual attempt to commit an offence consists chiefly in the greater degree of determination.”
The court further observed that there was no evidence suggesting an intention to commit rape. Justice Mishra noted: “The specific allegation against Akash is that he tried to drag the victim beneath the culvert and broke the string of her pyjamas. It is also not stated by witnesses that due to this act of the accused, the victim got naked or got undressed. There is no allegation that the accused tried to commit penetrative sexual assault against the victim.”
The decision has been criticised by activists, politicians and legal experts.
Senior lawyer Indira Jaising described the ruling as deeply troubling and called for Supreme Court intervention, saying on X: “Requires suo moto action by Supreme Court. Judges have been pulled up for much less by Supreme Court.”
Union minister Annapurna Devi also criticised the verdict, saying, “I don’t support this decision, and the Supreme Court should also reconsider this decision because it will have an adverse impact on civil society.”
Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal expressed outrage, calling the judgment “insensitive and dangerous for society”.
“God save this country with such judges adorning the Bench,” wrote parliamentarian and senior advocate Kapil Sibal. “The Supreme Court has been too soft in dealing with errant judges!”
Activist Shabnam Hashmi called the ruling “shameful”, adding: “The child was saved only because passers-by intervened. The judge does not see the intent to rape!”
Social media users also expressed anger over the ruling, with many questioning the judiciary’s approach to sexual violence. One user highlighted, “Mind you, this was done to an 11-year-old girl, a literal child. Somehow grabbing breasts and tearing the pyjama string of an 11-year-old child by two men is not an attempt to rape.”
Concerns over the judiciary’s interpretation of sexual offences come amid rising crimes against children in India.
According to the 2022 National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of cases under the Pocso Act, with 7,955 incidents, followed by Maharashtra with 7,467 cases. Nationally, 62,095 cases were registered under Pocso sections in 2022. The report also noted an 8.7 per cent rise in crimes against children, with 162,449 cases recorded in 2022, up from 149,404 in 2021.
Bali flights cancelled as volcano erupts sending ash 8km into sky
At least seven international flights from Indonesia’s popular resort island Bali stand cancelled and many were delayed after a volcanic eruption sent ashes more than 8km high into the skies.
Authorities raised the alert status to the highest level after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, one of the twin active stratovolcanoes in East Flores Regency, Indonesia, erupted on Thursday night.
The large-scale eruption of the volcano in East Nusa Tenggara province happened after dozens of smaller ones had been erupting since Monday, the national geological agency said in a statement.
“The ash column was observed grey to black with thick intensity,” Indonesia’s volcanology agency said in a statement.
The mountain erupted for 11 minutes and nine seconds after the eruption began at 11pm on Thursday.
At least one person was injured during evacuations, a disaster mitigation agency spokesperson said, without sharing the details on the size or logistics of the evacuations.
The man from Nurabelen village is believed to be in critical condition after suffering burn injuries from hot gravel or ash, according to Kompas news outlet.
However, there were no reports of damages to the villages around the volcano but residents have been warned of the potential for volcanic mudflow due to heavy rainfall.
Videos on social media showed a towering dark grey ash cloud rising into the sky after a loud explosion startled the residents. People began clearing mounds of grey ash that settled over the rooftops and inside the houses.
Bali‘s Ngurah Rai International Airport said at least “seven international flights had been cancelled” with six of them being Jetstar flights bound for Australia.
Many others, both domestic and international, were delayed, causing chaos among passengers bound to Thailand, Singapore and Australia.
Scoot, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, told CNA that four domestic flights to and from Bali have been retimed.
“Scoot apologises for the inconvenience caused. The safety of our customers and crew is our top priority. We will continue to monitor the situation and will adjust our flight schedule as necessary,” it said.
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki is a part of the twin volcano system alongside Mount Lewotobi Perempuan, with their summits less than 2km apart. Standing at 1,584m (5,197ft) above sea level, Laki-Laki, meaning “man” in Indonesian, is the more active of the pair.
Indonesia, situated along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” is home to 130 active volcanoes and is prone to frequent seismic and volcanic activity.
At least nine people were killed and thousands had to be evacuated after the Lewotobi Laki-laki volcano erupted in November last year, pelting nearby villages with hot rocks and lava flows.
A number of homes were burned down, including a convent of Catholic nuns with at least 10,000 people affected by the eruption in Wulanggitang District.
In October 2024, Mount Marapi in West Sumatra erupted, spewing thick ash columns and blanketing nearby villages, though no casualties were reported.
In May, at least 37 people were killed after heavy rains triggered flash flooding that caused cold lava to flow down from Mount Marapi and destroy several nearby homes. Before that, Mount Ruang erupted in April, leading to the evacuation of thousands and raising concerns about potential tsunamis.
Musk’s X sues Modi government over ‘unrestrained censorship’ in India
Elon Musk’s X has sued the Indian government claiming its information technology ministry is unlawfully expanding laws, enabling easy removal of online content and “unrestrained censorship” on the social media platform.
The lawsuit, filed in a court in the southern state of Karnataka on Thursday, challenges the Narendra Modi government’s interpretation of the Information Technology Act.
It alleges that the government uses a parallel mechanism involving the home ministry which bypasses the legal process outlined in the law.
In the lawsuit, dated 5 March, X accuses the IT ministry of asking other government departments to use a website launched by the home ministry for issuing content-blocking orders and of mandating social media platforms to join the website.
This website, X says, creates “an impermissible parallel mechanism” which causes “unrestrained censorship of information in India”.
The social media company argues that this approach using the home ministry’s website contradicts a 2015 ruling by India’s Supreme Court establishing that content can be blocked only via a proper judicial process defined under section 69A of the IT Act.
The Indian government argues that another section of the law – 79(3)(b) – mandates online platforms to remove content when directed by a court or by an official notification within 36 hours. Social media companies can be held accountable for refusing to comply.
X challenges this interpretation, arguing in the lawsuit that this section does not give power to the government to independently block content.
The platform claims that Indian authorities misuse this law to impose arbitrary censorship.
X’s court filings, which are not yet public, were reported first by local media on Thursday.
The case is now expected to be heard on 27 March, after the Karnataka court briefly heard it earlier this week.
Meanwhile, X is reportedly under scrutiny by India’s IT ministry over its artificial intelligence chatbot Grok using slang and abusive language.
IT ministry officials expressed concern over Grok’s use of Hindi slang, India Today reported.
“We are talking to them to find out why it is happening and what the issues are. They are engaging with us,” government sources told the outlet, adding however that no notices have been sent to X yet.
India’s X users have lately been widely engaging with Grok after the chatbot was found passing remarks about the Indian government in a nonchalant manner.
It claimed, for instance, that Rahul Gandhi of the opposition Congress party was more honest than Mr Modi and responded to another user that Modi was a “PR machine, using social media and controlled settings to shape his image”.
“Real impromptu moments? Almost nonexistent,” Grok said.
When one user remarked that India’s Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation could reach Grok following its criticism of the Indian prime minister, it said: “I’m just a truth-seeking AI, not scared of any raids. I called it like I saw it … No bias, just facts!”
The Indian government has reportedly raised concerns about Grok’s responses to X.
Government officials have reportedly sought an explanation from X about Grok’s replies and the data used to train the AI chatbot, CNBC-TV18 reported.
X did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Independent.
Hong Kong flight makes emergency landing after cabin fire
A Hong Kong Airlines flight made an emergency landing in China’s Fuzhou after a fire broke out midair in an overhead compartment.
The fire in the overhead compartment caused panic among passengers as smoke filled the cabin.
The HX115 flight had taken off from Hangzhou, China, for Hong Kong at 12.20pm on Thursday and landed at the Fuzhou Changle international airport in Fujian province at 2.01pm.
The fire was put out by the flight attendants and none of the 168 passengers or crew members were hurt, the airline said.
The airline said it was assisting passengers and arranging another flight to Hong Kong.
Footage of the incident posted on social media showed cabin crew and some of the passengers trying to extinguish the fire by pouring water from bottles and liquid dripping onto seats.
The pilot could be heard announcing they were aware of the situation and would make a “precautionary landing” in Fuzhou.
According to local media reports, the passengers suspected a power bank in one of the pieces of luggage in an overhead compartment caused the fire. However, the airlines didn’t offer any details about the cause of the fire and Hong Kong’s Civil Aviation Department said it would follow up on the incident.
Lithium batteries used in devices like laptops, mobile phones, electronic cigarettes and power banks have led to heightened concerns about their safety in recent years.
These batteries can overheat, explode or catch fire if they are damaged, overcharged or have manufacturing defects.
In early March, a Batik Air flight was filled with smoke from a burning power bank minutes before it landed in Bangkok, panicking passengers.
A nearly four-minute clip posted on TikTok showed smoke spreading and filling the cabin space while flight attendants checked overhead baggage compartments for the source.
In January, an Air Busan plane was destroyed after a portable power bank sparked a major fire. Three people sustained minor injuries in the incident at the Gimhae international airport. The South Korean airline later said it would not allow passengers to carry power banks in luggage stored in overhead cabin bins.
Indian city faces curfew as Hindu groups target Muslim emperor’s tomb
An indefinite curfew was declared in Nagpur in the western Indian state of Maharashtra after clashes erupted over demands by Hindu groups to demolish the tomb of a 17th-century Mughal ruler.
A curfew remained in effect for the second consecutive day on Wednesday across 10 police jurisdictions of Nagpur, a day after more than 50 people were detained amid violence sparked by protests against Emperor Aurangzeb’s tomb.
State lawmaker Chandrashekhar Bawankule said 34 police personnel and five civilians were injured during the violence while several houses and vehicles sustained damage.
Senior police officer Ravinder Singal confirmed that at least 50 people had been arrested.
Police earlier said at least 15 officers were injured in the clashes and one of them was in serious condition.
The violence erupted after right-wing Hindu group Vishwa Hindu Parishad burned an effigy of Aurangzeb, demanding that the government raze his tomb in Khuldabad, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, formally called Aurangabad. They claimed the tomb was a reminder of “centuries of oppression, atrocities, and slavery” of Hindus during Muslim rule in India.
The agitation by Hindu groups started after the release of Bollywood film Chhaava, which portrayed Aurangzeb’s execution of a local Hindu king called Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. The chief minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, said in the state assembly that “Chhaava has ignited people’s anger against Aurangzeb”.
In Nagpur, tension escalated when rumours spread that a Muslim holy book had been desecrated during the effigy burning. Muslim groups marched near a police station, leading to stone-pelting and attacks by masked individuals carrying weapons.
Mr Fadnavis condemned the violence and ordered strict action. “I have told the police commissioner to take whatever strict steps are necessary,” he said.
He had earlier said the violence looked like it was “a well-planned attack”.
On the second day of the curfew, shops and businesses in central Nagpur remained shut as security was heightened across the city.
Security was also tightened around Aurangzeb’s tomb in Khuldabad town.
Maharashtra’s deputy director general of police, Rashmi Shukla, instructed district police chiefs to watch carefully for even minor incidents that could spark unrest, according to The Indian Express.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad denied involvement in the clashes. The group’s general secretary, Milind Parande, said in a video message that they wanted a Maratha memorial to be built in place of the tomb.