A distinguished Indian historian from the University of Oxford faces deportation threats from the UK Home Office for allegedly spending excessive time researching historic Indian archives in India.
Manikarnika Dutta, 37, is a historian at Oxford University, focusing on research that includes exploring archives in Indian cities and participating in a range of international events. She serves as an assistant professor at University College Dublin, within the history department.
So what is the reason for her potential deportation from the UK? According to Home Office regulations, individuals seeking indefinite leave to stay in the UK due to long residency of 10 years or more may be absent from the country for up to 548 days within the 10 years preceding their application for leave.
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Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) is a residency status in the UK that enables people to live, work, and study without any limitations on duration. It is also known as “settlement” and acts as a route to British citizenship.
According to a report by The Guardian, Dutta has stayed outside the UK for a total of 691 days, leading the Home Office to deny her the right to keep living in the country.
The office also denied her right by claiming that she does not possess a family life in Britain, even though she resides in south London with her husband and fellow academic Dr. Souvik Naha, with whom she has been married for more than a decade.
Dutta, who has completed research at the universities of Oxford and Bristol, expressed her surprise after getting an email requesting her to exit the country.
“I have worked at various universities in the UK and have resided here for 12 years.” “Much of my adult life has been spent in the UK since I arrived at the University of Oxford for my master’s,” she stated to The Observer.
