India: journalist Aatish Taseer's overseas citizenship revoked
India's government cancelled writer and journalist Aatish Taseer's Overseas Citizen of India status months after he wrote a Time magazine cover story critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing his father's Pakistani nationality.123
- Country
- India (RSF 2026 rank: 157th of 180)
- Where
- India
- Level of government
- National
- Tactic
- Expulsion and visa denial
- Stage
- Punish (see the ladder)
- Ladder note
- India revoked a journalist's long-term immigration status months after his cover story criticized the prime minister; the White House ban withdrew building access, not legal status to enter the country.
- Head of government at the time
- Narendra Modi
- Issue of the day
- Not stated in the sources reviewed.
- Outcome
- Sustained, November 7, 2019. The cancellation was carried out and was not reported as reversed in the sources reviewed.
- Era
- The 2010s
What happened
In May 2019, Time magazine published a cover story by writer and journalist Aatish Taseer that was critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of that year's general election. On August 13, 2019, India's Home Ministry sent Taseer a notice threatening to revoke his Overseas Citizen of India status, a form of long-term immigration status that lets people of Indian origin live and work in the country without a visa. The ministry said Taseer was ineligible for the status because his father, the Pakistani politician Salmaan Taseer, was a Pakistani national, and Pakistani nationals cannot hold it. On November 7, 2019, the government made the cancellation official. Taseer disputed the notice, said he did not hold Pakistani citizenship, and said he believed the action was linked to his criticism of the Modi government.123
Closed; the cancellation was made official in November 2019.123
What reason was given
"his father was a Pakistani national, and Pakistani nationals are not eligible for such status"1
What changed for reporting
The cancellation ended Taseer's ability to enter India on his Overseas Citizen status, restricting a foreign-based journalist's access to the country whose government he had written about.123
Timeline
2019
Who acted
| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
|---|---|---|
| Narendra Modi | other | Prime Minister of India |
Outlets and journalists
| Name | Kind | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| Time | outlet | affected |
| Aatish Taseer | journalist, Time | affected |
Sources
Claims cited
- The government's stated legal basis for the cancellation.
Taseer was "ineligible" for such citizenship
Indian government threatens to cancel journalist Aatish Taseer's overseas citizenship, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2019-11-07. Claim 540, checked 2026-09-22. - Link between the article and the government's notice.
criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a May cover story he wrote for Time magazine
Indian government threatens to cancel journalist Aatish Taseer's overseas citizenship, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2019-11-07. Claim 644, checked 2026-09-22. - CPJ's assessment of the government's action.
Targeting a journalist's immigration status after the publication of a critical article shows that the Bharatiya Janata Party is intolerant of criticism and freedom of the press
Indian government threatens to cancel journalist Aatish Taseer's overseas citizenship, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2019-11-07. Claim 645, checked 2026-09-22.