Joining the debate over the deportation of noted Hindi scholar Professor Francesca Orsini, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday slammed the incident and said that India needs to develop a thicker skin, a broader mind, and a bigger heart.

Tharoor argued that deporting foreign scholars for minor reasons does more harm to the country’s global image than critical academic writings ever could.

Orsini, a UK-based Professor of Hindi and South Asian Literature at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, was recently denied entry and deported from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport despite holding a valid five-year e-visa. The move has triggered sharp criticism from academic and literary circles.

“Rolling out an ‘unwelcome mat’ at our airport immigrat

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