An Oxford alumna, a historian, and a researcher dedicated to unearthing India’s colonial past, Manikarnika Dutta’s high-achieving academic has been threatened with deportation from the UK.
The 37-year-old assistant professor at University College Dublin was deemed ineligible for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) by the UK Home Office due to exceeding the maximum number of days allowed outside the country.
According to a report by The Guardian, Dutta’s extended research trips to India, where she accessed crucial archives for her studies on British imperial history, pushed her over the UK immigration limit.
She moved to the UK in 2012 for a master’s degree at Oxford, later, she pursued doctoral research and held an academic role at Oxford and the University of Bristol. Her professional commitments required travel, yet those reasons are now being cited for her removal.
Under UK immigration rules, ILR applicants cannot spend more than 548 days abroad over a decade. Dutta exceeded this limit by 143 days, primarily due to research trips and international conferences. Despite her justification that these trips were essential to her work, the Home Office rejected her application.
Case Sparks Outcry In Academic Circles
The decision has sparked further controversy, as her husband, Dr. Souvik Naha, a senior lecturer at the University of Glasgow, was granted ILR under the same process while Dutta’s application was denied. The Home Office also argued that she lacks a “family life” in Britain, despite living in London with her husband for over a decade.
“I was shocked when I got an email saying I have to leave,” Dutta told The Observer. “I have spent the majority of my adult life in the UK. I never thought something like this would happen to me.”
A Home Office spokesperson came with its statement and said, “It is longstanding government policy that we do not routinely comment on individual cases.”
However, Dutta’s lawyer, Naga Kandiah, has challenged the decision, and emphasised that her travel was not personal but it was required to fulfill academic responsibilities. This case has sparked widespread outrage in the academic circles, with several arguing that the approach by the UK has risked alienating top-tier global scholars.
This is not the first case of Dutta in the UK. Several other academics have experienced the same issues. The act raises concerns about the immigration policies of the UK that show it is failing to accommodate the realities of academic research. Several experts also launched a warning highlighting that such rules could demotivate talents coming across the world to opt for the UK as a long-term base for research and innovation.
Meanwhile, the Home Office has agreed to review her case as of now over the next three months. But, Dutta’s future remains uncertain, as she awaits a decision on whether she can continue her UK-based career or will be required to leave the country she has resided in for over a decade.
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