The central government’s decision to revoke the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) status of Kannada actor and social activist Chetan Kumar, better known as Chetan Ahimsa, is as wrong and ill-motivated as was the decision to arrest him last month. The Karnataka police arrested him last month for allegedly hurting religious sentiments with his tweets on Hindutva. He has now been told by the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) to return his OCI card. He has also reportedly been told by the Union Home Ministry that his OCI status was cancelled because of his alleged ‘anti-national’ activities and derogatory comments against judges. It also said that he was involved in many unlawful activities which “are inimical to the interests of general public.” The reference to comments against the judges is about a comment he had made about the observations of a judge in a rape case. The actor has not been convicted in the case or in any other case.
The decision to cancel his OCI status can be considered as a part of the harassment he has been subjected to for his criticism of right-wing politics, especially the Hindutva ideology and practices. The actor is a US citizen who enjoyed OCI status. It is an immigration status given to foreign nationals of Indian origin which allows them to live and work in India. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had written to the FRRO demanding that Chetan’s OCI status should be cancelled. Chetan has been a consistent critic of Hindutva and his arrest was on the charge that he “threatened the religious sentiments of majority of Hindus and created animosity between caste groups,” instigated communal issues, and threatened public peace. Just as criticism of Hindutva or even Hinduism cannot be considered as an offence and there is no justification for arresting anybody on that count, it cannot be a ground for cancellation of a person’s OCI status, either.
The action against the actor shows the vindictive attitude of the ruling establishment against persons who are critical of the government, its policies and ideology. The OCI status of a person is not a gift or largesse from the government to a person. It is a legal entitlement of a person of Indian origin. It cannot be denied or taken away arbitrarily or on spurious grounds or political considerations. The government cannot just claim that a person is engaged in unlawful activities and decide to cancel the status. Chetan is seeking legal remedy for the action against him, but it is again a poor comment on the Narendra Modi government and the system if citizens are harassed and hounded for exercising their right to comment, criticise and express their opinions.