‘Angad’s works were critical of Indian government’: Deported journalist’s mother

He was on a personal visit to India. His company has asked him to not give any interview without consulting with the legal team. He told me Section 6 of the Foreigners Act was evoked to deport him. Officials told him that they knew he was a journalist. The deportation order was prepared in advance.

Where in India was Angad headed to?

Our families migrated from West Punjab in 1947 and settled in North India. Angad’s father and I got married in the USA and Angad was born there. Angad keeps in touch with our family back in India so he has many friends there (India). This time, he had to first go to Punjab to meet some friends and visit our family members. My father is not keeping well and Angad had to meet him. He was to stay there for two weeks.

What are your worries now?

I am troubled with the hate speech that sparked off on social media platforms soon after the news broke out. One such tweet had thousands of retweets in terms of endorsements of hate speech. So, naturally our family is worried. My daughter and I are presently in India and our family wants us back in the USA. But I have decided to stay as per my schedule. The system is such that now it is on Angad Singh to prove that he was right. The legal battle will take time but more than that, it is now a question of our existence. I also work to promote Punjabi language and protect the environment. I am afraid what has affected Angad may affect me as well. It is like we are paralysed. It is a big shock for us. I do not want Angad to be cut-off from our ancestral land and Punjab.

Why do you think the government would not like the journalistic works of Angad?

Angad’s works on Shaheen Bagh, the farmers’ protests and Covid-19 were critical of the Indian government. He was planning to work on a documentary on Dalits and he was declined a professional visa for that purpose by the Indian government. Angad is an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card holder and he was on a personal visit. But the government was not ready to make a distinction between his personal and professional life. There may be very few cases where OCI card holders were stopped from entering India as one is supposed to have a visa for a lifetime.

In your Facebook post, you said Angad’s Sikh identity was also a reason behind his deportation. What makes you think so?

We wanted Angad to become a journalist because there are very few Sikh journalists in the USA. At the age of 11, Angad had made his first documentary ‘One Light’ on discrimination against Sikhs in the USA in the backdrop of the attacks on Sikhs after the 9/11 attacks. He also made a documentary on the turban ban in France. In India, being one with unshorn hair and a turban will attract the attention of the Indian government very easily, more so when you are covering Punjab.