Longest serving foreign journalist in India says she is being forced to leave by government
Says move is part of broader effort to suppress dissent within the OCI community
New Delhi: Vanessa Dougnac, a highly regarded French journalist and the longest-serving foreign correspondent in India for multiple international news organizations, has announced her departure from the country following the government's two-week revocation of her Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card last month. The government cited alleged concerns over her reporting as the reason for the punitive action.
In a statement released on Friday, Dougnac expressed her deep connection to India, where she had come as a student 25 years ago and worked as a journalist for 23 years. She noted that leaving was not her choice but a decision forced upon her by the Indian government.
The Foreigners Registration Office, under the Ministry of Home Affairs, issued a notice to Dougnac on January 18, accusing her of producing "malicious" work that created a "biased negative perception" of the country. The notice also claimed that her work had the potential to "provoke disorder and disturb peace in certain sections of society."
Around 30 foreign correspondents stationed in India collectively penned an open letter expressing solidarity with Dougnac. They urged Indian authorities to promptly resolve her case, ensuring it does not adversely impact her career or family life.
Dougnac's statement emphasized that these actions by the government appeared to be part of a broader effort to suppress dissent within the OCI community. Despite earlier suggestions by authorities that she change her profession, Dougnac asserted her identity as a journalist, a profession she holds dear to her heart, and refused to give it up due to unproven accusations.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on Indian authorities to reinstate Dougnac's journalism permit immediately and cease using legal technicalities to impede journalists in carrying out their duties.
In September 2022, the Indian government had revoked Dougnac's journalism permit, prompting her to cease reporting from India at that time. Known for covering human rights, international and domestic politics, Dougnac contributed to prominent publications, including the French daily newspaper La Croix, French weekly Le Point, Swiss French-language daily newspaper Le Temps, and French-language Belgian daily newspaper Le Soir.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also condemned the methods employed by Indian authorities to make Dougnac leave, characterizing them as symptomatic of the growing persecution of journalists in India. RSF highlighted that at least four OCI journalists based in India had their work permit renewals refused, and two of them opted to leave the country.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
