NEW DELHI: Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng Svendsen has stated that she was barred from travelling to India at the last minute, despite holding a valid visa and political clearance for the Congress-organised Bharat Summit in Hyderabad.
Helle Lyng became a known face in India after she confronted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not taking questions from the press during his visit to Oslo on May 18. Following the event, Lyng faced intense trolling and backlash, with social media users addressing her as a "spy" and accusing her of trying to embarrass India on a global platform.
Svendsen, who writes for the Oslo-based daily Dagsavisen, was scheduled to speak on November 14 during a panel discussion on "The Future of Media." On Wednesday, November 11, she posted on social media platform X that she received a phone call from the Indian Embassy just "10 minutes" before leaving for the airport. Embassy staff informed her that she would not be allowed to enter India following directions from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
In her video message addressed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, she says, "I have a visa in my passport. I was ready to go. But as I was leaving for the airport, literally 10 minutes before I was supposed to leave, the Indian embassy of Norway called me, and they said, 'You can't go to India today'. And I'm a little confused, because I have political clearance, I have a visa, and I have a conference in Hyderabad, Telangana, waiting for me to arrive. I'm supposed to be a speaker there about media, about press freedom, about democracy, and how they're all intertwined."
Noting that 48 hours remained before her scheduled session in Hyderabad, she urged the Home Minister to reconsider:
"Luckily, we still have time, Mr Shah, because I'm not set to go on stage before in 48 hours, which means that I could get on any of the next planes to Asia that would hopefully take me to Hyderabad on time. So the ball is now in your court. What will the world's largest democracy do? Will I be able to enter the country, or will I not, when I have political clearance, a visa in my passport, a place to be, and most importantly, people both from the international environment, but most important to me, people of India, waiting for me and expecting me to be there? Can we make it work? I think we should make it work."
According to Svendsen, officials asked her to visit the embassy in person to have her visa physically cancelled. She declined the request and asked for a written explanation, which she said has not yet been provided. This trip was meant to be her first visit to India.
Event organisers stated that officials from both the Indian Embassy and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) indicated they were not responsible for the decision, attributing the move directly to the MHA.
The Wire reported that the conference followed MEA guidelines, which require special MHA clearance only for visitors from select countries or those travelling to protected regions. Organisers claimed that nearly 120 confirmed international guests could not attend the summit due to visa delays or rejections, with some reportedly questioned about social media posts critical of the Indian government.
She suggested that the decision might be linked to her May 18 questioning of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Oslo regarding press freedom. She also questioned whether her opinion articles in Dagsavisen, her remarks concerning businessmen Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, or her interview with Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke had influenced the cancellation.
Government authorities have not issued an official statement on the matter.