Months after he was made to leave India for participating in a protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), the government of India has cancelled the visa of Jakob Lindenthal, the German exchange student at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M).
According to reports, Jakob was informed by the Indian Embassy in Germany on February 8 that his visa has been revoked. Jakob’s visa was valid from June 2019 until June 2020. He told the Indian Express that he was not given any reason for this decision. He was earlier advised by the Embassy not to re-enter India on his current visa.
A student of Technical University-Dresden (TUD), Jakob Lindenthal was studying Physics in IIT-M as a part of an exchange programme. He had joined the exchange programme in IIT-M in July, 2019 and was scheduled to complete his coursework in May this year.
Speaking to the Indian Express, TUD confirmed that Jakob’s visa has indeed been cancelled. The university also informed that he had completed one semester in IIT-M and will be receiving transcripts of records from IIT-M for the completed term.
Jakob Lindenthal was asked to leave the country in the last week of December, after he was spotted at multiple rallies in Chennai against the CAA. On December 23, he was called to the Immigration Department to discuss his Residence Permit, but he was allegedly asked for his views on CAA. According to a friend, Jakob was told that he indulged in activities that were beyond the permitted scope of his visa and hence he has to leave the country immediately. Jakob’s offer to issue a letter of apology was also rejected by the immigration officials, who then allegedly threatened to deport him if he did not leave by himself.
Jakob’s slogans during the protest marches had garnered a lot of attention since they had compared what was unfolding in India to the Nazi regime in Germany. He had told TNM during a protest in Chepauk that the ruling government is clearly discriminating against one section of the people, despite the country’s Constitution being secular. “I am from Germany and I am aware of what happens when this form of discrimination is taken too far," he said.