Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng says stopped from traveling to Hyderabad on MHA orders
Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng Svendsen has alleged that she was stopped from travelling to India at the last minute, despite having political clearance and a visa, based on orders from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Helle was invited to speak at the Bharat Summit conference organised by the Congress in Hyderabad on November 14, at a panel discussion on ‘The Future of Media’. Helle became a recognised face in India after she confronted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not taking questions from the media during his visit to the Norwegian capital Oslo on May 18. She has since frequently criticised PM Modi’s governance, and has asked questions about human rights violations and curbs on press freedom in his regime. On November 11, Helle said in an X post that she received a call from the Indian Embassy minutes before she left for the airport to catch her flight to India, saying she wouldn’t be allowed to enter the country due to orders from the MHA. Helle told TNM that the Embassy officials asked her to visit their office and physically have her visa revoked, which she refused to do. “I asked for a written explanation, but have not received it,” she said. Sources involved in organising the event also said that officials in both the Embassy and the Ministry of External Affairs said that they have no role in the matter, and that the orders came directly from the MHA. The sources said that the Bharat Summit has been organised in compliance with the MEA’s rules for international conferences, which says that additional clearance from MHA is required to grant a conference visa only when participants are “from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Sudan, foreigners of Pakistani origin, and Stateless persons”, or if they are required to visit certain restricted or protected areas in India including Jammu and Kashmir and some northeastern states.Nearly 120 foreign nationals who had confirmed to attend the event were unable to travel as their visas were either delayed or rejected, the source said, adding that some of these invitees were questioned by Indian Embassy officials about their social media posts critical of the Modi government. In her X post, Helle addressed Union Home Minister Amit Shah and said she was confused about being denied entry to India. “I have political clearance. I have a visa. And I have a conference in Hyderabad, Telangana, waiting for me to arrive. I am supposed to be a speaker there. About media, press freedom, democracy, and how they’re all intertwined. They tell me that although my visa is issued, I will not be allowed to enter India, and that’s where you come in, Amit Shah. Apparently it’s your department, the MHA, that has said that I can’t enter the country.”I got a visa to India and was supposed to leave this morning to attend the Bharat Summit in Hyderabad. I had been invited as a panelist and speaker on the future of media and press freedom. But «orders from above» in the Ministry of Home Affairs have cancelled my visa. Here… pic.twitter.com/ihAuZdUCmc— Helle Lyng (@HelleLyngSvends) November 11, 2026 She said the visa revocation felt politically motivated, asking if it had something to do with her questioning PM Modi in Oslo in May. “I am thinking it also might be because I’ve used my freedom of expression to criticise Narednra Modi and his governance both in public opinion pieces for my Norwegian newspaper [Dagsavisen] but also online for the Indian people to see,” she said. She added that she has also been critical of PM Modi’s alleged favouritism for billionaire businessmen Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, has written positive opinion pieces on the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement, and has interviewed CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, asking if these were all reasons why she wasn’t being allowed to visit India. This would’ve been Helle’s first visit to the country. Helle told Amit Shah that there was still time to allow her to travel so she could attend her panel in time and said, “The ball is now in your court. What will the world’s largest democracy do?”
NORWEGIAN journalist Helle Lyng Svendsen has alleged that she was stopped from travelling to India at the last minute, despite having political clearance and a visa, based on orders from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
Helle was invited to speak at the Bharat Summit conference organised by the Congress in Hyderabad on November 14, at a panel discussion on ‘The Future of Media’.
Helle became a recognised face in India after she confronted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not taking questions from the media during his visit to the Norwegian capital Oslo on May 18. She has since frequently criticised PM Modi’s governance, and has asked questions about human rights violations and curbs on press freedom in his regime.
On November 11, Helle said in an X post that she received a call from the Indian Embassy minutes before she left for the airport to catch her flight to India, saying she wouldn’t be allowed to enter the country due to orders from the MHA.
Helle told TNM that the Embassy officials asked her to visit their office and physically have her visa revoked, which she refused to do. “I asked for a written explanation, but have not received it,” she said.
Sources involved in organising the event also said that officials in both the Embassy and the Ministry of External Affairs said that they have no role in the matter, and that the orders came directly from the MHA.
The sources said that the Bharat Summit has been organised in compliance with the MEA’s rules for international conferences, which say that additional clearance from MHA is required to grant a conference visa only when participants are “from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Sudan, foreigners of Pakistani origin, and stateless persons”, or if they are required to visit certain restricted or protected areas in India, including Jammu and Kashmir and some northeastern states.
Nearly 120 foreign nationals who had confirmed to attend the event were unable to travel as their visas were either delayed or rejected, the source said, adding that some of these invitees were questioned by Indian Embassy officials about their social media posts critical of the Modi government.
In her X post, Helle addressed Union Home Minister Amit Shah and said she was confused about being denied entry to India.
“I have political clearance. I have a visa. And I have a conference in Hyderabad, Telangana, waiting for me to arrive. I am supposed to be a speaker there. About media, press freedom, democracy, and how they’re all intertwined. They tell me that although my visa is issued, I will not be allowed to enter India, and that’s where you come in, Amit Shah. Apparently it’s your department, the MHA, that has said that I can’t enter the country.”
I got a visa to India and was supposed to leave this morning to attend the Bharat Summit in Hyderabad. I had been invited as a panelist and speaker on the future of media and press freedom.
But «orders from above» in the Ministry of Home Affairs have cancelled my visa.
Here… pic.twitter.com/ihAuZdUCmc
— Helle Lyng (@HelleLyngSvends) November 11, 2026
She said the visa revocation felt politically motivated, asking if it had something to do with her questioning PM Modi in Oslo in May.
“I am thinking it also might be because I’ve used my freedom of expression to criticise Narendra Modi and his governance both in public opinion pieces for my Norwegian newspaper [Dagsavisen] but also online for the Indian people to see,” she said.
She added that she has also been critical of PM Modi’s alleged favouritism for billionaire businessmen Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, has written positive opinion pieces on the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement, and has interviewed CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, asking if these were all reasons why she wasn’t being allowed to visit India. This would’ve been Helle’s first visit to the country.
Helle told Amit Shah that there was still time to allow her to travel so she could attend her panel in time and said, “The ball is now in your court. What will the world’s largest democracy do?”
