By Sushil Kutty
Ranjini Srinivasan was the Indian face of anti-Trumpism and anti-Israel in Columbia University where she was a doctoral student of Urban Planning till she had to “self-deport” after the Trump administration revoked her US visa. Srinivasan fled to “friendly Canada” from the “unfriendly shores” of Trump’s United States.
Ranjini’s politics did not rhyme with that of President Trump’s and she “self-deported.” Apart from Trump’s politics, Ranjini must have also weighed the possibility of being put in handcuffs and shackles in a US military aircraft
Then again, “international students” were being rounded up and taken away. All part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on “illegal immigration”, which President Trump signed into “executive order” soon after he assumed office on January 20.
That being said, the Trump administration is also leading a crackdown on Columbia University for the varsity’s stance on Palestine and Gaza not to miss ‘Hamas’. The US State Department said the crackdown was Trump’s “mission to end anti-Semitism in this country”. Earlier, President Trump had “cancelled $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia for not cracking down harder on students.”
And that is where Ranjini Srinivasan fit in along with other “international students” who were part of the students’ pro-Palestine campaign. And just so that the context is understood, President Donald Trump is no friend of Columbia University, not when Columbia students walked the corridors of the varsity with Palestine on their lips and Hamas in their hearts.
President Joe Biden was a different kind of POTUS, friendlier. Columbia students, in particular, wear their love for Palestine on their sleeves and many pro-Palestine protests have been held on the Columbia varsity lawns.
But life is ‘Change’ and President Trump stormed into the White House, which was a fait accompli. One of the victims of this change was Ranjini Srinivasan. Her F-1 student visa was revoked “because she participated in pro-Palestinian protests.”
But that was not all. Srinivasan paid for her enthusiasm and zeal. Every year thousands of Indian students apply for admission in US universities and Columbia University happens to be one of the most sought after. The Trump administration’s allegation that Srinivasan supported “Hamas, a terrorist organization” had no legs to stand on.
But things changed when the Trump administration unleashed a crackdown against illegal immigration. Those identified as illegal aliens are not shown any quarter. Ranjini Srinivasan is no fool and she knew exactly what would happen once her visa was revoked, which was what happened.
The Trump administration revoked Ranjini’s F-1 student visa on March 5 and luckily she came to know of this drastic step in time. A revoked visa comes with its own set of red flags. One of which was that she wouldn’t get another chance to apply for a US visa if she was “forcibly put in a plane and deported.”
This is where the “self-deportation” clause in the immigration law came to her rescue though it was a clause added to the rules by the newly-installed Trump administration. It left the door open for Ranjini Srinivasan to apply for a visa at a future date when there’s a friendlier POTUS.
In other words, Ranjini Srinivasan lives to fight another day!
The photograph showing Ranjini pulling a suitcase was posted on Elon Musk’s ‘X’ by US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristy Noem. Clearly, Ranjini Srinivasan was no small-fry. The Trump administration had a special focus on this Columbia student.
Then also, Ranjini was not the lone “black sheep.” Among “other foreigners”, there’s one “married to an American”, there is another, a Palestinian arrested for living in the US on an expired visa. Columbia University was the hub of anti-Israeli protests through 2024.
Ranjini Srinivasan is now facing flak along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in the crosshair for allowing “people like Ranjini Srinivasan” to return to India. Modi’s critics in the saffron ecosystem are asking why cannot Modi be like President Trump, who never ditches his MAGA supporters but Modi never stands with his ‘bhakts’?
A large number of Indians cannot stop praising President Trump for revoking Ranjini Srinivasan’s visa. The US Justice Department Homeland Security said on Friday that Srinivasan was guilty of participating in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University.
The “pro-Hamas” Columbia University students will bide their time. The current crackdown started with the arrest of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was the face of the 2024 anti-Israeli protests and is now behind bars in Louisiana, a red-state.
Ranjini Srinivasan was allegedly found “advocating for violence and terrorism” and allegedly closely working with Khalil. A sixth sense protected her. The night before she fled the USA took, Ranjini booked a flight ticket to Canada. And she fled her home even as the FEDS arrived at her doorstep. She took the backdoor!
Imagine! And she left her cat behind. Her roommate Columbia kept the FEDS engaged while she probably took the fire-escape out. Srinivasan entered the US on an F-1 visa and was “involved in activities supporting Hamas, a terrorist organization.” The Department of Homeland Security said it had obtained video footage of her using the CBP Home App to self-deport on March 11.” The picture of Srinivasan pulling a suitcase was taken at the LaGuardia Airport.
The 37-years-old Srinivasan is now in Canada, a stopgap arrangement which might extend to the entire second term of President Trump. Ranjini Srinivasan had arrived in America on a Fulbright Scholarship, which is no mean achievement though with Trump as President it wouldn’t have mattered much, whether she was full bright or half-bright! (IPA Service)
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