Govind Tekale
Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng says India cancelled her visa shortly before she was due to leave for Hyderabad, where she had been invited to speak at the Bharat Summit on the future of media and press freedom.
Lyng said she had a visa and political clearance, but was told by the Indian Embassy in Norway that she would not be allowed to travel. In a video addressed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, she said she was told the decision came from the Ministry of Home Affairs. Karmactive has not independently seen the visa-cancellation order or been given a reason by the Indian government.
Multiple Indian news outlets reported Lyng’s account. At the time of publication, the Ministry of External Affairs had not publicly responded to the allegation.
The Oslo question
Lyng, a journalist with Oslo-based newspaper Dagsavisen, drew international attention during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Norway visit in May 2026. At a joint appearance in Oslo, she called out a question about why he would not take questions from what she described as the world’s freest press. The question went unanswered.
Lyng says she believes the last-minute visa decision may be politically motivated because of that episode. That is her allegation, not an established explanation for the decision. No official statement reviewed by Karmactive links her Oslo question to the visa outcome.
Invitation to Bharat Summit
Lyng was listed to participate in a session on media and press freedom at the Congress-organised Bharat Summit in Hyderabad. The two-day event was scheduled to begin on November 13. Reporting described her as an invited panelist and speaker, rather than a traveller seeking entry without a programme or host event.
The case now raises two separate questions: whether a validly issued visa was withdrawn, and why. Indian authorities have broad powers over visa decisions, but a public explanation would be significant in a case involving an overseas journalist invited to discuss press freedom at a major political gathering.
Until authorities release an order or statement, the available record remains limited. Lyng’s video and subsequent reporting establish her account of what happened; they do not establish the reason for the decision or prove political retaliation.
Sources: Helle Lyng’s original video statement; Indian Express; and BBC on the May Oslo episode.
