Ranjani Srinivasan Flatly Denies US Terror Allegations, Wants Reinstatement At Columbia

Photo: CBS Mornings

India-West News Desk

WASHINGTON, DC – Indian student and Fulbright scholar Ranjani Srinivasan, who fled the United States after her visa was revoked for allegedly supporting Hamas, has blamed Columbia University of failing her. In an interview with Al Jazeera, the PhD student in Urban Planning expressed disappointment, saying, “I never expected the institution to let me down. But it did.” Despite her forced departure, she hopes the university will reinstate her enrollment.

The 37-year-old doctoral student was compelled to leave the U.S. and seek refuge in Canada after the U.S. Consulate in Chennai informed her via email that her student visa had been canceled. Srinivasan left for Canada on March 11, just days after her visa was revoked on March 5, and before U.S. immigration officers arrived searching for her. Fearing detention, she booked a last-minute flight to Canada.

Srinivasan believes her vocal support for Palestinian rights and criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza made her a target. While she admitted to attending pro-Palestinian protests, she insisted she was not part of any organized groups at Columbia. She also noted that she was outside the U.S. for much of April 2024, when campus protests escalated.

The Department of Homeland Security stated that Srinivasan “self-deported” using the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Home App, which allows undocumented immigrants to submit an ‘intent to depart’ form and leave voluntarily. However, she clarified that she traveled using a visitor visa she had previously obtained for academic purposes.

Srinivasan, who had been in the U.S. on an F-1 student visa, remains uncertain about whether she would feel safe returning, even if her visa were reinstated. “I hope Columbia comes to its senses and re-enrolls me,” she told Al Jazeera. She argued that all her PhD requirements were complete and that she could finish her remaining work remotely.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security revoked her visa, alleging she had “advocated for violence and terrorism” and labeling her a “terrorist sympathizer.” Srinivasan has strongly denied these accusations, calling them baseless. “If supporting the idea of human rights or ending a genocide is equated with supporting Hamas, then anyone in proximity to me—without me having done anything—can just be picked up and made an example of,” she told Al Jazeera.