In a baffling and outrageous case, British musicologist Nalini Ghuman has been barred from the United States for more than a year for as yet unexplained reasons.
Ghuman, who is an Assistant Professor at Mills College in Oakland, California and an expert on the music of Sir Edward Elgar, was deported from the United States after returning to San Francisco on a flight from London in August 2006. Her treatment by Homeland Security personnel at the airport appears to have been both rough and unprofessional.
Apparently, Ghuman's deportation was sparked by a discretionary revokation of her residency visa by the State Department. Efforts to have the State Department reverse its decision – or even to explain it – have been unsuccessful despite the efforts of high-profile figures including Leon Botstein and Sen. Richard Durbin (D – Illinois).
It will be interest to see how Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, herself a classical musician, will handle the case now that it is been reported in such a high-profile manner by The New York Times.
(HT: Alan Brandt)
