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A disturbing video showing an Indian student being handcuffed and forcibly restrained by authorities at Newark Liberty International Airport has sparked outrage on social media. The incident, which occurred during the student’s deportation process, was filmed by Indian-American entrepreneur Kunal Jain, who described the scene as “heartbreaking.”

The footage shows the student pinned to the ground by at least four officers, with two visibly pressing their knees into his back. His hands and legs were tied. Jain, who witnessed the incident firsthand, said the student appeared disoriented and was crying while being treated "like a criminal."

“He came chasing dreams, not causing harm,” Jain wrote in a post on X. “As an NRI, I felt helpless and heartbroken. This is a human tragedy.”

In response to the viral video and public anger, the Indian Consulate in New York issued a statement acknowledging the reports and said it is in contact with local authorities. “The Consulate remains ever committed to the welfare of Indian nationals,” the statement read.

Witness account

Jain, who was present at the airport, said the student appeared confused and may have been under stress. “There were around 50 people standing nearby, but no one said a word,” he recalled.

According to Jain, the student was struggling to communicate with the officers, speaking in Haryanvi Hindi. The authorities claimed they could not understand him. Jain offered to translate, but his request was denied.

Instead, more police were called in. “They emptied the whole queue and restrained him with force. At that point, I broke down. It was public, humiliating, and inhuman,” Jain said.

He added that the student reportedly shouted:

“Main pagal nahi hoon, yeh mujhe pagal bana rahe hain. Main pagal nahi hoon, yeh mujhe pagal sabit kar rahe hain” (“I’m not mad, they’re trying to make me mad. I’m not mad, they want to prove that I am.”)

Jain believes the student may have been denied entry due to perceived disorientation at immigration. “But even if he was stressed or confused, officials usually handle such cases while maintaining a person’s dignity. This wasn’t that,” he said.

A painful reminder

This incident has rekindled painful memories of mass deportations of Indians during the Trump-era immigration crackdown. In one such instance in February, over 100 Indians were deported in shackles, handcuffed with legs bound, as they deboarded a flight in India — imagery that drew widespread condemnation back home.

The latest episode has once again raised questions about the treatment of Indian nationals abroad and whether enough is being done to ensure their dignity during deportation or detention procedures.

New Delhi, June 16: The Narendra Modi-led government has officially notified plans to conduct India's 16th national census in 2027 — the first in 16 years since the last full enumeration was carried out in 2011. This upcoming census will, for the first time, include caste-based data collection across the country.

According to the notification issued on Monday, the census will be conducted with two different reference dates:

•    October 1, 2026 for snow-bound and non-synchronous areas such as Ladakh, parts of Jammu and Kashmir, and the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

•    March 1, 2027 for the rest of the country.

The government plans to deploy around 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors, supported by 1.3 lakh census functionaries, all equipped with digital devices to streamline the massive data collection exercise.

A significant update for the 2027 exercise is the inclusion of caste enumeration, a move that has long been debated in policy circles and public discourse. Additionally, the census will provide an option for self-enumeration, allowing citizens to submit their data digitally.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the preparations for the exercise on Sunday in a high-level meeting attended by Union Home Secretary, Registrar General and Census Commissioner Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, and other senior officials.

Two-Phase Operation

The census will be conducted in two distinct phases:

1.    House Listing Operation (HLO): This phase will record housing conditions, household assets, and amenities.

2.    Population Enumeration (PE): This phase will capture detailed information on demographic, socio-economic, and cultural aspects of each individual in every household.

This will be India’s 16th decennial census since the first one in 1872, and the eighth since Independence in 1947.

The government has also assured that robust data security protocols will be implemented to safeguard information during collection, transmission, and storage, addressing concerns around privacy and digital vulnerabilities.

New Delhi: The United States has reiterated that while it welcomes legitimate travelers, it "cannot and will not tolerate" illegal entry or misuse of visas. 

The statement comes amid outrage over a video showing an Indian student handcuffed and pinned to the floor at Newark Liberty Airport, allegedly before being deported.

Indirectly defending the action against the student, the US Embassy in India said in a post on X:

"The United States continues to welcome legitimate travellers to our country. However, there is no right to visit the United States. We cannot and will not tolerate illegal entry, abuse of visas, or the violation of US law."

Congress Demands Modi Speak Up

Following the incident, the Indian National Congress has called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take a firm stand and appeal to then-US President Donald Trump to stop the "mistreatment and atrocities" against Indian citizens in the United States.

Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh criticized the Modi government for what he described as repeated failures to uphold the dignity of Indians abroad.

"For the first time, a US head of state has declared a ceasefire between India and Pakistan from Washington DC. President Trump continues to claim credit for pressuring India, while Prime Minister Modi remains silent—not just on this but also on the growing number of atrocities against Indians in the US," Ramesh posted on X.

He added,

"We demand that Prime Minister Modi speak directly with President Trump and intervene to protect Indian students and citizens facing fear and mistreatment in the US."

‘Too Painful to Watch’

Congress Media and Publicity Department chairman Pawan Khera also weighed in, sharing a post by Indian-American entrepreneur Kunal Jain, who had posted the video of the student’s treatment at the airport.

Khera said:

"This is too painful, too humiliating, and too distressing to watch. As a nation, why should we tolerate such humiliation?"

He compared the current scenario to the 2013 Devyani Khobragade incident, when India had strongly protested the treatment of one of its diplomats by US authorities.

"From standing up to the US then, to now watching our citizens being treated like criminals—have we lost all global goodwill?" he asked.

In his original post, Kunal Jain described witnessing the scene firsthand:

"I saw a young Indian student being deported from Newark Airport last night—handcuffed, crying, treated like a criminal. He came chasing a dream, not to cause harm. As an NRI, I felt helpless and heartbroken. This is a human tragedy."

The Indian Consulate in New York has stated that it is in touch with local authorities regarding the incident.