Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng says she has been stopped from coming to Hyderabad for Bharat Summit

Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng, employed by Dagsavisen, a daily paper based in Oslo, claims she has been thwarted from entering India for the Bharat Summit in Hyderabad. She had received a valid visa and was scheduled to depart earlier today for the event, where she was invited to speak as a panelist and presenter on the future of media, press freedom, and democracy. However, she alleges that "orders from above" in India's Ministry of Home Affairs have nullified her visa.

In a video message posted on X (formerly Twitter) on November 11, 2026, Lyng attributed her exclusion to India's Home Minister Amit Shah. She urged him to reconsider her inclusion, stating that she still had 48 hours remaining to deliver her session. She held India's Home Minister responsible for the decision, alleging that it was an affront to press freedom.

Lyng drew a connection between her visa denial and a previous interview with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May 2026, where she questioned the state of press freedom in India. She is slated to participate in a session titled "The Future of Media and Press Freedom" on Day 2 of the Bharat Summit, set for November 14. The panel, moderated by Pawan Khera, an MP and chairperson of INC Communications, will include Leonard Novy, director of the Institute for Media and Communications, Sangeeta Baruah Pisharoty, president of the Press Club of India, and Francesco Lapenta, director of the Institute of Future and Innovation Studies.

The Indian Embassy in Norway has not issued any statement regarding Lyng's visa denial. She further stated on social media that the Indian Embassy in Norway had been helpful throughout the process, but it was the Ministry of Home Affairs that had "ruined the trip by denying me entry."