A generation promised a connected planet now questions their place on it as governments erode hard-won freedoms
The call came on a Wednesday afternoon in mid-March. It was a friend from one of the European embassies in New Delhi, where we lived. State governments were quietly planning to round up foreigners, he said, and put them in indefinite quarantine or on planes back home. Embassies were making arrangements to fly out citizens. You should make plans for your family, too.
That same day, the Indian government cancelled all travel visas, including the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cards.
A week later, it banned Indian citizens from returning by cancelling all international flights and closing borders to prevent the further spread of Covid-19. In the early stages of the outbreak, the prevailing belief was that foreigners had brought the disease into India.