merican broadcaster David Barsamian, who was on his way to Kashmir to work on the unmarked graves controversy, was deported on arrival at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Friday. Though the Central government claimed that this was done because Barsamian had violated visa regulations, Barsamain and his supporters allege that the deportation was due to his impending project on Kashmir. In an email to Khurram Parvez, the coordinator of Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) in Kashmir, Barsamian said that the incident was a clear effort by the Indian government to ensure the state's version on Kashmir remained uncontested. "But it's Kashmir that is at the heart of the Indian state's concerns. I am safe and sound unlike some in the world's largest democracy," the mail reads.

Barsamian has done extensive work on India ranging from Binayak Sen to the Gujarat pogrom and over the last two years had been taking an active interest in Kashmir. He was due to arrive in Kashmir next week to document the controversy of unmarked graves on which the State Human Rights Commission has already filed a report. According to the report about 2,730 unidentified people, whom the government claims to be terrorists, lie in unmarked graves along the Line of Control. "He was going to visit some of the graves and talk to some of the people affected," says Khurram. "It appears the world's largest democracy is afraid of transparency. This has been happening regularly vis-a-vis Kashmir post 2008. We have eight documented cases where people were deported from Srinagar," Khurram adds.

Reacting to the incident, Sanjay Kak, an independent documentary film-maker who has worked on Kashmir, said, "He is over 70 and a man of high standing. I think the Indian government is not afraid of looking like a heavy-handed state. If they had an objection with his visa, they should have communicated that to him before."

Barsamian is the founder and director of US based Alternative Radio.