Eminent Historian Ramachandra Guha denied entry to US

I've been blogging way too much this weekend (my spouse is on a business trip -- nothing much else to do but work on my book, and I wouldn't want to do that, now would I?).

But this is too outrageous to pass up. Ramachandra Guha had the right visa (B1), and he had the letters of invitation from Oberlin and Berkeley, but Immigration officials in Vancouver still wouldn't let him in. Apparently part of the problem was that the invitation letters were offering him too much money! The officer couldn't fathom they would be paying him so much "for teaching history."

Apparently Immigration hasn't heard of making a phone call to the university -- or checking the university schedule on the internet to see if his lecture is listed. Or any reason whatsoever.

Argh.
[Via Kaushik]