Over the past three weeks, confusion has surrounded whether Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi would visit the University of Cambridge, with the possibility of a visit generating backlash in Cambridge and further afield over his politics.

An open letter addressed to the Vice Chancellor – said to have personally invited Modi – criticised the move and argued that the invitation had “gravely compromised” the “reputation” of the university.

The letter describes Modi as being associated with “flagrant human rights abuses” and “the very idea of freedom of speech”.

Confusion started, however, when the initial letter seen by Varsity was posted on the Facebook page of M.B. Rajesh, an Indian MP who represents the Communist Party of India. This version was dated the 17th October 2015, presented without the list or number of signatories and signed “Faculty, Students and Alumni of Cambridge”.

Mr Rajesh told Varsity that he had “received the full text of the said letter from a journalist friend in Delhi” and that he had been in circulation before he posted it online.

Then, over a week later, a second version of the letter seen by Varsity was dated the 28th October, which did carry a full list of signatories. Supporters included academics from the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford and Warwick.

One supporter signed it as a ‘member of civil society’, while another used ‘global citizen’ to describe themselves.

Seeking clarification on the letter, Varsity spoke to a student involved in the organisation of it who said “the letter was sent to the Vice Chancellor on 20 October 2015 with 219 signatures”, on the basis of an article by The Hindustan Times.

“That’s the only letter we organised,” the student continued, adding that an external letter signed by some Cambridge academics has also been sent around, which may explain duplicates.

Puzzlement concerning this story continued when there were reports on Twitter of an unrelated anti-Modi banner being projected on the Palace of Westminster. Reading ‘Modi Not Welcome’, an image of the banner spread fervently online and was reported in The Mirror amid accusations on social media that the image was doctored.

In addition, on Monday 9th November an event organised by Cambridgeshire Left was held at King’s College, entitled ‘Let’s Talk Modi’. A student present at the ”completely packed” discussion told Varsity the conversation ranged from Modi’s attacks on freedom of expression to “why the university thought it appropriate/fruitful to invite Modi considering that he’s a ‘controversial’ figure”.

On the same evening as this event, social media was filled with comments that Modi had backed down from visiting under pressure from the academic community, the vast bulk of which came from Indian-based accounts.

Then, adding further uncertainty, this week The Statesman reported that “at no stage was the prime minister to go to Cambridge” and that “it was never on the cards”. The official itinerary released on India’s governmental website on Tuesday confirms this as no visit to Cambridge is listed.

A spokesman for the Vice-Chancellor’s Office did, however, confirm that “the University of Cambridge has extended an invitation to the democratically elected Prime Minister of India”, going on to emphasise the importance of Cambridge’s partnership with the country.