India Issues Strong Protest Over Chinese Airport Harassment of Arunachal Citizen
India has lodged a strong diplomatic protest with China after an Indian national from Arunachal Pradesh faced 18 hours of harassment at Shanghai Pudong Airport, where Chinese officials mocked her Indian citizenship and declared her passport invalid.
Key Developments
- India issued demarches in both Beijing and Delhi over the November 24 incident
- Prema Wangjom Thongdok was detained and questioned about her Indian citizenship
- Chinese officials claimed “Arunachal is not part of India” and suggested she apply for Chinese passport
- Indian consulate officials secured her release after 18-hour ordeal
Diplomatic Response
India immediately registered a strong demarche with Chinese authorities in both capitals on the same day of the incident. The Indian Consulate in Shanghai provided full assistance to the stranded passenger and challenged her detention on “ludicrous grounds.”
Officials emphasized that Arunachal Pradesh is “indisputably Indian territory” and its residents are entitled to hold Indian passports. The actions were also flagged as violations of international civil aviation conventions.
Victim’s Harrowing Experience
Prema Thongdok, an Indian citizen living in the UK for 14 years, was transiting through Shanghai en route to Japan when immigration officials singled her out.
“When I tried to question them and ask them what the issue was, they said, ‘Arunachal is not part of India’ and started mocking and laughing and saying things like ‘you should apply for the Chinese passport, you’re Chinese, you’re not Indian,'” Thongdok told ANI.
She described “humiliating, questionable behaviour” from both immigration and China Eastern Airlines staff, who allegedly pointed at her and laughed while referring to Arunachal as Chinese territory.
Timely Embassy Intervention
After contacting Indian missions in Shanghai and Beijing, officials arrived within an hour, provided food, and negotiated her release. “A very long ordeal, 18 hours, but glad that I’m out of there,” Thongdok recounted.
Background: Ongoing Territorial Dispute
This incident occurs amid and follows China’s repeated attempts to claim Arunachal Pradesh. In May, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had categorically rejected China’s “vain and preposterous attempts” to rename places in the state.
“Creative naming will not alter the undeniable reality that Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India,” Jaiswal stated.
