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India has issued a firm demarche to China in Beijing and Delhi following the harassment of Arunachal Pradesh-born Indian national Prema Wangjom Thongdok at Shanghai Pudong Airport, sources said on Monday.

Thongdok, an Indian citizen residing in the United Kingdom for 14 years, was travelling from London to Japan via Shanghai on November 21. She alleged that Chinese immigration officials at the airport declared her Indian passport invalid, citing her place of birth. Officials reportedly told her, “Arunachal is not part of India,” and mocked her, suggesting she “apply for a Chinese passport.”

According to Thongdok, she was singled out from the queue, detained for 18 hours, and denied clear information, adequate food, and access to airport facilities. Staff from China Eastern Airlines allegedly participated in the humiliating treatment. The ordeal ended only after she contacted the Indian Consulates in Shanghai and Beijing, whose officials intervened and facilitated her onward travel.

Sources said India’s protest emphasised that Thongdok had been detained on “ludicrous grounds” and reiterated that Arunachal Pradesh is indisputably Indian territory. The actions of the Chinese authorities were highlighted as contraventions of the Chicago and Montreal Conventions on civil aviation.

 

Also read: Arunachal is part of China: Shanghai 'harasses' Indian woman

“The Indian government made a strong demarche with the Chinese side on the same day the incident occurred. Our Consulate in Shanghai also extended full assistance to the passenger,” a source said.

The incident comes amid a period of improving bilateral interactions between India and China. India has consistently rejected China’s claims over Arunachal Pradesh, with the Ministry of External Affairs in May reaffirming that any attempts to rename places in the state are “vain and preposterous” and will not alter the reality that Arunachal Pradesh remains an integral and inalienable part of India.

 

Thongdok described the treatment as “humiliating and questionable” and called on the Indian government to ensure that citizens from Arunachal Pradesh face no such obstacles during international travel in the future.