First Tibetan in exile gets Indian passport

[Big Uncle]

Once the Dalai Lama's not around anymore, the stabilizing factor for the Tibetan leadership will no longer be there. A lot more Tibetans will rush to get Indian passports and for the elite and rich, they will leave India for other countries. It's just a matter of time before that happens. Unfortunately, Tibetans would be scattered and perhaps even more Tibetans, especially of the older generation would rather opt to return to their homeland.

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First Tibetan in exile gets Indian passport
Mar 17, 2017, 07.36 AM IST

DHARAMSHALA: After fighting a court battle against Union ministry of external affairs and authorities concerned, a Tibetan in exile has succeeded in getting an Indian passport. Lobsang Wangyal (47), the man behind Miss Tibet pageant, after approaching various authorities had filed the case in May 2016.

Holding the passport in hand, Wangyal on Thursday told mediapersons that Sonia Gandhi being from Italy got Indian citizenship after her marriage, but he despite taking birth in India had to move from pillar to post to attain the same. Wangyal was born in Orissa in May, 1970.

"There are laws that if you marry an Indian you will get citizenship, but I couldn't prove it before the authorities concerned and was constrained to file the case. I have got it, and now my battle will go on for rest of the Tibetans in exile," he said.

This is a landmark judgment by Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, who quashed the government's decision to ask for a citizenship certificate from Tibetans when they apply for a passport. "This has paved the way for other Tibetans to apply," he said, adding that it was in a short period of four months that the case had been decided.

"I had to file a contempt petition in February, which the court resolved later that month. Despite some police objection that I didn't have a house/property to prove that I am a permanent resident, I finally got my passport," he added.

"I have been told by an officer at the RPO Shimla that the MEA is looking into the issue and a decision may soon be taken to issue a passport to Tibetans," he said.

According to law, anybody born in India between 1950 and 1987 are citizens of India. The government of India usually issues stay permits called registration certificate (RC) and Tibetans have to get this document renewed every five years. But holder of an RC is not considered an Indian citizen.

For Tibetans to travel abroad, the Indian government issues an identity certificate (IC), popularly known as the 'yellow book' in place of a passport. "It takes at least one year to get an IC, and then each time you travel, you need to get a return visa and an exit permit, a complex and time-consuming process" he maintained.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/first-tibetan-in-exile-gets-indian-passport/articleshow/57678734.cms

[Erstvollzug]

Tibetans getting Indian passports would mean they are Indian citizens and must uphold the Indian constitution.  Thereby automatically cutting out the CTA or Tibetan govt in exile. For years the CTA in Dharamsala discourages Tibetans to get an Indian passport and become Indian so that they can all return to a free Tibet. By having a Indian yellow book, they can be under the protection of India but not an Indian citizen making them loyal to CTA and still be Tibetan 'citizens'. It is a special program India created for Tibetan refugees. They get a yellow book which is their identity but are not Indian citizens. Now Tibetans can be legal Indian citizens which means they will not need a yellow book but fully fledged Indians. This will change the dynamics for their devotions and loyalties over time.

CTA is loosing control on many grounds now. As their own Tibetans are becoming Indian, going to Indian universities, becoming proficient in Indian language, holding businesses/jobs in India, owning property in India will make them less and less Tibetan by nationality and eventually mindset wise more Indian also. Many Tibetans in exile 'fighting' for Tibetan independence have never even seen Tibet. But out of the 150,000 Tibetans in India, easily 90% do not actively engage in any Free Tibet activism. They are too busy working to survive and make a daily livelihood.

CTA not obtaining Tibetan independence and autonomy for the last 50 years has greatly disheartened their own people in exile to the point they do not wish to be asserting their Tibetan nationality by holding a inconvenient yellow book anymore but opting to become Indians now. CTA has failed in their job and main responsibility which obtaining a Free or autonomous Tibet and their exiled citizens cannot wait any longer.

Too bad.

[Rowntree]

The CTA needed the older generations of Tibetans in exile to buy their false promise to eventually be back in Tibet in order to continue their poor me refugees card to milk more aids from the West. If more Tibetans decided to be Indian citizens, then the CTA will have no refugees to hold onto. Frankly speaking, I believe that the members of the CTA have applied different citizenships to secure their family and their own benefits. This is very obvious because they did not do anything in the past 58 years to make things better for anyone in exile. Tibetans in exile who cannot afford to go overseas will push their way through this law and get themselves an Indian citizenship for sure. The fact that this law was not reinforced says a lot about the efficiency of the Indian government as well as the CTA in procrastinating the benefits the Tibetans in exile are entitled for.

[grandmapele]

This is a very interesting pivotal point. Tibetans in exile now do not have to be subjected to the whims and fancy of the CTA who has created a lot of problems with their discrimination. This will give a new lease on for the Tibetans in exile. They are not stuck in limbo, stateless.

What a landmark achievement for the younger generation Tibetans who wish to move on in life.

[DharmaSpace]

Things are really getting more interesting for the Tibetans..

The Tibetans will have much more freedom to do as they like, and travel and all that. No more being under the thumb of CTA. With more Tibetans having much more freedom, we can see their true 'self' and what they will really do.

It is always good to have more options than less options, so this is a good thing for the Tibetans.

[Pema8]

"I have been told by an officer at the RPO Shimla that the MEA is looking into the issue and a decision may soon be taken to issue a passport to Tibetans," he said.

According to law, anybody born in India between 1950 and 1987 are citizens of India. The government of India usually issues stay permits called registration certificate (RC) and Tibetans have to get this document renewed every five years. But holder of an RC is not considered an Indian citizen.

For Tibetans to travel abroad, the Indian government issues an identity certificate (IC), popularly known as the 'yellow book' in place of a passport. "It takes at least one year to get an IC, and then each time you travel, you need to get a return visa and an exit permit, a complex and time-consuming process" he maintained.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/first-tibetan-in-exile-gets-indian-passport/articleshow/57678734.cms

It is time to move on. The CTA has not managed to connect with the Chinese to find a peaceful solution. So the solution will be found and it seems that Tibet is really lost.

If no positive action will be taken you can just forget it, you will be either Indian or Chinese! Such a pity after so much effort put in from people all over the world to support the Dalai Lama, the Tibetans and the Tibetan government.

But I guess that is what happens if you don't prioritise your people but only divide families and monasteries and make their life difficult and dangerous because of the Shugden ban!

[michaela]

After 58 years in exile, the dream of getting independence or returning to a free Tibet is getting further and further away. Now, the Tibetans in exile are in its second generation, and most of them do not have the first-hand experience of what happened in Tibet in the late 50s. To make the matter worse, the Tibetan government in exile did not provide substantial welfare to the Tibetans in exile. When the Tibetans in exile experienced drought or the sweater market was on fire early this year, the Tibetan government in exile was requesting the donation to help the victims. On top of that, you are being discriminated against. If you are practicing Dorje Shugden, you automatically presumed as a Chinese agent. If you are against the CTA, you automatically stripped of the little privilege and dignity that you have.

From a secular point of view, other than for the sentimental reason, there is no incentive to be the subject of Tibetan government in exile. The trend of trying to get passports that are associated with an established country like India, China, European countries and the United States will continue, and there is nothing that the Tibetan leadership in exile can do to prevent this from happening.

[michaela]

Update on the issuance of Indian passports to Tibetan refugees - Tibetan refugees born between 1950 - 1987 in India are to be given Indian passports and to be treated as Indian citizens by birth. The new policy is expected to benefit thousands of Tibetans living in exile.

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Tibetan refugees to get Indian passports

NEW DELHI: Tibetan refugees born in India during 1950-87 will soon be able to get Indian passports, according to a new policy by the Centre.

The ministry of external affairs (MEA) accepted a Delhi high court ruling from last year that had asked for Tibetan refugees to be considered Indian citizens. The government informed Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva that it has accepted his September 2016 verdict that nationality of Tibetans, born in India during the specific period, cannot be questioned under the Citizenship Act.

The policy change came into effect from March 2017 and is expected to benefit thousands of Tibetans living in India in forced exile.

The MEA directed all passport offices in India and abroad to process pending applications of Tibetan Refugee applicants born in India between 26/01/1950 to 01/07/1987 for the issue of passports, and treat them as Indian citizens by birth.

Latest rules also specify that if the police verification report in the cases of such applicants from local police or security agencies of the government is received as "adverse" because the refugee is not an Indian citizen by birth, it will be treated by the authorities as "cleared."

Earlier the home ministry had argued that it considers requests for citizenship by Tibetans residing in India on a case-by-case basis, but the HC ordered it to consider applications of all Tibetans and not ask them to certify their nationality. Till then the MHA was issuing identity certificate/ residential permit instead of passports to the Tibetan Refugees.

With MEA issuing new rules, HC declared five petitioners before it to be Indian citizens and entitled to a passport, asking the government to issue them travel documents in four weeks. The petitioners had gone to court arguing they were wrongly denied passports despite having other proofs of citizenship including voter ID cards.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/tibetan-refugees-to-get-indian-passports/articleshow/58231841.cms                                               

[michaela]

Tibetan Identity certificate is decreasing in value. One of the European countries, Sweden has announced that they will not accept Tibetan IC as a valid travel documents. If more countries follow Sweden footsteps, Tibetan refugees in India would not have much choice  but to convert to Indian citizenship, especially now that the Indian government has offered to issue passport for Tibetans born in India between 1950 - 1987. Soon, the CTA will become even more irrelevant.

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Sweden Does Not Accept India’s Tibetan Travel Document ‘IC’

Sweden does not accept India’s Tibetan travel document, Identity Certificate ‘IC’. Tibetan refugees living in India has a travel document issued by the Government of India in order to travel to different parts of the world. However, the Sweden government announced since last year that it does not accept that Tibetan travel document as a valid document according to a report by VOA Tibetan.

Tibetans first sought political asylum in India after China invaded Tibet in 1959. Along with His Holiness the Dalai Lama fleeing into exile to India, thousands of Tibetans also fled along with him as well as following him in the next few decades.

Today the Tibetan refugees have spread across the world wherever the governments have extended their support and provided asylum. But the major portion of the Tibetan population is based in India. With the support from the Indian government, Tibetans have thrived across India with separated areas as Tibetan villages allotted, separated Tibetan schools, religious institutes and administrative bodies.

More than one hundred Tibetans live in Sweden today. There has been a large influx of refugees in Europe that has concerned the local people of the region. Sweden has issued an announcement that they will not accept the Tibetan travel document called ‘IC’, yellow covered passport book. Therefore Tibetans applying for a Sweden visa with ‘IC’ will not be accepted as a valid travel document.

http://www.tibetanjournal.com/index.php/2017/04/06/sweden-does-not-accept-indias-tibetan-travel-document-ic/

[michaela]

Tibetan refugees are happy with the opportunity to be Indian citizens. It will help them to secure better jobs and give them a lot more freedom to travel. The only leverage that the CTA has for the Tibetan refugees to maintain their refugee status is the sentiments to Tibetan cause.

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Tibetans in U’khand welcome Centre's passport move

Dehradun: As many as 10,000 Tibetans living in Uttarakhand have welcomed the Centre’s move to allow Tibetan refugees born in the country between 1950 and 87 to apply for Indian passports after the ministry of external affairs (MEA) accepted a Delhi high court’s ruling from last year that had asked for Tibetan refugees born in India during the period to be considered Indian citizens.

Uttarakhand Tibetan Settlement joint secretary Norbu, who migrated to India when he was child, said, “There are over 10,000 Tibetans in the state and majority of them are born in India. They are either third or fourth generation. In fact, most of them would like to apply for Indian passports as it would help them secure better livelihood.

“Despite being graduates and postgraduates, Tibetan youth are unable to a find work, especially in the government sector, because they are not Indian citizens and get engaged in petty businesses. It’s good that the Indian government has given an option to the Tibetans youth, who is more Indian and never been to Tibet.”

As of now, the ministry of home affairs issues residential permits or identity cards to Tibetans and some of them even have voters’ id as well.

Appreciating the Centre’s move, Ngawang Choedhan, another Tibetan who was born in India in 1986, told TOI, “This will remove the refugee tag from us and will definitely help us secure better jobs. Although we can travel abroad on our ids, travelling to Nepal and China was prohibited. Now, we hope that we can travel to Nepal.”

Talking about limitations of this move, Karma Chodak, who moved to India from Myanmar when he was still a child, said, “After 60 years, this may provide a respite to some, but many Tibetans may not like to get Indian passports considering that they are detaching themselves from their own country’s freedom struggle. Although employment avenues may increase, Tibetans will have to face stiff competition like any other Indian youth.”

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/10000-tibetans-in-ukhand-eligible-for-indian-passports/articleshow/58246986.cms

[lotus1]

I would think this is a good development for Tibetan. CTA has been controlling the Tibetans and collecting money from Tibetan in Exile. However, what have CTA done to take care of the Tibetan in exile? What have CTA done to build the social economy for their people? On top of that, CTA has been instilling fear to their people and the worse part is to discriminate those who practice Dorje Shugden. Where on earth a government would blame a religion for their failure? Therefore, I think that this is a good move to be an Indian Citizen now.

[bambi]

Seems funny... There is no mention of CTA anywhere in the post. A selfish government can never make any improvement. Suppressing the freedom of your own people definitely will not work. Sorry to say this but I don't think people are 'stupid'. Even if CTA won't help, doesn't mean that they can't do it themselves. As the saying goes, where there is a will, there is a way.

Interesting to see the future of CTA if more Tibetans leave India for somewhere else or becoming Indian citizens. Which means, those people do not need to be governed by the CTA! Which also mean, who will care what they say! These people will have the freedom to practice or do what they want without CTA telling them what to do! That would really be interesting!

[kris]

This the start of the rapid downfall for the Dharamshala. Many people will follow suit and Tibetans to get Indian passports will be increasing. When more and more Tibetans received their Indian passports, they will realise how easy to travel with these documents, and the words will spread. Many will then ask, what is the benefit of becoming Tibetan in Exile?

Actually, many of the CTA officials are already holding foreign passports. They are enjoying all the freedom to travel, at the expense of the welfare of their people.

[michaela]

Dear Kris

There is no benefit being refugees under the CTA's administration. I think the only reason they maintain their refugee status is the sentiment that they are Tibetans and therefore should fight for the Tibetan cause, this activism will be diluted when the Tibetan refugees become citizens of another country because they have to pledge loyalty to that country.

[Matibhadra]

Many will then ask, what is the benefit of becoming Tibetan in Exile?

Being able to claim refugee status and get a green card or the like, just like any CIA operative, be it Muslim, Buddhist, or whatever. That's why they became refugees in the first place, to live the good life in the West as promised by their bosses, in exchange for betraying and fighting against their own country. 

However, the evil dalie himself makes sure that just a tiny minority of exiled Tibetans get citizenship in any country whatsoever, including India, so that the biggest amount of self-exiled Tibetans remain stateless, and thus vulnerable, powerless, fully dependent on his dictatorial, oppressive rule.

Indeed, the abominable tyrant, the evil dalie, perfectly knows and astutely manipulates the feelings of submission and blind loyalty captive humans develop towards their captors, also known as the “Stockholm syndrome”.

Therefore, keeping most self-exiled Tibetans stateless, and thus totally under his power, the evil dalie ensures their unanimous submission and blind loyalty, whence the myth of the evil dalie's “undisputed leadership” among Tibetans.

Bottom line, as soon as self-exiled Tibetans wake up and realize that they are cynically used by a greedy, unscrupulous politician, they will leave their disgraceful, miserable, tormented, stateless captivity in India, and return to their motherland, where they will enjoy their full rights of citizenship, freedom, peace, and prosperity within the great country which is China.