Finally, Tibetan showman gets Indian passport

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, March 16

Tibetan showman Lobsang Wangyal, known for organising Miss Tibet contest, finally got Indian passport after prolonged litigation and struggle with the authorities.

While addressing a press conference here today, Wangyal said, “To get this passport, I had to fight two legal battles in the Delhi High Court.”

The first case was filed in May of 2016 and was concluded with a judgment in my favour. In the judgment, Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva quashed the government’s decision to ask for a citizenship certificate from Tibetans when they apply for a passport. This paved the way for Tibetans to apply, but this was not followed through. Consequently, I had to file a contempt petition in February, which the court resolved later that month. Although there was some police obstruction stating that I didn’t have a house/property to prove I am a permanent resident, I finally got my passport”. Thousands of Tibetans sought political asylum in India following the Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1959. The Government of India issued stay permits called Registration Certificate (RC) and it became the norm for Tibetans to hold this document, which has to be renewed every year which was later increased to every five years. A holder of a RC is not considered to be Indian citizens in spite of the Indian Citizenship Act 1955. For Tibetans to travel abroad, the Indian government issued the Identity Certificate (IC), popularly known as the “yellow book” because of the colour of the cover, in place of a passport.

The Tibetan Charter, Clause 8, Section 2, says that any exiled Tibetan can take citizenship of any country if need be. To show their allegiance to the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), they hold a “Green book” which reflects their tax payment to the CTA.

“By revoking my RC and IC, which is required to get the Indian passport, I am not renouncing my allegiance to the CTA, and I can continue to hold the Green book, which I plan to do,” the Tibetan showman said.

“The Regional Passport Office, Shimla, cancelled and returned my yellow book after they accepted my application for passport, as per the government rule. Today, I went to submit my RC to the SP office. The Regional Passport Office, Shimla, has written to the state Home Department to look into the matter to revoke my RC. I am hoping that to surrender RC would be similar to that of the yellow book and that the government will ask RC holders to surrender theirs to the nearest SP office,” Wangyal said.