A woman from Arunachal Pradesh has alleged that Chinese authorities detained and harassed her at Shanghai airport after refusing to accept her Indian passport. The woman, named Pema Wang Thongdok, shared her experience through posts on the social media platform X. 

She said she was held at the Shanghai Pudong Airport for 18 hours on November 21 because officials claimed her passport was not valid. According to her, immigration officers said that since her birthplace is Arunachal Pradesh, they considered it part of China and not India.

Thongdok was travelling from London to Japan and had a three-hour layover at Shanghai airport. However, when Chinese immigration checked her passport, they told her that it was “invalid”. She wrote that the officials said, “Arunachal Pradesh is part of China”, and therefore her Indian passport was not acceptable. She also said that her passport was taken away, and she was not allowed to board her next flight even though she had a valid Japanese visa.

Thongdok alleged that both immigration staff and airline workers mocked her and asked her to apply for a Chinese passport instead. During her detention, she said she was denied food, access to airport facilities, and any clear update about her situation. She also claimed that she was not allowed to book another flight or move around freely inside the airport.

She was eventually released only after she contacted the Indian Consulate in Shanghai through a friend in the UK. She said that she was forced to buy a new ticket only through China Eastern Airlines, which caused her financial losses since she missed her original flight and hotel bookings.

Calling the incident a “direct insult to India’s sovereignty”, Thongdok requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indian authorities to take strict action and raise the matter with Beijing. She also demanded compensation and protection for people from Arunachal Pradesh travelling abroad to ensure that such incidents do not happen again.

The incident has sparked strong reactions among Indians and has gained attention in diplomatic circles. It highlights the ongoing tension between India and China over Arunachal Pradesh, which China refers to as “Zangnan”, claiming it as part of its territory. India has repeatedly rejected these claims, stating clearly that Arunachal Pradesh “was, is, and will always remain an integral part of India.”