Thongdok alleged that Shanghai airport authorities instead detained and harassed her for 18 hours because her passport mentioned her place of birth as Arunachal Pradesh. She added that the Chinese authorities at the airport said her Indian passport was “invalid”, claiming that Arunachal Pradesh was actually part of China.
“I had actually gone past the immigration gate. It was e-gate, so I put my passport through and went to the security gates,” Thongdok told the India Today news magazine over videolink from Thailand’s capital, Bangkok. “One of the officials came and started screaming, ‘India! India!’ with my name and singled me out,” she added.
When Thongdok asked the official why she was being taken out, she said the official told Thongdok that her Indian passport is not valid because she was born in Arunachal Pradesh. Thongdok added that the official said: “Arunachal is part of China. Your passport is invalid.”
