Infiltration issue back in focus

By Sujay Mehdudia

DHARAMSALA (H.P.), JAN. 19. Will the 17th Karmapa, Ugyen Trinley Dorjee, be the lucky one among the thousands of illegal Tibetan immigrants residing here and in McLeodganj to get the stamp of legality from the Indian Government which is still to frame a formal policy on such infiltration into the country?

Any decision on this issue could open the floodgates and set a precedent to be followed in the case of nearly 5,000 illegal Tibetan immigrants and hundreds of others coming in every year.

The Himachal Pradesh Government feels it is time a mechanism is evolved for the entry of Tibetans coming into India for an audience with the Dalai Lama. There is no clear direction from the Centre on the problem of ``illegal immigrants'' which is assuming dangerous dimensions and could prove detrimental to the country's interests in the long run.

For instance, if the law takes its own course, the 14- year-old Karmapa, his six associates who escaped from China, including his 24-year-old sister, are illegal immigrants who should be booked and deported to Nepal. A police case is also to be registered against them. But no such thing has happened and the Centre seems to be sitting quietly on the matter.

In this connection, it may be mentioned that a query from the State Government, about a week back, seeking a clarification on the status of the Karmapa and his entourage and how to should deal with them has still not been answered by the Centre.

According to a senior official in Dharmasala, the State Government has drawn up a list of around 5,000 illegal immigrants currently staying in Dharamsala and McLeodganj without valid documents. While entering the country, all they had was a slip issued at the border with Nepal. It is surprising how they were allowed to cross over by the Indian authorities without any valid documents or check.

``There is strong feeling among the intelligence agencies and the State Government that there could be spies walking into India in the guise of monks and lamas and without any questions being asked. We are not authorised to act on our own and such sensitive matters are guided by the directions of the Central Government,'' says a high ranking official.

On an average around 20 to 30 ``illegal Tibetan immigrants'' walk into Dharamsala and McLeodganj, the headquarters of the so-called Tibetan government-in-exile, every day. They arrive here without proper documents or papers. A majority of them do not register themselves at the Nepal border. Many of them come with a plea to have an audience with the Dalai Lama. While some come with the excuse of getting treated at the Tibetan Hospital, others come on the plea of acquiring higher education.

According to a senior police official, the enforcement agencies are able to nab several such illegals. While some are sent back from the Nepal border others are seen off from Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh. But nearly 90 per cent of them return in the next few days because of the porous nature of the border. It then becomes extremely difficult to nab all the illegal immigrants as they mingle with the Tibetan population in McLeodganj and are able to give a slip to the police.

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