New Delhi: The Centre does not have the
exact number of Tibetans who fled from their country and
crossed over into India during the 1959 Tibetan Uprising along
with spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
In reply to an RTI query, the Home Ministry said
according to estimates the number of refugees who had crossed
over into India during the period is nearly 80,000.
"Although the Ministry has no statistical record of
Tibetans who had landed in India in 1959 along with His
Holiness the Dalai Lama. But some 80,000 Tibetans are said to
have landed in India during the period," the Home Ministry
said in response to an RTI plea.
Activist Subhash Agrawal wanted to know from the Prime
Minister`s Office the number of Tibetan refugees who
originally found shelter in the country. The PMO transferred
the application to the Home Ministry.
The Ministry added that the present number of "people
of Tibetan origin" could be nearly 1,09,000 in India.
It also said that there is no policy to repatriate the
people of Tibetan origin to their native country.
Agrawal who has also raised the question of some
Chinese search engines showing Arunachal Pradesh as part of
China in his RTI application was informed by the External
Affairs Ministry that the government is aware of such sites.
"Government of India is aware that the online map
service providers use official map of a particular country for
their services in that country. China disputes the
international boundary between India and China in the Eastern
sector and claims approximately 90,000 square kilometer of
Indian Territory in the state of Arunachal Pradesh," it said.
The reply said government has taken up the matter with
the Chinese side and has conveyed its clear and consistent
position that Arunachal Pradesh is "integral and inalienable"
part of India.
PTI
