How are your papers?
” ེད་ ི་ཡིག་ཆ་འ ིག་སོང་ངམ།•
Documentation, Legal Status, Migration and Identity Construction of Tibetan refugees in India
Master Thesis
University of Amsterdam Contemporary Asian Studies Supervisor: Dr. Tina Harris Gedun Gyatso ID: 10862145
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Pic. No: 1 (The Multi documents held by Tibetan refugees in India. This shows the importance of political identity construction through paperwork and what this thesis will be exploring is the difficulties of documentation and legal status of Tibetan refugees in India. Tibetan Green Book, Registration Certificates, Identity Certificate and Chinese travel documents. Photographed by Gedun Gyatso, 2015)
2 ABSTRACT According to the Tibetan Demographic Survey of 2009, there are more than ten thousand “Tibetan Refugees” residing in India today and these refugees have unique characteristics compare to other refugees in the world. They are both stateless and document-less, which I call “Double less-ness”. Tibetan refugees in India do not hold any legal status. However, they are labeled according to different criteria: “Tibetan Citizens” in the eyes of Central Tibetan Administration in India (an unrecognized political community), “Refugees” in the eyes of many western countries, “Foreign Guests” in the eyes of Indian state, and “Overseas Chinese” in the eyes of Chinese government. In this context refugees are referred as political refugees, the foreign guest should understand as foreign residents according to Indian state and the overseas Chinese are referred as Chinese Citizens from the time when Tibetan refugees have family registration records in China (McConnell: 2011: 968). Based on ethnographic research on Tibetan refugees in India, this thesis discusses the legal status, difficulties of documentation, its processes, expectations of Tibetan migrants and different concepts regarding state, citizen, migration, status, mobility and documentation among three different generations of Tibetans in the exile communities.
During the research, data was collected by the methods of (1) informal conversations with Tibetan refugees of different generations, backgrounds and life styles, (2) observations with Tibetan refugees planning to migrate from India to the west or return back to Tibet, (3) structured interviews with Tibetans come from Tibet and born in India,(4) formal interviews with Indian and Tibetan officials regarding legal status and rights of Tibetan refugees in India. The results show that Tibetan refugees in India do not hold any legal statuses except for being labeled as “foreign Resident” and there is no uniform or standardized policy towards Tibetan refugees from the government of India. There are thousands of Tibetan refugees residing in India, as foreigners by holding false documents, making them feel insecure and excluded from Indian societies. This unfitting or outcast feeling from Indian societies becomes the push factors for Tibetan refugees to migrate from the exile communities in India to another place again for a better life. This chain of outflowing Tibetans from India generates a new migration approach: migration is not always the case of high valued wages, regional development and natural disasters. It is a result of difficulties of documentation in the exile communities where people migrate in order to get proper credentials and legal status. The processes of documentation of stateless people create a new concept that is of a “citizen” and it challenges the theory of national citizen, of which we generally understand as citizens within a bounded territory that legitimated to only one sovereign state. However, in contrast, Tibetan refugees are holding different documents and carrying multiple labels out of fear and insecurity within the host state. More surprisingly, it is argued that citizenship and commitment to a state is not about geographic territory, but it is about the security and safety of people.
Key words: Legal status, difficulties of documentation, citizen, refugee, state, migration and mobility
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Tina Harris. I appreciate your seemingly endless patience and support during the many rewrites of this thesis. Your countless comments and ideas are adding immeasurable values to my research. I could have not done this research without your genuine encouragement, advices and emails. You have helped me beyond your role as a supervisor. I am very grateful to you from bottom of my heart. Secondly, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the Erasmus Mundus scholarship for my master studies and given me this golden opportunity to study and explore the outside world. Without this scholarship I would never have made this far. I also would like to thank deeply to all my informants and all other people who I talked to in India and abroad. I felt extremely special to be let into your life stories of sweet and sour. Lastly, I would like to thank to my second reader Dr. Gerben Nooteboom and Dr. Barak Kalir for their precious time.
4 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………………2 List of Tables and Pictures………………………………………………………………………6
1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………6-8 1.1 Research Question and Objectives…………………………………………………….8-9 1.2 Motivation and Relevance………………………………………………………………..9-10 1.3 Thesis Outline………………………………………………………………………………….10
2. Theoretical Framework 2.1 The roles of documentation in migrants’ lives……………………………………….10-12 2.2 Difficulties of documentation and state-citizen theory …………………………...12-14 2.3. Roles of difficulties of documentation in migration ……………………………….14-16
Chapter 1: Indian Policy toward Three Major Tibetan Migration Waves 1.1 Migration1959-1987…………………………………………………………………………….16-18 1.2Migration 1987-2003…………………………………………………………………………….18-19 1.3Migration 2003-2015…………………………………………………………………………….19-23
Chapter 2: Difficulties and processes of obtaining documentation 2.1 Registration Certificates (RCs)………………………………………………………………23-28 - 1959-1987 -1987-2003 - 2003-2015 Special Entry Permit (SEP) - Students - Pilgrimage - Others 2.2 Identity Certificates (ICs)……………………………………………………………………28-29
Chapter 3: Indian Citizenship and Deportation 3.1 Citizenship: a legal battle for Tibetan refugees…………………………………29-33
Chapter 4: Expectations of Tibetan Returnees to Tibet and Migrants to the West 4.1Tibetans who are migrating to the west.………………………………………………33-38 4.2Tibetans who are returning back to Tibet……………………………………………38-43
5.Chapter 5: Conclusion…………………………………………………………………...... 43-44 6.Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………..44-48
7. Appendix………………………………………………………………………………………….48-50
5 LIST OF TABLES AND FIGTURES
Table
2.1 Categories of RC holders, published by FRROs/FROs for various visa related services: 16th September 2014)
Pictures
1. Pic. No: 1 The Multi documents held by Tibetan refugees in India………………………..2
2. Pic. No: 2 Tibetan Registration Certificates……………………………………………………25
3. Pic. No: 3 Registration Certificates Extension Form……………………………………………29
4.Pic. No: 4 Tibetans born in India and stayed 20 over years in India are given 5 years “Stay Visa”………………………………………………………………………………………32
5. Pic. No: 5 Tibetan new arrivals have to extend their Registration Certificates every year………………………………………………………………………………………………..33
6. Pic. No: 6 Tibetan political prisoners are allowed to stay for a longer term on SEPS “others” but they are not given refugee status……………………………………………………...35
7. Pic. No: 7 Identity Certificate “ An Indian travel document issued by the Indian government for foreign residents in India”…………………………………………………………..36
8. Pic. No: 8 Chinese Travel document issued by Chinese government for the Tibetan Returnees. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………...45
9. Pic. No: 9 the application Receipt from Chinese Embassy for Tibetan returnees………………………………………………………………………………………………………………45
10. Pic. No: 10 Current Situation of Tibetan refugees in India 2015. Published on Arunachal Times by AAPSU……………………………………………………………………………………..51
6 1. Introduction
“Tibetans are issued Foreign Registration Certificates not Refugee Certificates in India. ” Tibetan Parliament Speaker Penpa Tsering: (17/03/2015)
There are nearly one hundred thousand Tibetan refugees living in forty five formal settlements, in ten different states including Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Delhi, Sikim, Ladakh and many others living outside of these settlements in India (TDS: 2009). All these Tibetan refugees entered into India during three major waves of Tibetan migration1. Tibetans in India do not hold any legal status. “They are living in a state of legal limbo and do not qualify as refugees in any legal sense” (TJC: 2011: P 12, Moynihan: 2012: P 4). They are facing immense difficulties in India regarding legal status and documentation, majority of them are either undocumented or illegally over staying on false documents with multiple identities. The difficulties of documentation and legal status introduce the main aspects of the Tibetan refugees in India, which will be the focus of this thesis. This thesis is based on three months of qualitative fieldwork in Tibetan exile community in Dharamshala HP2 and Delhi, during which twenty-two members of Tibetan refugees were interviewed. In this thesis, I will show how difficulties of documentation and lack of legal status are related to Indian foreign policies towards Tibetan refugees, the processes of illegal documentation activities, Tibetans’ notions of regarding state and citizenship theory and finally expectations of Tibetans who are migrating from the exile communities either to the west or China.
All the difficulties and complexities of documentation for Tibetan refugees in India are caused by the uncertain foreign policies of the government of India. The government of India does not have any standardized or written policies for Tibetan refugees up until 2003 and 2014.3 The processes of documentation and legal labeling are different from every group of entrants during the three major waves of Tibetan migration. Tibetans migrated to India during the first wave, were issued temporary registration certificates (RCs) and provided basic humanitarian support by the Indian government while the Tibetan migrants from the second wave were completely ignored without any documents and aids until a new policy called Special Entry Permit was implemented for third wave of Tibetan migrants in 2003.
1 Three Major Tibetan Migration waves: between 1959-1987, 1987-2003 and 2003-2015
2Since 1960 Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh became headquarter of Tibetans in exile and
2Since 1960 Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh became headquarter of Tibetans in exile and thousands of Tibetans including H.H Dalai Lama are living at this place. 3 In 2003 government of India applied Special Entry Policy and in 2014 published Tibetan Rehabilitation Policy.
7 The uncertain foreign policies of the Government of India (GOI) towards Tibetan refugees and difficulties of documentations facilitated to label Tibetans into different categories of political status by different political entities based on their national interests and laws. Tibetan refugees in exile are labeled as “Tibetan Citizens” by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), “Refugees” by the international communities, “Overseas Chinese” by the Chinese government and “Foreign Guest” by Indian state (McConnell: 2011 P 986). These unclear or imprecise statuses make Tibetan refugees feel insecure and confused about their political identity. Hence, the uncertain Indian policies of the GOI towards Tibetan refugees are one of my focuses in this research.
The processes of documentation for Tibetans in India are very complicated and difficult. Tibetan refugees are registered as foreign residents in India, where they must hold a Registration Certificates (RCs) at the age of 16 in order to reside in India legally for a short amount of time without being harassed by the Indian authorities, which must be renewed every twelve months if they are from Tibet and five years for those who were born in India and have stayed in India for twenty years (TJC: 2011). RCs are issued to Tibetans under the various acts mentioned hereafter “Foreigners Act 1939, 1946, Foreigners Order 1948 and Indian Citizenship Amendment Act 2003” (Wabern: 2013:15 (TJC: 2011 P12). However, it is not guaranteed that all new Tibetans who arrive India can obtain RCs easily. There is no “national wide uniformity for the issuance of RCs to Tibetan refugees” (McConnell: 2011: P971). Hence, the processes of creating RCs differ from each province, this is the reason why Tibetan refugees have to get documents through binary ways (legal and illicit) ways. For instance, one of my informants did not get RCs in Himachal Pradesh because he lost his Special Entry Permit card. Hence, he applied in Karnataka state in south India and obtained it within a month (Tashi: 2008). It is not the state monolithic entity but individual state officials who are using the powers of issuing, extensions, retaining and reinforces of RCs for Tibetans. For example, most Tibetan new arrivals buy their RCs from the Foreign Registration Officials by paying around “twenty to twenty five thousand Rupees” (Adu: 06/01/2015, McConnell: 2011). This document characterizes Tibetans simply as “foreigners” in India. A valid RC does not provide Tibetans to work legally, own properties and travel freely within India, but an RC is required particularly concerning on residency rights and to get international travel documents. The majority of the Tibetan refugees feel insecure, excluded, discriminated and isolated from Indian society. To avoid this insecure environment of exile community, Tibetan refugees are trying to construct a “new political identify ”(Citizen, permanent resident) through paperwork to reach the higher levels of state recognition in order to enjoy basic political and economic rights. Thus, the issue of whether to take the Indian citizenship or migrate to the west and even as far as going back to Tibet, just to obtain a better documentation are the daily topics among refugees in the exile communities.
However, changing the Tibetan nationality in order to get a secure life is becoming an intensive debate among Tibetan refugees in exile community, and the notions of Tibetans regarding state and citizen relationship is producing a new political
8 identity approach. Majority of the younger generation of Tibetans in exile communities think that taking the Indian citizenship benefits both politically and economically. They argue that Sino-Indo relationship keeps on growing smoothly and the probability that India’s policy towards Tibetans may change sooner or later. India may question or shut down the political activities of the central administration of Tibet in India, which according to the Indian state is run by a group of stateless foreigners. There are also chances that Tibetans in India may be asked by the Indian government to leave at any time, as Tibetans are uniformly recognized as “foreigners” or “guests” in India. The younger generations think that it is safer for CTA to be run by Tibetans who hold Indian citizenship in order to promote Tibetan political issues and protect Tibetans in exile community (Moynihan, 2012). Additionally, Indian citizenship will benefit Tibetans both politically and economically. Tibetans will no longer be treated as foreigners or informal refugees and be used as a political tool to pursuit Indian national interests. On the other hand, the older generations of Tibetans argue that if Tibetans in India obtained Indian citizenship their primary legal obligations, as citizens will be towards India; which will disintegrate unity of Tibetans in exile and affect on Tibetan political struggle. It may bring negative impacts in the minds of both international supporters and Tibetans inside Tibet. As one Tibetan political activist called Tenzin Tsondue said; “When you change your nationality, you are changing your loyalty. You are choosing certain privileges” 4 (Soumya: 2014 p1). This raises questions such as, “does changing of nationality make someone less Tibetan and why should Tibetans in India refuse Indian citizenship when Tibetans in the west are enjoying political and economic benefits of citizenship while still considering themselves as Tibetans and fighting for the Tibetan political issues?” At this turning point of the argument I will discuss later in my thesis chapter three, of which makes Tibetans feel themselves “Tibetan citizens” when there is no such territory and legal recognition called “Tibetan State”, where this strong sense of belongingness to an imagined place obtained from and what are the factors making Tibetans to think contrary to the general understanding of state and citizen relationship.
Not all the Tibetans in India can obtain Indian Citizenship. Only the descendants of the first wave of Tibetan migrants who were born in India between 1959 and 1987 are eligible to obtain Indian citizenship. However, according to Tibetan demographic survey of 2009, “eighty percent” of Tibetans in India are migrants from the second and third migration waves (DST: 2009 P16). These Tibetans and their generations are not eligible for Indian citizenship and they have to remain as stateless foreigners in India. This research population is my main focus of this thesis and the characteristics of this research population will be discussed in chapter four, with reference to the difficulties of documentation and lack of legal status. The Tibetans who are not eligible for Indian citizenship feeling insecure without basic civil and economic rights on Indian soil; they do not want to be excluded, discriminated and neglected from rest of the society. Hence, the difficulties of
4 Soumya: 2014 Tibetan exiles prepare to vote in India- published on Al Jazeera 07/04/2014
9 documentation and refugee identity becomes a threat and a push factor for Tibetan refugees in the exile communities to migrate either to the west or to China in order to obtain a better life. Additionally, they are try to obtain a “new political identity” (Citizen or Permanent Resident) and in doing so constructs through binary (legal or illicit) ways. For instances, fake transnational marriage is a common route for Tibetan refugees to migrate to the west. Those Tibetan refugees who have family members in the west and economically strong are migrating to the west through different channels (transnational marriage, student visa, false documents etc.) for the asylum purposes by paying huge amount of money. For instance, in 2014 the Tibetan visa brokers in India were charging twenty-five thousand Euros for Tibetan refugees who desire to migrate to Europe and fifty thousand US dollars for those who want to migrate to the United States of America. (Dhondhup: 28/01/2015) However, it is not guaranteed that every Tibetan migrant can get asylum in the west. For instance, Tashi (a Tibetan resident in Brussels in Belgium) said that there are approximately two hundreds Tibetan refugees on Belgium’s blacklist for deportation and due to triple illegalness (illegal to enter, illegal to reside and illegal to work) most of them are facing insecurity and exploitation, such as no social security, no government assistance, inaccessibility to hospitals, illegal employment with extremely low wages and no permanent address. He said that the reason of them not gaining asylum is suspicion that these Tibetans came from India and that they already taken asylum in India.
On other hand, Tibetans who are economically weak and have family members in Tibet are migrating back to China in order to get Chinese documents and later to take advantages of the Chinese economic development. This option of returning back to China is one method for Tibetans to get rid of labels such as ‘stateless’, ‘refugee’ and ‘foreigner’. Additionally, it is true that Chinese economic development has become one of the pull factors for Tibetans from exile communities to return back to China but the first priority of Tibetan returnees is still to get documents and legal status in China and not necessarily economic capital accumulation.
However, it is not guaranteed that every Tibetan in exile can get temporary travel documents from the Chinese embassy to return back to China. Tibetan returnees are political refugees who escaped from Tibet to India for their safety and now to surrender and confess for involving Tibetan politics to the Chinese government is not an easy task. Tibetans who are active in Tibetan political issues are not permitted to return back to China and they are recorded in China’s black list group. For instance, on April 29th 2012 china implemented passport regulations to impose significant restrictions on the ability of Tibetans to obtain passports to travel abroad in order to stop the connections between Tibetan political activities and Tibetans inside Tibet 5 (Yangchen: 07/05/2015). From both examples aforementioned, migrants in exile communities can conclude that difficulties of documentation and its processes are playing significant roles in their lives and there is no way to
5 Phayul.com (Discriminatory Chinese passport regulations violate Tibetans’ right to travel: TCHRD)
10 separate this problem from their daily living.
Since difficulties of documentation is such a common problem for migrants in the world, the question arises of how problems of documentation is related to migration studies and challenges theory of state and citizen relationship. In general, migration is understood as movement of people in to an alien place from their native place and motivated to move by lack of access to resources at home, desire for economic prosperity, family reunion, and to escape from political persecution, or even natural disasters or simply a wish to change environments (Asian Development Bank: 2012, Williams and Pradhan: 2009, Ong: 1992). However, it is very significant to see how difficulties of documentation are playing a major push factor for stateless people in the processes of migration, which is rarely found the migration studies and I will discuss later in my thesis.
1.1 Research question and objectives
Initially, I began the research by gathering life stories of Tibetan refugees in India and abroad to find out the differences by comparing with other migrants in the world. Since the difficulties of documentation and its processes for Tibetan refugees in India is the core topic of my thesis, it is very important to focus on the roles of paperwork and to investigate how difficulties of documentation, its binary processes (legal and illicit) are impacting on personal life stories and daily activities of Tibetans refugees. I found out quickly that paperwork plays a major role in the lives of Tibetan refugees. The difficulties of documentation and lack of legal status are the root cause for Tibetan refugees to migrate to the west, return back to China or to change nationality in the exile communities. Additionally, the fear, insecurity, frustration and exclusion from societies of host countries made Tibetans produce a new notion about state and citizen relationship theory, as Tibetans refugees consider themselves citizens of a place called Tibet without territory and recognition.
As the focus of the thesis developed during the research period, so did the central research question. In order to cover the whole scope of the research, the central research question is formulated as follows; “ How do Tibetan migrants make documents in India and what are the difficulties, goals and process of making documents as a stateless person?” To answer this question and to meet the objectives of the thesis, the following sub-questions provide the guideline of research.
1. What is the legal status of Tibetan refugees in India? 2. What are the processes of making documents? 3. What are the different notions of Tibetans regarding changing of nationality? 4. What are the challenges of making documents and how do they face it? 5. How difficulties of documentation in exile impacts on migration of Tibetans from exile community?
11 6. What are the goals of Tibetan migrants?
Based on these research questions, the main objectives are: (1) to expose the notions of Tibetan refugees in India regarding difficulties of documentation, (2) to show through empirical data that Tibetans in India do not hold any legal status, (3) to understand how paperwork is playing a big role in Tibetan refugees’ lives and to present how illicit documents are made by Tibetan refugees in India. (4) Lastly, this research intends to reveal the general circumstances of Tibetan refugees regarding construction of political identity (citizenship) and migration. This research provides a good insight into the Tibetan refugee experiences with documentation in India and it should be treated as exploration of the topic.
1.2 Motivation and relevance
I was motivated to choose the difficulties of documentation and legal status of Tibetan refugees in India as my research topic after I have been through various experiences of discrimination and difficulties of documentation in the exile communities in India and abroad. For instance, I was stopped at the immigration when I arrived in Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam on the 3rd September 2014 for my masters’ study. The immigration officials looked at my Identity Card and asked me, “ Where is your passport? Do you want to take asylum?” I explained to them that Identity Certificate is my passport and I have a valid student visa on IC, which was issued by Netherlands embassy in Delhi, but they did not listen to me. They said, “ this is not a passport, this is a family document”. I told them that I came for study and showed all my papers from University of Amsterdam as proof but still they stopped me for few hours to check my visa and passport. Finally, the officials allowed to me to get out of airport, but I could not get any money from exchange agencies, they did not accept my Identity Card as a passport though I was holding a valid student visa. From that moment onward I came to realize that something is wrong with my political identity and documents. I determined to find out what is the legal status of Tibetan refugees in India and difficulties of documentation.
I found out that there are nearly one hundred thousand Tibetan refugees in India who are living in a state of legal limbo and have been facing similar problems I had experienced. Hence, this research intends to explain the legal status and circumstances of their life regarding documentation, migration and Indian foreign policies in exile community. These factors are relevant for Tibetan asylum seeker facing the legal bar of firm resettlement in west (Europe, United States) and this research will reflect on how it is that Tibetans in India do not hold any legal status and there is no formal law that governs Tibetan refugees in India. This may help for immigrant officials of western countries to reconsider about granting of asylum to Tibetan refugees.
Secondly, Tibetan refugees are facing extremely difficulties of not having proper
12 documentation and legal status in exile community. By studying Tibetan refugees and their lives, I believe that one can better understand circumstances of Tibetan refugees as a whole. My personal motivation to study Tibetan refugees in India and their difficulties of documentation reflects my interest in studying how paperwork is playing a role in the lives of stateless people and what are the impacts on their daily activities. This research can also represents the conditions of stateless people and migrants in the world, who are facing difficulties of documentation in the processes of migration and how they over come these challenges. Furthermore, from this research I am also motivated to evaluate how Tibetan refugees are challenging the theory of economic migration and state and citizen relationship theory. Hence, it should not be underestimate that Tibetans refugees are important for migration studies.
Lastly, my research on difficulties of documentation and its processes reflect my belief in importance of documents for stateless people and it is contributing to the general theories and debate on migration studies about Tibetan refugees in exile community.
1.3 Thesis Outline
This thesis consists of five chapters including conclusion and the readers should keep in mind that there are two distinctive parts in this thesis. The first part includes general introduction, theoretical framework and historical background of Tibetan refugees with different policies of Indian government regarding documentation of Tibetan refugees. These three chapters will serve to understand the Tibetan refugees in India as a whole. In second part, I will present and discuss the difficulties and processes of documentation in India, its impacts on legal status whether Tibetans should change their nationality or not and how the feeling of insecurity in the exile community and difficulties of documents motivated Tibetans to migrate from the exile communities to different places. These chapters will generate the roles of documents or paperwork in the lives of Tibetan refugees and reflects on the theories as discussed in the first part of thesis. In this thesis I will use my research findings to support my arguments and at last I will conclude the thesis by my recommendations.
13 2. Theoretical Framework
There are a number of good literature on Tibetan migration, but less literature critiques on the processes of documentation of stateless foreigners and specially, on the difficulties of acquiring legal status, passport, visa and citizenship in India. Most of the literatures focus on the politic, history, trade and journey of Tibetan refugees over the Himalayan Mountains and how they suffered during their movement (Bruan: 1980, Johnson: 2007, Todd: 199, Harris: 2013 McConnell: 2011, etc.). However, in this thesis Tibetan refugees are characterized as a form of “statelessness and document-lessness”, which I call “double-lessness” and I will mainly discuss this concept in the theoretical framework. I consider that the difficulty of documentation for stateless people is a global phenomenon and they are trying to over come this problem by obtaining new political identity (citizen) and documents. The literature I present in this chapter discusses the difficulties of documentation, binary processes and its impacts on the lives of Tibetan refugees in India. I begin by explaining the concept and roles of documents or paperwork in general, followed by relating theory of state and citizen relationship to difficulties of documentation. After that, I will discuss the relationship between migration and difficulties of documentation.
2.1 The roles of documentation in migrants’ lives
A Russian expression states, “ A man consist of a body, a soul and a passport.” “The passport not only prompts questions of immigration, nationality, globalization, travel and belonging but also connects individual to the realm of the International politic and economy” (Salter 2003:40). This is reason why state is using documentation as a tool to regulate its citizens. States issue documents to citizens to facilitate trade, international movement and security that domestic space is safe and the outside is dangerous. The passport or documents illustrates the relation between the individual and the state to regulate international law along with the individual’s movement (McConnell: 2001). In this twenty first century, document is one of the central to political identity categories and the notion of state is codified in documents rather than merely imagined (Torpey: 2000). Hence, advancement in systematic bureaucracies and documentation are helping state to decide who should be excluded or included within its bounded territory. The documentation is the one of the key factors for creation of state and citizen relationship.
However, advancement in systematic documentation and bureaucracies become a big threat to migrant people in general and it is playing a significant role in their life. There are numbers of people who are trapped between the distinctions of legitimated and illegitimated based on documentation. For instance, the Filipino economic migrants (women) who are running away from Japanese husbands are facing extremely difficulties of documentation in Japan. “Filipino women could not renew their spousal visas without support of their Japanese husbands, women who ran away would lose their visas and remained unground without security” (Faier:
14 2008:645). They are working without documentations and becoming the victims for exploitations and deportation. Similarly, because of restriction on foreign residents in China, Nigerian economic migrants are facing triple-illegalness (illegal to enter, illegal to reside and illegal to work) and over stayed on visas without resident permission is a life threat to these migrants. For these Nigerian migrants police and immigration raids become daily subjects due to lack of proper documents. “They are chasing Africans like sheep without shepherd” (Osnos: 2009:7). These examples well-defined how significant documentation is in the lives of migrants and presents how state policies of documentation for excluding from and including in is making migrants to live in a state of legal limbo.
In this thesis, I am taking Tibetan refugees as an empirical research population, specifically focus on the roles of documentation in their lives and uncover the blurred processes of paperwork in binary (legal and illicit) ways in the exile community. There are nearly one hundred thousand stateless and document less Tibetans, which I call “double lessness” all over the world and documentation is playing a significant role in their lives. It is fascinating to see how Tibetan migrants discuss the paperwork in Tibetan society, whether it is in a café, restaurant and office or on the street, often the first thing they ask each other after greeting is “How are your Papers (a common Tibetan saying)?” I personally encountered this question more than hundred times and this question is embedded in the minds of Tibetan people after facing so many difficulties of documentation and legal status as stateless refugees. For instance, I know a Tibetan man in England and he is currently in an in-house Centre for migrants, which limits his movements and political rights. He migrated from India to England in 2001. He did not receive asylum status in England. Therefore, he illegally migrated to France via ship in hopes for receiving asylum. Unfortunately, his fingerprints and eye scanning that showed he had already applied for asylum in England and caught him. According to the refuge law, a person has no right to seek asylum for second time. Then he escaped to Switzerland and Austria for another opportunity to take asylum by using different names, unfortunately he was caught again and Austrian police deported him to England. This is reason why the question “how are your papers?” is so significant that it generates relationship between documents, stateless people, migrants and its roles in their lives.
This thesis is focused on the difficulties of Tibetans in the processes of documentation and it will contribute to the existing knowledge on roles of paperwork in migrants’ lives. Additionally, I will represent that the advancement in state techniques of documentation and labeling people like electronic chips in the passport, fingerprint, eye scanning and interviews became a big threat to migrants’ mobility and it is also creating a big gap between state and individual (stateless and migrants) regarding citizenship and labeling, which will discuss in the following arguments.
15 2.2 Difficulties of documentation and state-citizen theory
Two different approaches to political identity or citizenship construction are well defined within geography and cultural studies. Geographers are trying to construct a political identity or citizenship based on the connections between territory and statehood (Marston and Mitchell: 2004). The citizenship is understood as a member within the bounded territory and sovereign state has monopoly power over its members within domestic space (Salter: 2003). This concept divided global space in to states based on territories, population and authorities. This concept started from Medieval Ages that domestic space is safe and outside is dangerous. Hence, the sovereign state began to identify its citizens through documentation and control their movement to keep them within the bounded territory (Torpey: 2000). It also shows the power of state sovereignty toward other states and how a political identity is constructed based on territory. The monopoly power of the state over its citizens is more less like the monopoly power of Medieval Kings toward their subjects within his territory. For instance, the doctrine of “ Ne Exeat Regno” (Salter: 2003: 12) is the English common law to mean that no subjects may leave the territory without special permission from the king. Hence, the king and his territory are central to political identity construction for his subjects. Like wise, in modern time state is acting monopoly power over its citizens within the bounded territory by labeling them through documentation and state is the central to political identities for its citizens.
On other hand, the anthropologies of globalization and transnationalism argue that political identity is not single dimension. It is multiple and fluid (Brah: 1996). This concept of identity construction and formation of citizen disrupt the general understanding theory of state and citizen relationship. It generated new approaches of political identity formation that is more flexible rather than systematic of state territory forms the citizenship and political identity. For instance, the literatures like flexible citizenship (Ong: 1999) and Post-national citizenship (Soysal: 1994) offer challenges with state formation of citizenship and state as the constructor of political identity. However, the political identity formed through globalization and transnationalism has problematically ignored the state roles in the construction of identity, citizenship, etc.
However, following empirical research made it clear that it is not always the case. This thesis hopes to generate a new political approach toward the formation of citizenship or identity apart from aforementioned theories about construction of political identity. This research aims to conceptualize citizenship without state monopoly power as an identity constructor by using the empirical case of Tibetan refugees in India. Tibetans born in India and obtained Indian Citizenship do not consider themselves as Indians. According to them, though they have grown up and settled in India, they feel like outsiders or guests. The different expression such as “guests”, “outsiders” and “foreigners” living in India are used to underline their attitude toward Indian Citizenship is not being their real identity (Tibetan Citizen). It is because of uncertain policies of the Indian government toward Tibetan
16 refugees. Tibetans are living in a state of legal limbo in India. They do not hold any legal status. They are stateless and undocumented. However, turning a critical spotlight onto the notion of Tibetans toward identity, Tibetans born in India are obtaining their real identity (Tibetan Citizen) from a political community without sovereignty and territory. The Central Tibetan Administration is not a “State”, but functioning as a state within the territorial jurisdiction of host country. Tibetan central administration has drafted its constitution in 1963 and Tibetan Charter in 1991. It identifies, labels and documents Tibetans as its citizens. All the Tibetans born in Tibet and outside of Tibet shall be a Tibetan Citizen and any person whose either of parents are Tibetan eligible for Tibetan Citizenship. The construction and meaning of identity is focused here that the Central Tibetan administration issues a document called “Green Book” to every Tibetan, which functions like a citizenship certificate. Without “green book”, Tibetans are excluded from Tibetan political and social processes. Tibetans cannot vote, get financial aids and support letters from the Central Tibetan Administration to process any other documents. A citizenship is created and managed by an unrecognized and territory-less political community in exile, this opens up questions regarding the relationship among citizenship, territory and legitimacy normally we understand (McConnell: 2011). This empirical case disrupt theory of state and citizen relationship that state plays the main role in possession of people’s political identity (Torpey: 2002) and its presence at central to recognize or label its citizens within the bounded territory (Salter: 2000).
On other hand, Tibetans who are changing their nationality as Tibetan to Indian is contrary to the concept of transnational citizenship. In general, transnational citizenship is understood as individual’s ability to belong to multiple national states and build social fields that links together their country of origin and their country of settlement (Fitzpatrick: 2014). They make it visible in the political, cultural, social and economic realms. It is not like national citizenship, where individuals are only legitimated to one sovereign state. However, Tibetans in the exile communities are stateless and they do not hold any legal status of origin country. In the processes of changing nationality they are taking citizenship as a political privilege and right, which will decide who would be excluded from and included to. Hence, the nationality obtained through documentation is for political rights and social security rather than changing their real identity (Tibetan Citizen). The exclusion, fear, insecurity, and discrimination in the exile communities become the source of energy to cling on a “real identity” (Tibetan Citizen) and these feelings of insecurity in the host country constructed a citizenship, which is beyond theory of territory bounded state-citizenship and transnational citizenship through globalization. This new citizenship approach is the contribution of my research to the existing literatures on construction of citizenship and political identity.
2.3 Roles of difficulties of documentation in migration.
In general, migration is understood as movement of people from their native place to an alien location and the migrants are motivated to move by lack of access to
17 resources at home, a desire for economic prosperity, family reunification, to escape from political persecution, natural disasters or simply wish to change environments (Asian Development Bank: 2012, Williams and Pradhan: 2009, Ong: 1992). However, it is well known that most of the migration literatures either on interprovincial or transnational deal with the relationships between mobility and regional economic development (Fan 2005: 296). The studies of migration introduce that people move from their native place in order to flee from economic deprivation (ShellMan: 2011: 122) and better themselves economically. In this view, migration is considered as the individual’s response to economic capital accumulation and high valued wages. Similarly, from the neoclassical theorists’ view migration is result of regional economic development and individual’s desire for economic prosperity (Sjaastad: 1962). The movement of people from a low- wage region to high- wage region and underdeveloped country to a developed country clearly shows that migration is for improve the ‘quality of life’ (Cebula and Alexander: 2006). For instance, there are around twenty thousand African migrant residents in Guangzhou, which is more than the African populations of Beijing and Shanghai combined. All these Nigerians come to seek their fortune as economic migrants. They migrated to china in order to flee from economic deprivation. Joseph Nwaosu said; “My first goal of migration is to make money.” (Osnos: 2009 p7). Similarly, the migration goal of Filipino women married to Japanese men in Central Kiso, the villages in southern Nagano is for economy and better life. Their marriage is an investment to make fortune in japan in order to support their families in Philippine (Faier: 2008). The Philippine migration to Japan is not only through transnational marriage, but also through labor demand and supply. The economic booming of Japan attracted Philippines increasingly to Japan as an appealing destination for labor migration (Fair: 2008). Regardless of which migration pattern may be it is clear that regional economic development is the key factor for migration.
However, from my empirical research it becomes clear that this is not always the case. This assumption or theory of migration aforementioned is less valid in the migration processes of stateless people in the Tibetan exile communities. Tibetan refugees who are migrating to the west and China from the Tibetan exile communities are in order to flee from difficulties of documentation and legal status rather than economic deprivation. The view of Tibetans in exile about migrating to the west or China is contrast to the general understanding of migration theory. For instance, China’s economic development becomes a pull factor for Tibetan refugees in exile from all over the world. However, the first priority of Tibetans who are migrating back to China is not for economic capital accumulation and high valued wages. It is aimed for a legal status and proper documents in China in order to take advantages of China’s economic development. As one of my informants said “If I return back to China I am a citizen of China and I can at least have a legal status” (Adu: 06/01/2015). Similarly, Tibetans who are migrating to the west from the Tibetan exile communities are aimed for getting proper documents, legal refugee status, to avoid from the difficulties of documentation, fear, insecurity, exclusion, and discrimination in India and later hopes to take advantages of economic
18 development of the west. It is not the “myth of west” (west was place where milk and honey flowed in abundance, where good money was to be made without hard work) (Moyihan: 2012: 3), which causes Tibetans to migrate from the Tibetan exile communities. Aten (14/01/2015) a roadside bread seller said; “ I am thinking to migrate Europe or Canada. I do not want my children to suffer like me and my wife without country, documents and legal status.” From this point of view, the different expectations or goals of Tibetan returnees and migrants to the west undoubtedly shows that migration may not always be the case of economic and regional development. For stateless and undocumented Tibetan people migration is a journey to obtain citizenship, documents, and legal-status to flee from the exile hardship and refugee labels.
On other hand, there are many migrants whose migration goal is for cultural and social capital accumulation 6 (Bourdieu: 1986). For instance, cultural and social capital accumulation becomes the goals of Hong Kong elites who migrated to California. These elites try to fit into the upper white class by accumulating white people’s culture and life style. Their goal of migration to California is to build social status and to become “ More acceptable to American Elites” by adapt or accumulate foreign cultures (Ong: 1992: P87). These types of migrants do not have economic problem and they can solve other difficulties like documentation by using economic power. However, this type of migration literature is contrast to stateless and undocumented migrants. For instance, Tibetan refugees in the exile communities are not migrating to the west or China to build social status to fit in upper classes of an alien place. Their migration purpose is to obtain a proper credential and legal status in order to enjoy basic economic and political rights. Additionally, Tibetan migrants from exile community have a unique characteristic regarding theory of migration location. In general, most of the migration literatures focus that movements of people obviously start from their native place to an alien place with different goals. However, it is different in case of Tibetan refugees as I observed that they are migrating not from their native place to an alien place. They are either migrating from an alien place to an alien place (India to the west) and from an alien place to their native place (India to Tibet). Hence, the general understanding of migration from a native country to an alien place is contrast in case of Tibetan migrants in the exile communities.
At last, to conceptualize relationship between migration theory and difficulties of documentation for Tibetans in exile, I view that documentation is a part of migration processes and it cannot be separated from migration theory. The contribution of this research is based on difficulties of documentation and its roles that missed in the literatures. As indicated in my introduction chapter, difficulties and illicit documentation of stateless people generates a new political approach apart from general theories of state-citizenship and migration. This means that stateless people and their struggle for political identity should give more attention as a field for research.
6 See: The Forms of Capital by Pierre Bourdieu 1986
19 Chapter one:
Indian Policy toward Three Major Tibetan Migration Waves
In this chapter I will discuss different policies of Indian government toward Tibetan refugees and the characteristics of Tibetan migrants with different periods of migration. I will also present how differences of generations in distinctive periods of migration create diverse notions regarding documentation and legal status. To understand Tibetan migration and its characteristics as a whole, I roughly divided Tibetan migration into three major categories according to the years of entering into India. Tibetans who arrived in India between: (1) 1959 and 1987, (2) 1987 and 2003, (3) 2003 and 2015 I outlined and analyzed this chapter in to three different sections. Tibetans migrated to India between 1959 and 1987 are considered as the first Tibetan migration wave. These Tibetans were given moral supports by the government of India, but did not recognize them legally as political refugees. They were issued registration certificates for temporary resident permit, but not refugee certificate. Most of people in this migration category were uneducated and have no clue about documentation, legal status, and political and economic rights of refugees. They were just a bench of illiterate migrants longing for returning back home one day and no intention of changing nationality or get another citizenship and migrate to an alternative country. Similarly, Tibetans migrated to India between 1987 and 2003 are considered as the second migration wave and these Tibetan new arrivals did not get any support as ‘political refugees’ or ‘foreign guests’ from the government of India. They were rejected to issue any legal documents in India and the exile communities became an insecure environment for them to live in. Hence, the second wave migrants realized the importance of documentation and legal status. They started to make illicit documents through different channels and the roles of documentation become very significant in their lives. Additionally, changing the nationality, migrate to abroad for documents and taking citizenship become the first priority of Tibetan migrants in order to have a secure life. The third Tibetan migration wave is about Tibetans migrated between 2003 and 2015. These migrants are highly restricted in movement and other activities. They are classified based purpose of visiting in India and issued temporary documents. However, none of them are allowed to remain legally in India for long term. They do not get both legal and financial supports from India. There are many reasons why India is not giving legal status and proper documents for Tibetan refugees that I will discuss later in this chapter. Tibetans are using India as an existing and entering location for migration. According to my research informants, there is no single Tibetan new arrival has intention to settle down in India. All of them are planning to migrate either to the west or return back to China in order to get a proper document and better life.
The background history of Tibetan migration can produce diverse notions of Tibetan migrants of different periods regarding documentation, citizenship, legal status and state. It shows that Tibetans in India live in a state of legal limbo and they
20 do not qualify as refugees in any legal sense. Additionally, it clearly exposes that difficulties of documentation in exile community is related to uncertain policies of Indian government toward Tibetan refugees. As I found out that India has no specific or standardized policy toward Tibetan refugees up till 2014, it has been keep on changing over time and the policies applied for Tibetans fled with H.H the Dalai Lama in 1959 are different from entrants of today and every group in between. (Additional Security sectary Karma: 16/03/2015)
1.1Tibetans Refugees in India between 1959 and 1987
In 1959 China occupied Tibet completely under the name of declaration of ‘peaceful liberation’ in Tibet, more than one million Tibetans lost their lives in the battles (Penchen Lama: 2009) and thousands of Tibetans fled with H.H the Dalai Lama to India to seek asylum after 10th march uprising in Lhasa. 7 To handle with the over flowing Tibetan refugees and humanitarian crisis in Tibet, the Indian government helped to set up some temporary refugee camps for Tibetans and provided basic needs, such as medical treatment, rations, shelters and temporary jobs like construction of roads (Tenpa Laktsog: 2002, McConnell: 2011). Indian government also leased temporary land for agriculture, settlements and handicraft centers for Tibetan refugees to earn their basic living. The first prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, agreed to H.H the Dalai Lama to establish a range of programs, which help Tibetans to practice their own religion, education systems and cultures without assimilating into Indian society (Wabern: 2013). The Tibetans came between aforementioned periods were issued RCs by Indian government with assistance of Central Tibetan Administration. However, the RCs do not indicate any legal statuses for the holders (Parliament Speaker Penpa: 15/03/2015), Tibetans are recognized as the foreigners temporarily residing in India and despite of informal label as ‘refugee’, none of Tibetans received refugee status. They are informally settled in India and do not enjoy political and economic rights as refugees according to international law. However, according to citizenship act of 1955 Tibetans born in India between 1950 and 1987 are eligible for Indian citizenship, but in practice it is very difficult to obtain. However, Tibetans who are falling within this group have a strong feeling of gratitude toward India (Tenpa: 06/02/2015) after faced an extreme shock from China’s occupation though they do not posses any legal rights and security in this country. They do not want to migrate to other places to get legal status. They want to hold refugee status as some sort of dignity and nationalism to Tibet. One of my informants (karma Rinchen, 16/3/2015) said; “ I am eligible for Indian citizen and I also got opportunities to migrate to the west, but I neither apply for Indian citizenship nor migrate to the west. I think purpose of
7 On 10th march 1959, Tibetans stood against Chinese occupation and thousands of Tibetans lost their lives.
21 Tibetans in exile is to fight for Tibetan issues not for personal benefit of changing Tibetan identity. All my family members are holding RC and I am satisfied it.” The notions of older Tibetans in exile are different with younger generations regarding documentation and legal status. It is very interesting discuss the gap between Tibetan younger generations and older generations with different policies of Indian government in the following topics.
1.2 Tibetans Refugees in India Between 1987 and 2003
After the end of the Cultural Revolution and the beginning of Deng Xiaoping’s liberalization of economy in China, the political and economic condition of Tibetans became little better than before. Tibetans got more freedom of movement. The borders between China and India prevented to stop Tibetans from fleeing to India became less protected. Many Tibetans managed to escape from Tibet to join their families, study and seek blessing from H.H the Dalai Lama in India, where although they do not hold any legal status, they could enjoy much freedom, human rights and security compare to live in China. According to Indian parliament debates on issues of Tibet from 1952 to 2005, more than 50000 new Tibetan refugees arrived in India through Nepal between 1987 and 2003 and the population of Tibetans refugees became double in exile. The Indian government did not give any extra aids to new arrivals and stopped to issue RCs for temporary resident permit. Most of the Tibetan new arrivals were able obtain RCs and other documents illegally by pretending to be descendants of the first wave of Tibetan refugees to reside in the old Tibetan refugee settlements by keeping a low profile (IPIT: 2006, McConnell: 2011, TJC: 2011). However, due to increase in refugee population and lack of funds from Indian government, the old Tibetan settlements are filled with poor, broken families, excluded and isolated from Indian society. The new arrivals are receiving some assistance from CTA. However, majority of them are either jobless or doing unlicensed roadside business (selling breads, sweeter, Tibetan barley and handcraft products) to earn small profits for living. To reside illegally by holding a false document is a big threat for their life and Indian national security. Hence, in 1990s CTA strongly encouraged new arrivals return back to Tibet after receiving education and pilgrimage. There was an informal policy from CTA for those who were voluntarily returning back to Tibet, which is called “de facto policy of voluntary repatriation” (TJC: 2011:10). CTA arranged expenditures of journey for Tibetan retunes from Dharamshala to Tibet, each person offered 600 rupees for the bus fee from Dharamshala to Delhi reception center, from Delhi they were given 700 rupees for the bus fee to travel Nepal and after arrived Tibetan reception center in Nepal there was no arrangement from CTA regarding how to enter Tibet except offer them 1000 rupees for road fee. The Tibetan returnees have to figure out by themselves whether to cross Himalayan ranges by walking illegally to get back home or settle in Nepal for temporary and find out another way (Dorjee: 2005).
After this formulized program of CTA on voluntary repatriation, the new arrivals faced an increasing insecure environment in India. For instance, students in Tibetan Children’s Village Schools (TCV) between ages of fifteen to eighteen who failed
22 constantly twice in one semester exam were kicked out of school without any help and academic opportunities. They were asked to return back to Tibet or remain jobless in the Tibetan settlements (Tashi: 2015). These new arrivals became a victim of the Indian authorities and many of them threatened to deport to China and detained in custodies for months. This is a clear proof of violation of human rights and international refugee law that prohibits of returning Tibetans to China where they will face persecution (TJC: 2011, Moynihan: 2012). Some of my informants told me that in 2015 four Tibetan refugees including one who was born in India detained by Indian local police due to misplace of their RCs for extension and the district court ordered local superintendent to deport these people to China (Sonam: 18/03/2015).
From this point of view, I argue that documentation is playing such a significant role in the lives of Tibetan refugees that late few days for extension of RCs may get warning for deportation and without documents it is not possible to survive in the exile communities. One of my informants (a roadside Tibetan bread seller) said; “I got second warning on my RC from Foreign Registration Center and I cannot use this RC to stay in India. I need to make a new RC illegally without pilgrimage sign on it in order to not face deportation” (14/01/2015). The undocumented Tibetans dare not to go outside of the room after 10pm. They have to live in the Tibetan settlements with a low profile and to play hide and seek with Indian local police and authorities is like a common game for undocumented Tibetans. India is not a secure environment for Tibetan refugees. The fear of deportation, detention, harassments, exclusion, discrimination and insecurity motivated Tibetans in exile to migrate abroad for a proper asylum, documents, legal status and basic political rights, which I will discuss later in my thesis. Additionally, the smooth relationship between India and China become a big threat to Tibetan refugees in exile. India started to restrict on the daily activities of Tibetan refugees after signed bilateral treaties with china. It constrains Tibetan migration in flow, issuing documents and foreign policies toward Tibetan refuees, which I will present in the following points.
1.3 Tibetans Refugees India between 2003 and 2015
As the political and economic relationship between India and China has improved, the Tibetan refugees become more insecure in India. In June 2003 China officially recognized Indian sovereignty over Sikkim by resolving their border disputes and at the same time, in a jointly issued “Declaration of Principles of Relation and Comprehensive Cooperation”, India officially recognized Tibet as “Part of” Republic of China. In July 2006, china and India reopened the Nathula pass, an ancient trade route, which closed for 44 years after broke Sino-Indo war in 1962 8 and in January 2008, Prime Minister Mannohan Singh visited China to have bilateral discussions regarding to trade, commerce, defense, military, etc. It was reported in May 2013 that bilateral trade between India and China touched $73 billion in 2011 and two
8 “India- China trade link re-open” BBC News, 19/06/2006
23 countries aim for $100 billion bilateral trades by 2015. 9 The economic and political ties between India and China gradually improved. However, it becomes a big threat to Tibetan refugees in India. The government of India prevented Tibetans to enter at the orders to keep a smooth relationship with China and limited the basic political rights of assembly, speech, travel and reside in India. Tibetans are also prevented to organize nonviolence anti-China protests and many of Tibetans jailed for a simple slogan in front of Chinese embassy. Even the name of the Tibetan exile government10 had to change from “Tibetan Government in Exile” to “Central Tibetan Administration” in June 2011 due to external pressure from China on India. Indian authorities started to put more pressures on Tibetan refugees, many undocumented Tibetans become victim of local polices and detained in custodies. India becomes an insecure environment for Tibetan refugees and majority of them want to migrate to the west or return Tibet for a better life.
However, in 2003, a new policy called Special Entry Permit (SEP) was practiced for Tibetan refugees, which could facilitate Tibetans to enter India on certain conditions, which will be explained further in this thesis. The Indian embassy in Kathmandu began to issue SEP to Tibetans seeking to enter India by transiting through Nepal and without this document no Tibetan refugee is allowed to enter India at the borders between Nepal and India. The new arrivals are issued RCs based on this SEP, which categorizes them into “students”, “pilgrimage” and “others”. This categorization of Tibetan refugees helps government of India to control the mobility and activities of Tibetan refugees. The SEPs do not provide any legal status regarding citizenship and permanent residence in India. Hence, majority of Tibetans entered India between 2003 and 2015 are illegally over staying on special entry permit. 11 From the standpoint of international refugee law and refugee status, it is simply clear that none of Tibetans including H.H Dalai Lama has any legal status, permanent resident permit and citizenship in India. They are registered under Indian foreigners Act 1939 and 1946. 12 Tibetans do not qualify as refugees in any legal sense in India. They are living in a state of legal limbo. India do not have any national wide law for protection of refugees and nor it is a party of
9 “India Gripes over border, trade woes on Li’s first Foreign Trip”. Www.cnbc.com/id/100749094 10 Tibetan exile government or Central Tibetan Administration refers to same political entity, which functions the continuation of Tibetan government that governed Tibet before China’s occupation. 11 See: Indian FRROs/FROs for various visa related services: 16th September 2014, SEP: “pilgrimage” can stay 6moths, “student” can stay one year and “other” yearly renewable based on police clearance and CTA recommend.
12 The foreigners Act, No. 31 of 1946 and the Registration of Foreigners Act, no. 16 of 1939
24 1951 Geneva Convention regarding refugee status and its protocols of 1967.13 Moreover, India is violating international legal principles of “non-refoulement” by deporting Tibetan refugees back to China where they will face persecution and life would be in jeopardy. However, in 2008, there was series of riots, protests and demonstration against the authoritarian regime of Communist Party in Tibet and broke the silence of international media on Tibet.14 After 2008 Tibetan uprising CTA recorded that there were 117 male and 24 female self-immolated between 2009 and 2015 to protest against china.15 Tibetans in china are living in a state of fear and insecurity. This protest humiliated India for deportation of Tibetans to china and not giving any legal status. Hence, a slight change brought in the foreign policy of India toward Tibetans after humiliation. In 2014 Indian government published a small booklet called “Tibetan Rehabilitation Guideline 2014”, 16 however, this guideline is not an order from central government of India to implement, it is just a request paper to the state government if it can give some considerations to Tibetan refugees regarding social welfare. There is no change in legal status. Tibetans are still treated as foreigners and they may deport again if it is necessary for India national interest.
The main aim of this chapter is to show that uncertain foreign policies and irregular implementations are creating immense difficulties for Tibetan refugees in the processes of documentation in India. Tibetan refugees in India live in a state of legal limbo. Tibetans are labeled as “foreign resident” and do not qualify as refugees in any legal sense. Hence, to analyze the difficulties and legal status of three major migration waves are relevant for Tibetan asylum seeker facing the legal bar of firm resettlement in west (Europe, United States) and it may help immigrant officials of western countries to reconsider the granting of asylum to Tibetan refugees.
Secondly, this chapter severs to analyze different views of Tibetan migrants from three major migration waves regarding documentation, state, citizenship, legal status, migration, politics and economy. There are lots of differences between Tibetan older generations and younger generations. Tibetan older generations have a strong sense of nationalism and pride toward Tibet, they do not want to change their nationality, migrate to others countries and they are satisfied with informal refugee status. However, Tibetan younger generations consider documentation, legal status and citizenship as the first priority. They want to migrate, study in abroad, travel and see the world like other citizens. They do not want to hold refugee status and remain stateless forever. These different notions of Tibetan refugees serve to analyze the Tibetan exile community as a whole in this thesis.
13 Geneva Convention regarding Refugee Status, July 28, 1951,1989 U.N.T.S 150 and January 31, 1961, 606 U.N.T.S 267 14 www.wikipedia 2008 Tibetan unrest
15 www.tibet.net see: Tibetan self-immolation protest in Tibet since February 2009 to July 2015 16 www.tibet.net see: Tibetan Rehabilitation Guideline 2014
25 Lastly, the three major migration waves generate an important question that why the Indian government is not providing any legal status to Tibetan refugees. Tibetan refugees are the best political weapons for Indian government to pursuit national interests. Tibetan refugees are used as a wager by Indian government to solve political conflicts between China. For instance, India always touches on the issues of Tibetan refugees whenever there are border conflicts in Arunachal Pradesh, Northeast and Kashmir issue on UNO desk with china. Tibetan refugees are used like “visiting card” (Lapsang Tsering: 2015) by India to release the political tension between these two counties. For instance, the Indian government allows His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama to visit and initiate Kalachakra ceremonies at restricted border areas of India like Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh to claim those regions are part of India. From this point of view, it is clear why Indian government do not grant any legal status to Tibetans in three migration waves and no standardized policies was implemented toward Tibetans so far. India wants Tibetans to remain stateless and undocumented to serve national interests. As a result, Tibetans are facing difficulties of documentation and feeling insecurity in the exile communities. In the following chapter I will present discussions about the difficulties, processes and challenges of obtaining documentation in Tibetan exile community in India.
26 Chapter Two
The Difficulties and Processes of Obtaining Documentation
Pic. No: 2 (Tibetan Registration Certificates. Photographed by Gedun Gyatso, 2015)
Pic. No: 3 (RC Extension Form: I was doing my RC extension on 15th January 2015. Photographed by Gedun Gyatso, 2015)
27 In this chapter I will present the difficulties and processes of obtaining documentation in Tibetan exile communities. The basic documents eligible for Tibetan refugees in India are Registration Certificates and Identity Certificate. These documents will help Tibetan refugees to reside in India for temporary and travel abroad. However, these documents do not signify any legal status for Tibetans and there is no standardized procedure of issuance. The process of issuance varies from each province. In this chapter I will discuss how these documents related to uncertain foreign policies of Indian government with three major Tibetan migrations and why these documents are so significant in their lives. Additionally, I will also argue how the status of “Stateless Foreigners” according to India constrains Tibetans to practice their basic political and economic rights in innumerable ways in India.
As I showed in the previous chapter, the Indian government implemented different policies for Tibetan refugees in the processes of documentation. The registration certificate is one of the documents, which controls, categorizes and regulates Tibetan refugees in order to serve Indian national interests. Similarly, the irregular issuance of IC shows how Tibetan refugees are discriminated both in India and in international communities. I start this chapter with discussion about registration certificates, the difficulties and processes of obtaining. This document is a good example of paperwork of Tibetans in exile as a whole.
2.1 Registration Certificates (RCs)
Tibetans must hold registration certificates that enable them to reside in India for a limited amount of time without being harassed by Indian authorities, which must be renewed within every twelve months if they are Tibetan new arrivals and five years for those who were born in India and have stayed in India for twenty years (TJC: 2011). RCs are issued to Tibetans under the various acts mentioned hereafter “Foreigners Act 1939, 1946, Foreigners Order 1948 and Indian Citizenship Amendment Act 2003” (Wabern: 2013:15, TJC: 2011). This document characterizes Tibetans simply “foreigners” in India. A valid RC does not provide Tibetans to work, own property and travel freely within India, but acquire a RC is very important particularly concerning on residency rights and to get international travel documents.
All the Tibetans at the age of sixteen, who are living in India, required obtaining registration certificates from the local Foreign Registration Offices (FROs). There is no national wide uniformity for the issuance of RCs to Tibetan refugees (McConnell: 2011). The processes of RCs making are different from each province and it is through binary (legal and illicit) ways. It is not the state monolithic entity but individual state officials who are in power in terms of issuing, extension, retain and reinforces of RCs for Tibetans (McConnell: 2011). A valid RC provides an informal status for Tibetans to reside in a particular place for a limited time.
Tibetan refugees who came to India during three major Tibetan migrations waves
28 have different processes of documentation and they are treated with different policies. All the new arrivals are interviewed to verify their Tibetan identity and given informal status based their purpose of visiting to India (Wabern: 2013). The categorization of Tibetan refugees based on their RCs and purposes of visiting to India is a crucial politic from the government of India. Tibetans when they entered Nepal as political refugees after crossing Himalayan Ranges by walking for thirty days in the snow, they were unknowingly categorized and rejected as refugees by India. According to my informants, there was no one who thought that they would become illegal foreign resident in India after few months or few years if they do not return back to Tibet. They were neither explained this policy of returning back to Tibet by CTA nor by the Indian authorities. This was a preplanned policy of Indian government to keep Tibetans in a low profile for national interest and all the policies implemented toward Tibetan refugees were changed over time with different political transactions. Additionally, it is interesting to explore how those uncertain polices of India play roles in the three major Tibetan migration waves, which I will discuss in the following points by relating to documentation of Tibetan refuges.
Tibetans (1959-1987) and RCs
The Tibetans who migrated to India between 1959 and 1987 are considered as the first Tibetan migration wave. They were issued RCs by the Indian government and their children who were born in India between the aforementioned dates are Indian citizen according to Citizenship Act 1956 and 1986. However, in practical, it is so difficult as if impossible to obtain the basic documents (passport, election card) as a natural birth citizen. They were issued RCs, the issuance of RCs is informal and it is not standardized. They were required to renew their RCs annually till 2012 and in April 2012 the government of India modified the procedures of extension of RCs for this category of Tibetan refuges. Tibetans born in India and Tibetan arrivals stayed in India for last 20 years are permitted to renew their RCs every five years, while rest of Tibetans have to renew their RCs annually (Wabern: 2013). The five year extension is granted only for reside, it does not change the legal status and political rights of Tibetans in India. They are considered as foreign residents of India. As Dlo08 (2013) coded that Tibetans in India are “Non-Refugee Refugees”. Hence, documentation and foreign policies of host country are playing significant roles in the processes of issuing legal status for Tibetan refugees in India.
Tibetans (1987-2003) and RCs
In more than two decades between 1987 and 2003 about 50000 Tibetan new arrivals came to India through Nepal and Bhutan and faced difficulties of acquiring resident rights. They became illegal residents in India after Indian government ceased to issue RCs to new arrivals in 1987. The new arrivals faced an extremely insecure environment in India (TJC: 2011). For instance, some of my informants told me that they were afraid to go to market after 10am in the evening. There are lots of cases of undocumented Tibetans arrested by local police and detained for years
29 (Pema: 18/04/2015). Such anxieties regarding securing their legal position in India is common among Tibetan new arrivals (McConnell: 2011). Tibetan new arrivals are not officially recognized as permitted residents and their presence in India is against to the Indian law. Hence, new arrivals claimed as children of pre-1987 Tibetan migrants to obtain RCs. The new arrivals cannot speak Hindi, English and from their face itself can be seen that they recently arrived from Tibet. Additionally, the Indian authorities know that it is against to the law to issue fake identity documents to these category of Tibetan refugees, but no law can be stopped by big bribes in India (Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada: 1999). Hence, majority of the Tibetans who came between1987 and 2003 are holding fake RCs with status of born of in India. One of my informants made his RC in Sarangpur (a district of Uttrakand) through informal way and he paid twenty five thousand rupees to obtain RC from the regional Foreign Registration Office. He said that authorities in charge of making RCs did not ask him any question and he got RCs within one hour, which normally takes months and years to process. He said, “ I was also allowed to change my name, date of birth and parents’ name” (Tenzin: 06/01/2015).
It is not only Tenzin who had to face this sort of illicit documentation, all the Tibetan refugees migrated to India during the second Tibetan migration wave confronted with the same fate of informal ways of documentation. This was the only option left for the Tibetan refugees enable to remain in India, to avoid from fear of deportation and local police harassments. This shows that rapid changes in foreign policy of host country can cause tragic threats to the lives of refugees and their documentation processes. As Kamal stated that illegal migrants are over turning the concept of citizenship and threatening to the rights and social activities of native citizens (Kamal: 2009). In contrast, it is not Tibetan refugees want to break the laws of host country, but there is no single legislation about refugee right and protection in India (Artiles: 2011) and Tibetans are living in a state of legal limbo.
As Tenzin said “ It is really hard to survive without documents in India. I would have never come, if I knew life is hard like hell in India” (Tenzin: 06/01/2015).
30 Tibetans (2003-2015) and RC
Pic. No: 4 (Tibetan born in India and stayed 20 years are given 5 year “Stay Visa”, which is contradictory to Indian citizenship Act. According to Citizenship Act of 1956, as amended in 1998 and the Citizenship Act of 1955, as amended by the Citizenship Act of 1986 and 2003 in Indian constitution. Tibetans who were born on Indian soil between January 26, 1950 and July 1st 1987 are citizen of India by birth irrespective of the nationality of their parents. Photographed by Gedun Gyatso, 2015.)
Pic. No: 5 (Tibetan new arrivals from Tibet who didn’t stay 20 years in India have to extend their RCs every year and the government of India can reject to extent RCs any time. Hence, it is very risky . Photographed by Gedun Gyatso, 2015)
31 In this twenty first century, the policy of India toward Tibetan refugees started to change dramatically after singed many bilateral treaties with China. India started to put more restrictions on documentations, movements and political activities of Tibetan refugees. I presented two pictures, which will show how the foreign policies of the host country are effecting on the documentation processes of Tibetan refugees in India. Tibetan both eligible for Indian citizenship and Tibetan come from Tibet as political refugees are treated as foreigners. India can stop their RCs extension anytime and make them illegal residents. Hence, it is a big threat to Tibetans live in India without any legal status.
In 2003, the Government of India introduced a new policy called “ Special Entry Permits” (SEPs) for new Tibetan new arrivals transiting through Nepal. These permits allowed Tibetans to enter India only via Nepal. The SEPs ensure safety of Tibetans transit from Nepal to India and enable them to stay in India for a limited time. Tibetans are not allowed enter India or reside in India without SEPs (FRO: 19/03/2015). There are three categories of SEPs: “pilgrimage”, “education” and “Others”.
Purpose Period
Pilgrimage 6 moths
Education Duration of course or one year
Others Long term stay initially for one year extendable on yearly basis on the recommendation of CTA after conducting police verification.
No request for change in purpose of stay will be entertained. No request for extension of stay will be entertained except in long-term stay.
Table No. 1 (Categories of RC holder, published by FRROs/FROs for various visa related services: 16th September 2014)
SEPs “Pilgrimage”
The pilgrimage SEPs allow the holders to remain in India for a maximum six months. They are not entertained to do extension beyond given periods. They must return back to Tibet after six months. It was very hard for those Tibetan pilgrims to return to Tibet after visited India. The Chinese government would imprison them all. In fact, majority of the Tibetan new arrivals came to India for pilgrimage want to return back to Tibet, however their safety is not guaranteed in China after violation of Chinese law and crossed borders illegally without permission (Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada: 1999, TJC: 2011, Wabern: 2013).
Wabern presented SEPs in her article and discussed it as only a legal process. She
32 did not debate the background of this policy and its effects toward Tibetans in India. She argued in her article that Tibetans who entered on pilgrimage couldn’t obtain RCs in India. However, during my research I found out that Tibetans who came for pilgrimage can obtain RCs but they cannot stay more than six moths. Those who stayed more than given periods got warning signs on RCs from regional foreign registration office. One of my informants said; “ There are hundreds of Tibetans who are holding Pilgrimage RCs and stacked in between. I was not able to extent my RC for 5 years because on my RC it has written pilgrimage and I got three warning signs after validity of six months expired. I cannot use it anymore. The local police harassed me many times and sometimes they threat me to deport to China, but fortunately, after Tibet up rising in 2008, India come to know that Tibetan pilgrims could not go back to Tibet and we would face persecution in Tibet if we are returned. Hence, the government of India and CTA agreed to renew my RC” (Aten: 14/01/2015). There are also many Tibetan pilgrims making fake RCs in order to not face deportation and security reasons by claim as children of pre-1987 Tibetan migrants or came before 1963 to able to remain in India.
SEPs “Education”
Tibetan new arrivals whose purposes of entering in India with an “education” SEPs may remain for one year or duration of the courses. They are eligible to obtain RCs for a limited amount of time, but to extent for a longer period they have to provide official support letters of educational institutions. They are not entertained to except extension without support letters. “There are large number of Tibetan students who dropped schools or finished universities are not able to renew their RCs and residing illegally in India” (FRROs/FROs: 2014:S.No 5, Tibetan Justice Center: 2011: 14, Wabern: 2013: 7). Additionally, all the Tibetan students are considered foreign students in India (McConnell: 2011). For instance, Tashi said, “ I did my RCs extension with help of support letters from a registered Tibetan language institution called Lha class at Dharamshala, but it stopped given support letters for Tibetan students after got warnings from the regional Foreign Registration office (13/03/2015).
According to the Foreign Students Registry (University of Delhi Ref. No. FSR/1286.) 1. “All Foreign students, including those who have completed their schooling from an Indian Board will be treated as Foreign Student for the purpose of their registration/admission in various departments and colleges of the prescribed for the foreign students.
2. The Tibetans students are exempted from paying University Registration fee and additional fee payable to the college/department as foreign students.” This is how Tibetan students are discriminated in India.
It is must for foreign students to get student visa to study in Indian institutions. As per extant institutions and Indian Mission/posts may grant Student Visa for a maximum period up to five years or for the duration of the academic course of
33 study, whichever is less? For Tibetan Students in India do not need to get student visa but they need to show valid RCs, birth certificates and domicile certificates. However, all the Tibetan students will become illegal residents after their graduation. They are supposed to return back to Tibet after finished schooling. There is no special acceptance to change the purpose of visit and extension of RCs (FROS: 2014: No: 52). Additionally, Tibetan students are not allowed to work in the government sectors and reside in India. It is extremely hard for Tibetan students to get support letters for RCs renewal from educational institutions after finished their studies. One of my Informants is facing difficulties to get school support letter to renew his RC. He said, “I can not be a student for my whole life. It is impossible to get support letters from schools. I do not want to return to Tibet. It is not safe in Tibet. I heard that degrees obtained by Tibetan students from India are not accepted in China” (Tashi: 18/02/2015). Tashi was planning to make a fake RC to stay in India, but he could not afford it. There are thousands of students who are facing similar difficulties to renew their RCs. Even those who were born in India are not allowed to work if they cannot produce domicile certificates, birth certificates and a valid RC (Dorjee: 18/03/2015). From this point of view, it is very clear that power and politics of both India and China is involved in the processes of documentation of Tibetans in exile. China is intentionally not accepting the education degrees obtained by Tibetan students in India in order to stop the migration of Tibetan youngsters for education to India and involve in Tibetan politics to against china. On other hand, India knows that Tibetan students are facing documentation problems after completion of their education. However, India blindly ignored these educated Tibetan students in order to keep them in low profile for the sake of not disrupt the political tension between China. For instance, In 2012 Tibetan Youth Hostel (Tibetan Youth Hotel is located in Rohini east sector 14 in New Delhi. This hostel is only for Tibetan college students) was sealed on September 5th 2012 for three days by Indian polices to stop the nonviolence demonstrations would be held by Tibetan students during the Chinese Defense Minister’s visit to Delhi. All the Tibetan college students could not go to colleges for three days and none of them allowed to step beyond the hostel fence. I was one of the coordinators of regional Student for a free Tibet Organization (SFT)17 who was planning to do a nonviolence protest for Chinese Defense Minister. Unfortunately, I was arrested by Indian police on September 5th 2015 after demonstration and prisoned in Tihal Jail (the biggest Jail in India) for four days. Similarly, on 18th September 2014 Indian police detained at least ninety Tibetan students within two days’ Chinese president Xi Jin Ping’s visit in order to prevent disturbances on treaties with China (The Tibetan Express: 18/09/2014). From this point of view, it is clear why India wants to keep Tibetan students in a low profile and not issuing documents.
17 SFT is a global grass roots network of students and activists working in solidarity with the Tibetan people for human rights and freedom. This NGO was founded in 1994 by pro- independence Tibetans.
34 SEPs “Others”
Pic. No: 6 (Tibetans political prisoners are allowed to stay for a longer term on SEPS ‘others’ with recommendation of CTA. However, they are not given refugee status. Photographed by Gedun Gyatso, 2015)
There is no specific explanations and purposes of this category, but on the website of Ministry of Home and Affairs declared that those Tibetans who entered on “others” SEPs were allowed to stay for longer period in India with recommendation of CTA after conducting police clearance (TJC: 2011: 15, Wabern: 2013: 7). I came across that most of “others” SEPs is issued to Tibetan ex-political prisoners by Indian government and I observed that this is aimed to use as a political tool to soothe the political conflicts between china in future (Nyam Gyal: 13/03/2015). For instance, Nyam Gyal (the vice president of Gu Chu Sem)18 said, “ Indian government always uses Tibetan political prisoners’ case as a political tool to against China when China brings human rights violations in Kashmir by India on UNO desk. This is reason why a special RC is given to ex-political prisoners on the category of “others” in exile” (Nyam Gyal: 13/03/2015).
18 Guchu Sem is an polictial organization of Ex-Tibetan political prisoners of conscience and founded in 1991, which is based in Dharamsala north India.
35 2. 2 Identity certificate:
Pic. No: 7 (Identity Certificate “ An Indian travel document for foreigners India”. Photographed by Gedun Gyatso, 2015)
Identity Certificate is one of the most important documents for Tibetan refugees. “Identity certificate is some sort of travel document issued under Section 20 of the 1967 Passport Act on which stateless or foreign residents in India” can travel internationally (McConnell: 2011:972, TJC: 2011: 14). This document enables Tibetans to travel internationally except China. To obtain IC Tibetans must hold a valid RC, a support letter from CTA, a valid birth certificate issued by Municipal Authorities or the office of the register of births and deaths and an original or attested copy of affidavit stating date of birth and place of birth. It is not an easy task to apply for an IC. Tibetans have to obtain requested requirements to apply for an IC. It is obvious that there is no direct ways to get all these required papers other than under table. All the Tibetan new arrivals have to go through binary (legal and illicit) ways to obtain documents and it is all about time and cost. Many of the literatures are not able to follow the chain of documentations of Tibetans in exile. All the documents have to start with a valid birth certificate, without a valid birth certificate issued by a government-registered hospital it is not possible to obtain RCs to apply for IC. Hence, there are hundreds of Tibetan refugees are holding “Fake-Original” (the birth certificate is original, it is registered in the birth records of hospitals, but the person was not born in India) Indian birth certificates in order to apply for other documents. This procedure is very risky and against to the law. The consequence of fake identity will be imprisonment for five years or direct deportation.
According to my informants and many reports, the application process for an IC is always in delay due to lack of improper management. Approval and the issuance of
36 IC may take anywhere from one year to five years. The issuance of IC is also discretionary. Officials need not to provide a reason for declining or delaying to issue one (TJC: 2011). One of my informants said that to obtain an IC a de facto bribe is required during the IC inquiry. If one cannot offer the bribe there is high percentage of disqualify the inquiry for address and holder. Dorjee said; “ During my IC inquiry I paid three thousands rupees. The officials asked for bribe indirect way “chai pe ne ka” (Some money for tea) (Dorjee: 29/01/2015).
Tibetans who are holding an IC to reenter India, the IC must have a stamp that reads “ No Objection to Return to India provided a visa is obtained within ten years of date here of permitted to stay up to one year from the date of return to India”. (NORI) (FROs: 2014: S.no: 51) Some of my informants told me that Indian officials sometimes refuse to issue NORI stamps in order to keep Tibetans within territory of India for national interest. India does not want Tibetan refugees migrate to the west and settle down there. (Palden: 04/03/2015) It is not possible to get visa on IC without NORI stamp, because in theory it says NORI helps Tibetans to reenter India and most of the embassies suspect that Tibetan refugees wont return to India if visa is granted without NORI. Hence, an IC without NORI is useless (McConnell: 2011). For instance, Nyima applied for tourist visa to United States of America in 2013 and his application was rejected because he has no NORI stamp on IC (Nyima: 04/05/2015).
In theory, “Tibetan refugees intending to visit abroad for a short duration up to 15 days to all travel only on the strength of the IC issued by the Ministry of External Affairs and Regional Passport Officer would be required to obtain “No Objection to Return to India” permission from the FRRO and State Government. If indented visit abroad requires absence from India for a period more than 15 days, such Tibetans would be required to take exit permission from the concerned FRROs/FROs and report arrival to them on coming back to India. NORI in case of more than two weeks would be granted by the concerned FRRO/State government on the recommendation of CTA or any other authority so designated by the Central Government subject to nothing adverse and no local objection of the concerned FRRO/State Government” (FRRO/FROs: 2014: S No: 51, Wabern: 2013: 28).
In practice, the policy of NORI is no more valid. To travel on IC Tibetans must produce Police Clearance Certificates (PCC), Exit Permit, Return Visa and a valid RC for irrespective of duration of travel. It will take minimum twenty days for the preparation to apply for a visa. There is no way to get required documents directly unless pay some amount of bribes (Adu: 06/01/2015). There is another contradictory to NORI practice that Tibetans who have NORI on IC are not allowed to enter by Indian Immigration office at the Indian airport without return visa. Many of Tibetan refugees who were traveling on IC returned back to where they flew (Indian Consulate: NLS Office Netherland 2014). There is no such called “return visa” in Indian embassies in abroad. Tibetans need to obtain tourist visa to reenter India though they are holding an Indian travel document (Gebe: 09/12/2014). All the informal, irregular and unprofessional handling of Tibetans by Indian
37 government in the processes of documentation is a huge tragedy for Tibetan refugees.
From above examples of RCs and IC documentation processes and the different policies of Indian government toward Tibetan refugees since from 1959 to 2015, I can argue that foreign policies of both India and China are playing significant roles in documentation of Tibetans in the exile communities. For instance, Tibetans who are trying to obtain RCs by claiming the children of Pre-1987 is not only for the purpose to stay longer in India. I found that majority of new Tibetan arrivals have no willing to settle down in India for the rest their of lives. They want to migrate to the west in order get proper documents and legal status. However, in the processes of migration they are always asked to produce police clearance certificate (PCC) and birth certificates by embassies from place of origin. It is impossible for Tibetans to get PCC and birth certificate from China (Tibet). Hence, they claim that they were born in India enable to get PCC and birth certificate from India. In practical, it is very difficult to obtain police clearance for Tibetans, they have to show permanent resident address in India and police would come for verification but majority of Tibetan new arrivals do not have permanent resident address. Hence, all the paperwork of Tibetans depended on bribes, time, costs and government policies. There is no much rules and regulations in practice.
Additionally, the visibility or identity of Tibetans in exile is also negotiated under the circumstances of blurred life in India that I will discuss in my next chapter.
38 Chapter Three
Citizenship: A legal battle for Tibetan Refugees
Pic. No: (Tibetan Green Book “Citizenship Certificate” and Birth Certificate issued by CTA. Photographed by Gedun Gyatso, 2015.)
Pic. No: (Indian passport and Birth Certificate issued by the government of India to Tibetan Refugees in India. Photographed by Gedun Gyatso, 2015)
39
I meet my informant (Adu) in a cafe in Mcloedganj for an interview. I asked him “What is your legal status in India?” He smiled at me with confused thoughts. He said; “ well, I really don’t know where to start to tell you what is my real legal status. I am a “Tibetan Citizen” in the eyes of CTA, “refugee” in the eyes of western countries, “foreign resident” in the eyes of the Indian government but “Indian Citizen” by holding a Indian passport (original but made illegally) and “Chinese Overseas” in the eyes of China. Now you tell me what is my legal status. Sometimes I really do not know who I am and what is real legal status. I have to struggle to choose my legal status and who I want to be.” Over his complex tale of legal status, identity and challenges being a stateless person, what emerges is an individual who has found to choose what he is wanted to be labeled for an identity and the concept of monopoly of state labeling or recognizing citizen within a bounded territory is challenged and a new identity or citizenship is created in exile community under the circumstances of difficulties of documentation, exclusion and insecurity in the host society. (Adu: 06/01/2015)
This chapter is aimed to present the notions of Tibetan refugees in the exile communities on the theory of state- citizen relationship and discuss how Tibetan refugees in India construct a new political identity apart from general literatures of identity formation theories. This chapter will also engage with debates on how a new citizenship created by a territory less and unrecognized political entity in exile that challenges the general understanding of construction of citizenship within a bounded territory. Additionally, it is theme of this thesis to show how difficulties of documentation in exile play roles in the processes of construction citizenship and political identity.
3.1 Indian citizenship
In general, the different approaches of political identity construction are apparent within geography, anthropology and cultural studies (McConnell: 2011:968). Geographers mainly focus on the intersection issues of political affiliation and identity with concept of territory and statehood (Ho: 2009). State is the central loop in the theory of identification and labeling basis on located-ness of people in a specific territory with certain political rights and privileges. In this view, the citizenship is understood as a member of state and state has legitimacy to regulate its members within domestic space and this is how a political identity is constructed, and most of literatures on citizenship are focused on the relationship between territory and state (Marston and Mitchell: 2004).
However, from my empirical research point of view the aforementioned theory of construction of citizenship is not always the case. Tibetans born in India and obtained Indian Citizenship do not consider themselves as Indians. According to them, though they have grown up and settled in India, they feel like outsiders or guests. The different expression such as “guests”, “outsiders” and “foreigners” living in India are used to underline their attitude toward Indian Citizenship is not their
40 real identity. They draw their real identity (Tibetan citizen) as Tibetan from a strong sense of belongingness to an imagined place called Tibet where they never lived in and a political community called CTA in exile, which has no territory and legal recognition (McConnell: 2011). Namgyal said; “ though I am an Indian Citizen I am paying tax to CTA. This is my obligation and duty as a Tibetan citizen.” Nyamgal was born in India; she has never been to Tibet. She was born India, lived in Indian societies and grew up with Indian cultures, but her sense of strong feeling as a Tibetan Citizen or Tibetan identity become contradictory to her Indian citizenship. A question raises here that how does she gets her sense of belongingness, identity and nationalism to Tibet.
Turning a critical spotlight onto the notion of Tibetans toward construction of identity. Tibetans born in India are obtaining their real identity (Tibetan Citizen) from a political community called Central Tibetan Administration, which has no sovereignty and territory. The Central Tibetan Administration is not a “State”, but functioning as a state within the territorial jurisdiction of the host country. The Tibetan central administration has drafted its constitution in 1963 and Tibetan Charter in 1991. It identifies, labels and documents Tibetans as its citizens. The Tibetans born in Tibet and outside of Tibet shall be a Tibetan Citizen and any person whose either of parents are Tibetan eligible for Tibetan Citizenship. The construction and meaning of identity is focused here that CTA issues a document called “Green Book” to every Tibetan, which functions like a citizenship certificate. Without “green book”, Tibetans are excluded from Tibetan political and social programs. Tibetans cannot vote, get financial aids and official support letters from Central Tibetan Administration to process any other documents. This is how a citizenship is created and managed by an unrecognized and territory-less political community and it challenges the static, nationalized, institutionalized and legalized theories of citizenship construction of India. However, as a result, opens up questions that how Central Tibetan Administration manages to construct a citizen or Tibetan identity in its host country and under what circumstances it enable to label Tibetan refugees as Tibetan citizens.
To find out the answers of aforementioned questions, I will present Miss Nyamgyal’s complex and contradictory story of legal battle and documentation in India.
Miss Namgyal Dolkar is a Tibetan-Indian; she was born in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh on April 13th 1986, brought up in Dehradun. “According to Citizenship Act of 1956, as amended in 1998 and the Citizenship Act of 1955, as amended by the Citizenship Act of 1986 and 2003 in Indian constitution” (TJC: 2011: 15, Anand Bodh: 2011). Tibetans who were born on Indian soil between January 26, 1950 and July 1st 1987 are citizen of India by birth irrespective of the nationality of their parents. Theoretically, this makes Miss Nyamgyal is a natural citizen of India. However, in practice the law is not functioning as it ordered. She applied for an Indian passport in March 2008 in Delhi and the passport office rejected her application based her ethnicity. This how her birth right citizen became a legal battle.
41 Namgyal said; “ I did not file a case directly in Delhi high court, so many things happened before I got my Indian passport. I applied for an Indian passport in Delhi and my application was rejected, saying that my parents are Tibetan and holding identity certificates. Hence, I was advised to apply for identity certificates instead of Indian passport. I explained to the office that I wanted to get an Indian passport, which is my basic civil right. There was no one listening to me. I was rejected to give passport based on my ethnicity. The officers blindly refused without any concern and showed me a really bad attitude. They told me that if I purposed continuously I would be jailed for asking passport. I was harassed and discriminated. I felt extremely depressed and this was the reason why I sued the passport office and Ministry of Home and Affairs. Honestly speaking, it became bless in disguise. If they told me nicely I would not be filed the case. I called my lawyer and began the legal processes within few weeks. My lawyer started to send legal notices to the passport office and exchanged several official letters for one and half year. Finally, the passport office wrote back on September 1st 2009 that the Ministry of Home and Affairs of India had taken a decision regarding my case that I was not eligible to get Indian passport and I should not be treated as an Indian. I was really disappointed. My lawyer and I filed a case in Delhi high court to sue the Ministry of Home and Affairs of India. The case went on more than two years and there were lots of hearings and other paperwork. Finally, on December 22nd 2010 the Delhi high court gave judgment on my case that I am a citizen of India and I should have given Indian passport. The court also ordered Ministry of Home and Affairs to pay a compensation of five thousand rupees and issue an Indian passport within two months to me.”
Based on Nyamgyal’s legal battle story I can argue that for Tibetans who were born India, exclusion, fear, insecurity and discrimination become the source of energy to cling on a “Real Identity” (Tibetan Citizen or mentally accepted identity), which also helps Central Tibetan Administration enable to regulate Tibetan refugees in the exile communities and create an identity called “Tibetan Citizen”. The categorization of status and identity make Tibetans more different from Indians and its societies. The sense of insecurity erupted a feeling of longing for an imagined place called Tibet and dedicate to it as a Tibetan citizen. This “Citizenship” is more related to flexible citizenship (Ong: 1999) and post-national citizenship (Soysal: 1994) whereby individual or personhood is more considered than the state territory forms in creation of national identity.
Additionally, after Nyamgyal’s case there are many other Tibetan refugees who were born India and eligible to Indian citizenship are trying to change their nationality. However, the concept of citizenship is juxtaposed to the Tibetans born in India. Tibetans who are changing their nationality do not feel like changing their identity as a Tibetan to Indian, which is their natural birthright. It is for the sack of taking basic political rights or privileges in India. Without Indian citizenship, Tibetans are excluded from the political and social processes. They are not eligible to vote parliamentary, state and local elections. Tibetans are also not eligible to hold government jobs, own property and reside freely in India (IRBC: 2009). As one of
42 my informants said, “If I take Indian citizenship that does not mean I forget everything about Tibet. I cannot change what is inside me. It is just bloody papers. I don’t need Indian citizenship if government of India can give me passport. For example, our Prime Minister Lobsang Sangye is holding a green card of United State and he also visited China on overseas Chinese document, but it doesn’t make him less Tibetan or anti-Tibetan. All I need is the papers to make things convenient.” (Lobang Wangyal: 05/03/2015) These kinds of segregation from rest of the societies are energizing Tibetan refugees to construct their own identity within the territorial jurisdiction of the host countries.
On other hand, people may ask question, why it is so difficult for Tibetan refugees to get Indian citizenship, why the government of India keep Tibetan refugees in a legal limbo and what will happen to those Tibetans who are not eligible for Indian Citizenship and any other legal status. As I have discussed in the previous chapters that it is all about power and politic of Indian Government. India is using Tibetan refugees as a political tool to release the political tenses and conflicts between China. India wants to keep Tibetans as informal refugees in India without any legal status. If all the Tibetan refugees are given Indian citizenship then it will be a big loss for Indian national interest. Hence, many applications for citizenship were rejected. For instance, Lobsang Wangyal, (a Tibetan free lens journalist, photographer, producer and director) a multi talented Tibetan man who was born India on 25th May 1970 was rejected to give Indian passport, all his application were denied based on his ethnicity by asking him Indian citizenship certificate, which is not applicable to anyone who is born on the soil of India between 1950 and 1987. Tenzin, a Tibetan girl who was born in India on May 11th 1987 was also rejected to give Indian passport and asked her to go through naturalization to get citizenship first though she is natural birth citizen of India. All these excuses and uncertain policies are purposely implementing by the Indian government in order to keep Tibetan refugees in a low profile and legal limbo. These are the reasons why Tibetan refugees under so many difficulties constructed a citizen and identity, which is contrary to the general understanding of citizenship theory. Additionally, there are also many Tibetans who are neither eligible for Indian citizenship nor legal to stay in India as political refugees. They are facing triple illegalness (illegal to enter, illegal to reside and illegal to work), which I will discuss in my next chapter.
43 Chapter Four
Roles of documentation in the processes of Tibetan migration in exile
This chapter intends to explore the determinants of Tibetan migrants and attempt to argue that migration and difficulties of documentation in exile community cannot be separated. More specifically, this chapter focuses on the migration and difficulties of documentation push and pull factor that cause Tibetans to migrate from the exile communities to the west or return back to Tibet. There are many literatures view such majority of migration as fleeing from economic deprivation (Massey: 1993, Shellman: 2011) rather than difficulties of documentation and lack of legal status in exile. The views of Tibetans in exile that are migrating to the west or China contrast to the general understanding of migration theory. For instance, China’s economic development becomes a pull factor of Tibetan refugees in exile from all over the world. However, the first priority of the Tibetans who are migrating back to China is not merely for economic capital accumulation and high valued wages. It is aimed for a legal status and proper documents in China in order to take advantages of China’s economic development. Similarly, Tibetans who are migrating to the west from exile communities are aimed for getting proper documents, legal refugee status to avoid difficulties of documentation, fear, insecurity, exclusion and discrimination in the exile communities. It is not the myth of west (west was place where milk and honey flowed in abundance, where good money was to be made without hard work.) (Moynihan: 2012: 3), which is triggering Tibetans to migrate from the exile communities to the west.
In this chapter, I will also discuss about unique characteristics of Tibetan migrants apart from general understanding of migration. In general, migration is understood as movements of people from their native place into an alien location. They are “motivated to migrate by lack of domestic security, desire for economic prosperity, to escape from political persecution, natural disasters etc.” (Shellman: 2007 p123). However, I observed that there are two types of Tibetan migrants in the exile communities whose nature of migration is different from rest of migrants, which are contrast to the general theories of migration. One type of Tibetans is migrating from the exile communities to their native country (India to Tibet) in order to get documents and legal status while other types of Tibetans are migrating from the exile communities to another alien place (India to the West) to get asylum and documents. The general understanding of migration from a native country to an alien place is contrast in case of Tibetan migrants. On other hand, the Tibetan migrants are motivated to migrate by difficulties of documentations, lack of legal status, exclusion from rest of the Indian societies, insecurity from political and economic sectors in India.
The nature of push and pull factors of Tibetan migrants in exile are different from other migrants in the world whose goal of migration are accumulation of economic, social and cultural capitals (Bourdieu: 1986). For instance, there are numbers of migrants in the world whose goal of migration is for accumulation of economic
44 capital to make maximum profits and improve their living standard. For example, Nigerian migrants in Guangzhu in China (Osno: 2009), the Filipino Women’s immigration to rural Japan (Faier: 2008) and transnational marriage of Chinese rural women to the Korean countryside men (Freeman: 2004). These migrants are not stateless, refugees and their first priority is economic accumulation rather than documentation. For another instance, cultural and social capital accumulation becomes the goals of Hong Kong elites that migrated to California. These elites try to fit into the upper white class by accumulating white people’s culture and life style. Their goal of migration to California is to build social status and to become “ More acceptable to American Elites” by adapt or accumulate foreign cultures (Ong: 1992 P87). Moreover, to keep social recognition, mobility is must for this type of migrants. “Propitious location, tapping the wealth and appropriate body language are the cultural forms migrants must gain mastery over if they are to convert mere economic power into social prestige, as determined by the host society” (Ong: 1992 P88). This category of migrants are economically very strong and by using economic power can solve other problems regarding status and legal paperwork. Hence, the general theories of migration on economic, cultural and social capital accumulation are slightly contrast to the expectations of Tibetan migrants in the exile communities. Tibetan migrants are political refugees. Their goal of migration is to obtain legal documents and have a convenient life rather than dreams of building social and economic status in a foreign place. For instance, Tenzin said; “if I do not get Indian citizen I will definitely migrate to another country in order to get citizenship. I really need a proper document. I can not survive by holding a foreign resident card in India without any political and economic rights” (18/02/2015).
Finally, This Chapter engages the policy and academic debates on push and pull factors of Tibetans migrants in the exile communities based on the difficulties of documentation. This chapter also evaluates the impacts of the difficulties of paperwork on decision of mobility of Tibetan refugees. To capture a complete picture of Tibetan migrants in India I have divided them in to two categories. Tibetan migrants who are migrating to the west and returning back to Tibet (China). This study complements other migration studies and severs as one opportunity to extend the characteristics of Tibetan migrants in the exile communities.
The chapter processed as follows. First, I begin with Tibetans who are planning to migrate or migrated to west with their expectations and predicted the effects on these migrants. In second part, I will discuss Tibetan returnees to china, their goals, push factors, pull factors with consistent literature on economic migration and its impacts on the lives of Tibetan returnees.
4.1 Expectations of Tibetan refugees who are migrating to the west
Today, as per Tibetan Demographic Survey of 2009 (TDS 09), the west is the prime destiny of many young and adults Tibetans who intend to migrate in the future. According to TDS 09, the total number of Tibetans living in foreign countries other than India, Nepal and Bhutan counted 18920. North America has the largest
45 number of Tibetans abroad with 11112 followed by Europe 5633 and Australia 1120 (TDS: 2009: 60). However, within last six years the number of Tibetans migrating to the west is rapidly increasing. For instance, according to TDS 2009 the total number of Tibetans in Netherlands was 65 and today it is around 700, France was 486 and today it is around 4000 and Belgium was 863 and today it is more than 5000 Tibetan migrants (Regional Tibetan Communities: 2015).
There are many reasons why suddenly the numbers of Tibetan migrants to the west is increasing. It is not just the myth of west or “ the notions of Tibetans, that west was place where milk and honey flowed in abundance, where good money was to be made without hard work.” (Moyihan: 2012: 3) There are other reasons include, difficulties of documentation, exclusion from society based on refugee status, insecurity, lack of economy, family reunion and economic booming of China (economically the living conditions of Tibetan families in Tibet are getting better and family members in exile are getting support from Tibet to migrate to the west in order get papers), which push Tibetans to migrate to west. I have seen too many Tibetans are migrating to the west, most of them are young, adults and their notion about mobility is different than older generation. Tibetan younger generations want to travel, explore, and make business and study in abroad. They are not like the older generation who have no intention to travel, study, explore and satisfied with farming by holding refugee status in India. Nyamgyal said; “ I am living in the twenty first century, I want to travel, explore and study in abroad like other people. I want a passport and become citizen. It is an obstacle for my life to live in India without any legal status” (13/03/2015).
Tibetans who are migrating to the west want to get rid of refugee and foreign status to get citizenship and make life easier. They feel insecurity and fear without any legal status and proper documentation in India. Majority of Tibetans in the exile communities are carrying false document by paying huge amount of bribes and over staying illegally. Hence, the difficulties of documentation and lack of basic political and economic rights become the push factors for Tibetans to migrate to the west at any cost (Dorjee: 29/01/2015, Rinchen: 12/01/2015).
For instance, in 2013, a young Tibetan man called Migmar Tsring who was born in Kalimpong India and resident of Jogibare Road; Mecleodganj Disttrict Kangra HP became one of the victims for deportation to Tibet. He was randomly asked by the local police to produce registration certificates on November 24th 2013 being a Tibetan National. He misplaced his RC for renew and was not able to produce on time. The local police arrested Migar Tsering on November 24th 2013. He was accused by police that being a Tibetan National was found without any registration certificates and thereby committed an offence, which was punishable under section 14 of the Indian foreigners Act. In the Court of Rajesh Tonar, Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kangra at Dharamshala H.P stated that: “As deductible from the case record, it has been established that the convict was staying in India without valid registration certificate. He on completion of sentence ultimately has to be deported from India. The convict is a young offender with age 23 years. He came to be
46 arrested in the case on January 24th 2013 and since then is in custody. Keeping in view these facts and circumstances the convict is sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for the period undergone. I.e. 224 days up till today and to pay a fine of Rupees 1000/- and in case of default of payment fine, he shall further undergo simple imprisonment for 15 days. A copy of judgment be supplied to the convict free of costs and he also sent to the Superintendent of Police Kangra at Dharamshala for making arrangement for immediate deportation of accused after completion of above sentence. The file after its due completion is consigned to record room” (Migmar: 04/09/2013).19
This kind of insecurity, fear of deportation and exclusion based on status become the push factor for Tibetans in India to migrate to the west for a better life, asylum and later for citizenship. One of my informants, a visa broker said that there are many Tibetans who have money approaching him for help to migrate to the west and within two years he managed around two hundred ninety people to migrates to Europe and ninety present of them got asylum (Dondup: 28/01/2015). From this point of view, Tibetans who are migrating to the west is not only because of economic deprivation and myth of the west but because of difficulties of life in exile without any legal status and documents.
On other hand, economic capital accumulation is the second goal of Tibetan migrants. It is very hard for them to get good jobs to support their families in India, most of Tibetans in exile are depending on the remits from friends and families in abroad and Tibet. For instance, Tibetans in Ladakh (a hill station of North India) are not allowed to open guesthouses, travel agencies, drive taxi and work as a tour guide. Tibetan refugees are not allowed to involve in any economic sector by local people. They are only allowed to do farming and construction works (Lobsang: 05/03/2015). These kinds of discrimination and exclusion are common for Tibetan refugees in India. “According to the Tibetan Rehabilitation Policy 20014(TRHP: 2014) Tibetans cannot buy or own land in India, they are allowed to stay on a leased land and the lessor may take this land back at any time without assigning any reason thereof. However, a prior notice of 3 moths shall be taken before revoking the lease” (TRHP: 2014: 2-3). There are no stable settlements for Tibetan refugees in India. One of informants told me that majority of Tibetans living in India are illegal settlers (Sonam: 18/03/2015) and there are two ways of illegal settlings (government land encroachment and Bhanami transaction). Tibetans who are buying lands in the name of an Indian citizen is called Bhanami transaction. This is a risky way of buying land in Inida, if the Indian citizen filed a case against to the Tibetan owner. There is no legal right and procedures for Tibetan owner to fight back. For instance, Norbulingka in Dharamshala is in the list of Bhanami transaction. On other hand, Tibetans settled on the government land illegally is called government land encroachment. There are 210 Tibetan refugee families in Dharamshala and 5
19 This statement was ordered “In the Court of Rajesh Tomar, Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kangra at Dharamsala, District Kangra, Himachal Pradesh” on 04/09/2013
47 families at Riwalsar (Mandi) having cases of government land encroachment. (Sonam: 18/03/2015) One of the hotel managers in Tibetan colony Majnuka-Tila India told me that there are around 15 Tibetan hotel owners are going to the court for hearing every three months due to government land encroachment. He said each hotel owner has to give five thousands rupees as a bribe to the lawyer and judge to extent the case in order to not lose and take immediate decision from court (Tashi: 20/02/2015).
This kind of exclusion and insecurity from economic sector become the push factor for Tibetans to migrate to the west for economic capital accumulation and it is not just “myth of the west” driving Tibetan migrants (Moynihan: 2012: 3) as many literature discussed. For instance, Tibetans Nurses, Doctors and other professionals are not allowed work in the government sectors without domicile certificate and Indian citizenship. There are thousands of Tibetan students who graduated from universities are excluded from economic sector and remained jobless in the Tibetan settlements. There are hundreds of Tibetan youngsters rotting in the refugee settlements and quest for migrating to the west. However, majority of the Tibetan youngsters who managed to migrate to the west are ended up as dishwashers in the Chinese restaurants in abroad. They cannot use their academic certificates obtained from India in the west after they have taken asylum as refugees direct from Tibet. Tibetan refugees cannot tell to the immigration officials that they came from India, otherwise asylum will be denied. For instance, there are around two hundreds Tibetan refugees were denied to grant asylum by Belgium government after figured out that they are Tibetans came from India. The Belgium government suspected that those Tibetans have already taken asylum in India. In reality, Tibetans in India do not hold any legal status and they are not treated as political refugees in any legal sense in India. (Tashi: 03/04/2015) For another instance, Tibetans in Ladakh are not allowed to be active in any economic sector; they have to depend only on construction work and farming in summer, which hardly can harvest once a year in that harsh environment. Hence, one of my informants from Ladakh in United States of America said; “Sometime I could not see the lights of sun for months, I need to work really hard to support my family members in India” (20/04/2015). He migrated to United States of America in 2009 and working as a dishwasher in a Chinese restaurant. He is working seven days a week from 6am to 12 am to support his family members back in Ladakh. He said that his expectations of migrating to America are to get asylum, accumulate economy to support his family member and one day bring them to America for a better life.
I have seen too many lives broken in the processes of migrating to the west. To fulfill the expectations and goals for having a better life, parents and children are separated and husband and wife are broken. It is painfully obvious that migrating to the west is not a smooth mobility (Osno: 2009, Faire: 2008) as it could have. If there is a legal status for Tibetans, a stable settlement and a refugee program for Tibetan refugees in India.
However, who care for some bunch of stateless foreigners’ welfare and what options
48 left for these Tibetan refugees other than migrate to the west illegally or return back to Tibet without any security. In the following point I am going to present how roles of difficulties of documentation in exile become a push factor for Tibetans who are returning back to Tibet.
4.2 The expectations of Tibetan Returnees
Pic. No: 8 (Chinese Travel document issued to Tibetan Returnees. Photographed by Gedun Gyatso, 2015)
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Pic. No: 9 (The registration Application Receipt from Chinese Embassy for Tibetan returnees. Photographed by Gedun Gyatso, 2015)
According to Demographic Survey of Tibetans in Exile 2009 there are around 127935 Tibetan refugees stood outside of Tibet, among them 94203 Tibetans are living in India, 13514 in Nepal, 1298 in Bhutan and 18920 elsewhere. But, within last six years there is drastic shift in the population of Tibetans in exile. The number Tibetan population in India, Nepal and Bhutan are shrinking, while the population of Tibetans in the western countries and returners to Tibet are rapidly increasing. According to reliable informants and observations, the shift of population is related to expectations of Tibetan migrants regarding difficulties of documentation, legal status, different notions of younger generation toward mobility and political transactions in the exile communities.
I had an opportunity to visit to Tibetan Reception center (TRC) located in New Delhi in 2015 and Tibetan Reception Center located in Kathmandu in 2014, upon my visit there was no single new arrival in those big buildings. The empty rooms with straw mattress were covered with dust. It was not like ten years ago when this place was full of new comers that sometimes they could not fit inside these buildings and many of them used to sleep on the roofs. I asked the gatekeeper, a lady who was living on the roof of TRC in Delhi about what happened to those rooms. She said; “Tibetans in Tibet are no more coming to India. They know that economy of China is booming much better than India and who wants to come to this poor country to eat Dal and rice everyday to suffer without any legal status. Few years ago Tibetans escaped from china by risking their lives to get India and all the new comers took
50 care in this building, but now they are making lines in front of Chinese embassy to get travel document to return back to Tibet. It is really hard to understand.” There are two push and pull factors for Tibetans who are returning back to Tibet in the exile communities, which are more or less similar to that of Tibetans who are migrating to the west.
Non-economic factor
It is not only the economic factor that Tibetans in exile are migrating or returning back to Tibet. There are many other reasons for returning home from the exile communities includes, family reunion, to a get proper document (passport, citizenship) and better jobs. Majority of Tibetan returnees have their family members in Tibet, to reunite with their aging parents and relatives is one of goals in their lives. On other hand, Tibetans refugees in exile are facing extremely difficulties due to their informal legal status. They are living in a state of legal limbo and none of Tibetans in exile qualifies as refugees. Additionally, they are not eligible for Indian citizenship and any other legal documents, which help them to get basic political and economic rights. Hence, the difficulties of documentation lack of legal status, discrimination and exclusion motivated Tibetans to return back to home from exile by hoping for a better future. Tibetans in exile are returning back to Tibet in order to get a proper document in China to make life easier. They know that without documents and legal identity it is very hard to survive in a foreign place. They want to get rid of refugee and foreigner status.
Majority of Tibetans came from Tibet have family registration records (Ch: hu kou) in Tibet and this makes them natural birth citizens of China. There is no need of legal battle to get legal status and citizenship if Tibetans return back to Tibet. They are automatically considered as citizens of Peoples Republic of China. Hence, the difficulties of paperwork and legal status become the push factors for the Tibetan lower class that have no money to migrate to abroad and buy Indian citizenship in India.
For some Tibetan returnees, Indian policy toward Tibetans regarding education becomes the push factor to return back to Tibet from the exile community. All the Tibetan students in India are considered foreigners even they completed their schooling from an Indian Board. Tibetan students and professionals are not eligible to any government sector jobs, the degree they obtained from universities become discriminatory and exclusive from Indian society. For instance, on March 25th Indian Nursing Council stated that nurses of foreign nationalities were not allowed to practice in Indian even they obtained degree from India and many of Tibetan nurses expelled from hospitals (Phayul: 09/06/2013). The sense of insecurity and frustration triggered the mobility of Tibetans in exile. They motivated to migrate back to China to obtain a legal status and practice what they learnt from India. However, most of the degrees obtained from India by Tibetan returnees are not accepted in China due to political reasons. They have to retake the courses enable to work.
51
The Chinese government come know that Tibetan refugees in India are facing difficulties from different circumstances and by taking this opportunity Chinese foreign department implemented a new policy toward Tibetans in the name of overseas Chinese and started to welcome them back. There are hundreds and thousands of Tibetan refugees in exile are returning back to Tibet after implementation of this policy.
In 2002 the government of China welcomed overseas Tibetans back to Tibet. The deputy secretary of Tibet Regional Committee in Communist Party of China said; “patriotism is necessary for national unity. Anyone who no longer promotes or believes in the Independence of Tibet will be welcomed by the government of China, even though they may have previously engaged in separatist activities.” (People’s Daily February 6,2002) This policy helped Tibetans to return back to Tibet legally and formally. The government of China starts to make travel document for Tibetan overseas and built reception center in Zham (Ch: Zha mu) near the boarder of Nepal. China is emphasizing on the Tibetan overseas to return to Tibet and settle down. However, it is not all the Tibetan overseas can return back to home. Tibetans who are politically active are not allowed to return back to Tibet. Tibetans who want to return to home need to obtain Chinese travel document from Chinese embassies. They have to handover all the information about their status, reasons of migration, family background and purposes of returning back to Tibet. The entire information will pass from embassies to local security departments for verification, if there is no political and crime records the permission of issuing travel document may grant for three months of duration to travel back to China. However, There is no fixed timing for this paper process, the applicants may need to wait six months to few years to get reply from Chinese embassy and if the response is negative the applicants have to reapply for the travel document as a fresh claim. There are hundreds and thousands of Tibetans mostly in India and Nepal waiting for the Chinese travel documents in order to return back to Tibet. This raises an important question that why Tibetans in exile are returning back to China.
The Central Tibetan Administration has negative impression on this policy. The Parliament Speaker of Tibet said that the purpose of this policy is aimed to reduce population of Tibetans in the exile communities to make Tibetan political struggle weak, to against the political struggle of CTA, to construct accusation to H.H the Dalai Lama and Tibetan activities in exile. Additionally, to discourage Tibetans inside Tibet and denunciate to the world that it is some Tibetan aerostats families and separatists who are using Tibet issue and Tibetans to pursuit their own interests (penpa tsering: 17/03/2015). Similarly, according to the head of Tibetan local security department, all the applications submitted by Tibetans in the exile communities to Chinese embassies are presenting on the UNO desk by China to against CTA and H.H the Dalai Lama. Tibetan Security Department in Dharashala is aware of this tragic policy and asking Tibetans to register in CTA before they apply for Chinese Travel document, but only few people registered so far. The returners fear of licking the information about reregistration at CTA. Tibetans who are
52 returning to Tibet are also aware that this policy is against to norms of coming to India as political refugees and the political struggle of Tibet but still there are hundreds and thousands of Tibetans marching back to Tibet for temporary visiting and permanent settling. (Jigme: 04/03/2015) This shows that Tibetans migrating back to Tibet is not all about politic and economy. They want to pursuit a convenient life and they do no want live their whole life in state of legal limbo in exile.
Economic factor
On other hand, the economic development of China can be considered one of the pull factors for Tibetan returnees from exile community. In general, the theories on migration deal with the relationship between mobility and regional economic development. “ Laws of migration is about mobility of people in order to better themselves economically” (Ravenstein: 1889). In this view, the regional economic development is one factor for the migration process. Similarly, “neoclassical theory views migration as an out comes of geographic differences in labor demand, supply and individual’s calculation of cost and return. Migration is seen as a labor movement from low-wage to high-wage areas” (Fan: 2005: 295). After Deng Xiaoping became the president of China in 1978. China had series of economic reforms. China started its economic reform by de-collectivization of agriculture, the opening door policy of China to foreign countries for investment, privatization of state owned properties and free market system. As a result, from 1987 up till 2013, a rapid economic growth occurred. In 2014 China is the biggest goods trading nation in the world (Rushton: 10th Jan 2014). China’s economic is widely seen as an “Engine of growth of all Asia” (Branstetter: 2008: p668). Hence, China’s economic development becomes a pull factor of Tibetan migrants from all over the world while Tibetan refugees are excluded from the economic sectors of India. However, the first priority of Tibetans migrating back to China is not only the economic capital accumulation and high valued wages. It is aimed for a legal status and proper documents in China in order to take advantages of China’s economic development in future. It is impossible for Tibetans to aim for building economic status at the first step without any legal status and proper documents. In this view, to explain the expectations of Tibetan returnees the economic pull factor and political status in exile cannot be separated.
There are hundreds and thousands of Tibetans in the exile communities are migrating or returning back to Tibet for the purposes of seeking an improvement in quality of life and access to resources. It is interesting to see how these people change their political status as refugees in exile community to the economic migrants in order to return Tibet. Adu Said; “ I am returning back to Tibet for a better life. I hope I am making the right decision. Economically speaking, Tibetans in Tibet have much better life than Tibetans in exile. I am working in a café shop illegally as a waiter and my monthly salary is three thousand rupees, which is equivalent to fifty US dollar per month. On other hand, my monthly rent is one thousand five hundred excluding expenses of utilities fees. I can barely survive in India. I have been in India as a political refugee for last sixteen years and I come to
53 realize that I have no future in India. Tibetans like me, who has no money, family background and connections cannot live an easy life in India. I did not get any refugee aids from government of India within last sixteen years and it is really hard to get a good job to support myself without any documents, legal status and education. It is better for me to return back to Tibet. In Tibet, at least I have a land, a house to stay and family to call for help. I do not have face difficulties of basic documentation process and my legal status. I can do business and seek better jobs if I don’t involve in Tibetan politics. I really do not want to stay as a refugee for whole my life and let my children suffer like me” (06/01/2015).
It is interesting to see that Tibetans who are migrating to back to Tibet have some unique characteristics as informal economic migrants, which cannot be separated from difficulties of paperwork in exile community. In general economic migration theories, the push factors are always referred to the differentials in wage rates. People are motivated to migrate if the value of wages in native place is lower than the new place. However, it is contrastive to the Tibetans migrating back to Tibet. The difficulties of documentation, legal status, exclusion, insecurity and discrimination become the push factors in the exile communities to migrate to Tibet in order to obtain a better life. I observed that the main goals of Tibetan returnees are to acquire legal status, proper documents and then accumulate economic capitals. The legal status and documentation plays an important role in the process of economic capital accumulation of Tibetan migrants. In India, Tibetans who were born and migrated after 1987 are not eligible for Indian Citizenship. They are excluded from Indian society based on categorization of status and documents. It is impossible for Tibetans to be active in economic sector freely without proper documents in India. Aten, (14/01/2015) a Tibetan roadside bread seller said; “ the local police men warned me many times and some of Tibetan roadside markets are destroyed by local polices and income tax department. It is really hard for Tibetans to do business in India freely and legally without documents and connections with Indian officials.” Hence, the economic migration and difficulties of documentation in exile cannot be separated. Tibetan returnees want are give up their refugee status in order to return back to Tibet and to obtain a better life.
As for conclusion of this chapter, I want to present that Tibetans both migrating to Tibet and the west have similar expectations, push and pull factors in the exile communities. Their migration characteristics contribute to the existing migration theories that migration may not always be cased by regional development and values of wages. It is can also be caused by lack of legal status, documents, exclusion, fear and insecurity in exile. Additionally, I want to argue that in case of Tibetan migration paperwork and economic capital accumulation cannot be discussed separately.
54
Conclusion
Pic. No: 10 (A wall poster represents current situation of Tibetan refugees in India 2015. Published on Arunachal Times by AAPSU by Mr. Arjun Dondum. 2015)
To answer my central research question: “ How do Tibetan migrants make documents in India and what are the difficulties, goals and processes of making documents as stateless people?” I presented this thesis in three main categories with migration history of Tibetan refugees regarding different foreign policies of India, the difficulties of documentation and the causes and effects of exile deprivation on Tibetan refugees who are migrating from the exile communities either to the west or Tibet.
I started this thesis with history of three major Tibetan migration waves to present Tibetan migration as a whole for a better understanding of my readers. I divided Tibetan migration into three categories based on the year of entering in to India. Here follows my explanation. The Tibetans who migrated to India between: (1) 1959 and 1987 are considered as first migration wave, while Tibetans who migrated between (2) 1987 and 2003, (3) 2003 and 2015 are termed as second and third
55 migration waves. The main purposes of these categorization of migrations are to present the uncertain foreign policies of Indian government toward Tibetan refugees and its impacts on exile community. The foreign policies of India toward Tibetans are keep on changing according to its national interest and as a result it put Tibetans in to state of legal limbo.
Indian government treated all three Tibetan migration waves differently. The first Tibetan migrants were given informal refugee status, leased land for farming, handicraft industry and education aids. However, these supports did not continue last for a long time after India had different border conflicts and economic competitions with China. India started to put more restrictions on the mobility and documentations of Tibetan refugees. According to the research of Tibetan Justice Center, half of the exile population was migrated during second migration wave and all of them were rejected to any issue documents in India. Thousands of Tibetan refugees became undocumented and illegal migrants. As a result, the illicit documentation processes is the only option left for Tibetans enable to stay in India in order to avoid persecution back in China.
Additionally, over changes of government foreign policies, progress in management of documentations and systematic bureaucracy became a big threat to Tibetan refugees in the processes paperwork. Tibetan refugees are facing difficulties of documentation under the circumstances of exclusion, discrimination, and marginalization. India became an insecure environment for Tibetan refugees to reside. However, at the same time Tibetans are becoming very active in construction of political identity, documentation and migration to challenge their difficulties. It is interesting to see how Tibetans discuss about changing of nationality, migrating to abroad, return back to Tibet and how to make illicit documents in India. From this point of view, I argue that difficulties of documentation and uncertain policies of government of India became the primary push factors for Tibetans’ migration from the exile communities. On other hand, it is helping Tibetans to construct a new political identity called “Tibetan Citizen”, which is contrary to the general understanding of state and citizen relationship theory. This also explains why my findings are different from what others have written about Tibetan refugees, particularly, the difficulties of documentation, and formation of identity and exile migration.
In this thesis, I aimed to contribute towards the existing literature on construction of political identity and migration. In general, a political identity is constructed based on the connections between territory and statehood (Marston and Mitchell: 2004). The citizenship is understood as a member of bounded territory and state is considered as the central of all the political identity categories. However, following my empirical research this theoretical assumption is contrary to Tibetan refugees in India. A citizen or political identity is constructed by an unrecognized and territory less Tibetan political entity in India. This political entity is functioning like a state within the territory jurisdiction of the host country. It is labeling and documenting
56 all Tibetans as its subjects. This empirical case disrupts the theory of state and citizen relationship in the processes of construction of political identity.
On other hand, this paper is also aimed to contribute on the existing migration literatures that migration is not always the case of regional development and for economic prosperity. There are thousands of Tibetan refugees in exile community are migrating either to west or China. However, their pull factor is not only the regional development of an alien place, they are migrating to foreign places in order avoid from difficulties of documentation, legal status and insecurity in the exile communities. At another level, this thesis is aimed to theorize the relationship between construction of identity and migration with difficulties of documentation for Tibetans in exile. I view that difficulties of documentation, insecurity, exclusion and fear are the factors for the construction of a new political identity.
At last, I hope this thesis contributes to those Tibetan asylum seekers facing legal bar of firm resettlement in west and give awareness to Tibetan refugees in India who do not have much knowledge about their own status, Indian foreign policies and refugee rights. Additionally, I personally hope this research can contribute to those human rights fighters and refugee organization to take further positive steps on Tibetan refugees in India. From the above wall poster, published in 2015, I can argue that Tibetans are still living in a state of legal limbo. They are discriminated, excluded and marginalized in India. Hence, I think Tibetan refugees in India are good subject for an ethnographic research regarding identity crisis in exile.
57
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Yangzom Brauen: 1980 Across Many Mountains, published By New York: St. Martin’s press
Todd.S Yellin: 1994 Tibetan Escape (He became the first person to film Tibetan refugees escaping over the Himalayas footage was broadcasted internationally by Reuters TV in 1994
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Appendix: 1
Migration History
1. What generation of migrant are you? 2. Why did you migrate to India? 3. How did you migrate? 4. What are the purposes of your migrating to India?
Legal status and documentation in India
1. What is your legal status in India? 2. What do you think about your status? 3. What kind of documents you are holding? 4. What are the difficulties of documentation in India? 5. What kind of status do you like obtain? 6. Do you feel more Tibetan than Indian? 7. What are the processes of documentation in India? 8. What are difficulties of documentation in India? 9. Are you a political refugee? 10. Do you get any refugee aids from the government of India? 11. Why Tibetans in India are facing deportation? 12. Is it against to the human rights law?
Identity
1. What makes you feel more Tibetan? 2. Do you want to change your nationality? 3. Do you want to become Indian citizen? 4. Why you want to get Indian passport? 5. Is there any rejection from society for changing your Tibetan nationality? 6. Do you feel like a foreigner in India? 7. What is your most desired legal status?
Migration to the West
1. Why you want to migrate to the west? 2. Why you do not want to settle down in India? 3. Which country in the world you like to migrate? 4. What is your main goal of migrating to the west? 5. How do you migrate to west? 6. What are the determinants of your migration?
62 7. What will be your status after migration? 8. How do you know that migrating to the west is the best option for you?
Migration to Tibet
1. Why you want to return back to Tibet? 2. What is your aim of returning back to Tibet? 3. What are the determinants of your returning home? 4. Is it safe to return back to Tibet? 5. What will be your legal status after returning to Tibet? 6. How do you return back to Tibet? 7. What are the difficulties of returning back to Tibet? 8. What are the benefits of returning back to Tibet?
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