(TibetanReview.net, Aug21’24) – India’s Tibet-border state of Arunachal Pradesh has on Aug 19 taken steps to strengthen the existing Inner Line Permit (ILP) system that makes it mandatory for a non-Arunachalee person to obtain a permit to enter the state, reported the ANI news service Aug 20.
The state is home to three Tibetan refugee settlements and one cluster Tibetan community. Many of these Tibetans are ethnically related to a section of the state’s population.
China calls the state Zangnan or south (or southern) Tibet on the basis of its annexation of Tibet in the 1950’s. It “strongly deplores and firmly opposes” any top Indian leaders’ or the Dalai Lama’s visits to the state. It has also voiced the same outrage at any major development activity being initiated there by New Delhi.
The report said the decision was taken by Chief Minister Mr Pema Khandu at a joint meeting between top government officials and leaders of the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) in the state’s capital Itanagar.
Mr Khandu has emphasised the need to strengthen the ILP system to prevent illegal entry and prolonged stay of non-local migrants in the state.
“Our main objective is to protect our indigenous tribes from outside influx and we are committed to it,” Mr Khandu has said.
AAPPSU was stated to have made a PowerPoint presentation to explain a survey it had conducted and to suggest ways and means to strengthen the present system.