India confronts China after Arunachal-born woman detained 18 hours at Shanghai airport over passport ‘validity’

A transit stop in Shanghai turned into an 18-hour ordeal for a UK-based Indian citizen after authorities allegedly declared her passport “invalid” because it listed Arunachal Pradesh as her place of birth — sparking a diplomatic protest from New Delhi.

Prema Thongdok, originally from West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh and currently working as a financial adviser in the United Kingdom, was en route from London to Japan on November 21 when she was pulled aside during a security check at Shanghai Pudong Airport. Despite her valid onward ticket and visa, she says officials refused to let her board her connecting flight.

“They pointed at my passport and said Arunachal Pradesh is part of China and therefore my passport is not valid,” Thongdok said. She recalled that, during the interrogation, one official went so far as to tell her she should “get a Chinese passport because [she is] Chinese”.

The detainment followed a 12-hour flight from London, and Thongdok says she was left without food, was denied internet access, and was not allowed to leave the airport. She alleges she was told she could only travel either back to the UK or to India and only on China Eastern Airlines.

After demanding access to a phone, Thongdok contacted friends who helped establish communication with the Indian Consulate in Shanghai. Within an hour, six consular officials reached the airport with food and attempted to secure clearance for her onward travel to Japan — but Chinese authorities refused. She was eventually permitted to fly to India via Thailand, where she has temporarily stayed to work remotely.

Thongdok later emailed the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), calling the declaration of her passport as “invalid” a “direct challenge to India’s sovereignty” and urging the government to take up the matter strongly with Beijing. She has also sought compensation for personal distress and financial loss.

Sources said that India issued a “strong demarche” to China in both Beijing and Delhi on the day of the incident, emphasising that Arunachal Pradesh is indisputably Indian territory and its residents are fully entitled to travel on Indian passports. Officials called the detainment “ludicrous”, also citing violations of the Chicago and Montreal Conventions governing civil aviation.

The episode comes at a time when both governments claim to be working on restoring normalcy in bilateral ties. Sources warned that such actions by Chinese authorities “create unnecessary obstructions” in that process.

Despite living in the UK for 14 years, Thongdok said she has retained her Indian passport out of love for her home country — a decision she believes may have exposed her to this ordeal.
“I haven’t given up my Indian passport because I don’t want to be a foreigner in my own land,” she said.