The trend of Tibetan refugees entering India and flying elsewhere via Nepal is on the rise despite strict measures adopted by the government in recent years to curb the entry of Tibetans into Nepali territory.

According to Department of Immigration (DoI), a total of 770 Tibetan refugees were issued exit permits at the request of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the year 2010, up from 679 in the year 2009. The number of Tibetan refugees provided with exit permits in the year 2008 stood at just 505.

 Immigration officials said the number of Tibetan refugees sneaking into Nepal had come down sharply in 2008 after Nepal sealed the border with China in March following ´anti-China´ demonstration by Tibetans.

March 10 of 2008 marked the 50th anniversary of Tibetan Uprising that took place in Lhasa in 1959 after the annexation of Tibet by China. Dalai Lama then fled to India for refuge.

Though the exact data are not available, the DoI officials said the number of Tibetan refugee entering Nepal in the year 2006 and 2007 was considerably high as the country was passing through a critical transition period. “The number of those receiving exit permits stood at about 3,000 then,” said a top official at the DoI.

Officials attribute the rise to the lack of a consistent government policy on Tibetans entering into Nepal illegally and also ineffective border check post along Nepal-China entry routes such as in Rasuwa, Dolakha and Mustang. “The border check posts shattered during insurgency period have not yet been reinstated,” the official further said.­­

Published on: 25 March 2011 | Republica