GoI Inconsistency Keeps China Entertained

Editorial:
Last week, five members of a team of Karatekas headed for the Asian Karate-do Championship held at Quanghou City in Fujjian province of China, were prevented by Indian immigration officials from boarding their flight in New Delhi because they had been issued stapled visas by China. The Karatekas hailed from Arunchal Pradesh, parts of which are under dispute between India and China. The Chinese embassy issuing stapled visas for people of Arunachal visiting the country is an oft-repeated stunt, played out to suggest that these were travel passes issued to people from China itself. The games China plays to reiterate its claim over parts of Arunachal cannot be set to rules by us, but what is disconcerting is that the Central Government remains typically inconsistent on how it confronts this issue.
The only reason China keeps reprising this humiliation is because the GoI has not set a clear guideline on the Indian response to it. Routine MEA protests might get submitted, but this is an affront that needs a notified national policy response. This is even more important because the only people from Arunachal travelling to China are part of official delegations representing the country, whether as sportspersons or as officials on tour. It is unlikely that the Chinese Embassy receives any tourist visa applications from Arunachal. It is obvious then that the slight is directed at India and not at the people from Arunachal. If only our Government could find some spine when it deals with China.
The only statements in the media in response to the latest set of stapled visas issue was from the government, political parties and organisations of Arunachal. This is most unfortunate, because the only way this practise can be ended is if every organisation in India which has any dealings with China joins the protest. But that will happen only if the GoI decides that the entire delegation will boycott the China visit if any person in the group is issued a stapled visa. To drive the point home, they can even consider accommodating a person from Arunachal in every official team that travels to China. The Rajya Sabha member from Arunachal, Mukut Mithi, offers an even stronger, even if misdirected, option. He has demanded that New Delhi should either put a ban on all Indians visiting China or allow people from Arunachal travel with stapled visas. This might be extreme, but is essentially in keeping with the spineless GoI response because it makes space for China to continue with the stapling business. The only time India displayed some audacity was in the year 2007 when, after an IAS officer from Arunachal was denied a visa [on the grounds that he did not require one], the entire team of 107 IAS officers travelling on a management programme to China was kept back. The study visit was cancelled on the intervention of the Prime Minister. Unfortunately, this was a rare flicker, because the same year, India opted to drop four MLAs [instead of the tour itself] from Arunachal [when the same staples were clicked on] from a 48-member government delegation travelling to China on an official invitation. The temptation of foreign visit got the better of the decision makers, perhaps. And it is this inconsistency that China continues to prey on even after we were told that discussions at the ‘highest level’ had resolved this tendency.