‘We Speak Shuddh Hindi’: Arunachal Woman Seeks Action Against China After Shanghai Visa Ordeal

Last Updated:November 24, 2025, 20:52 IST

Prema Wangjom Thongdok’s trip to Japan was delayed after Chinese officials in Shanghai allegedly harassed her over her Indian visa.

Arunachal Pradesh's Prema Wangjom Thongdok says Chinese officials mocked her nationality and delayed her Japan trip during a Shanghai transit. (IMAGE: LINKEDIN)

Arunachal Pradesh native Prema Wangjom Thongdok said she does not “understand C of Chinese" and speaks “shuddh Hindi" as she fumed over a delay in her travel to Japan caused by Chinese immigration officers in Shanghai.

Prema was travelling to Japan via Shanghai and said she faced harassment over her Indian visa at the hands of Chinese officials. Speaking to news agency ANI on Monday, she demanded strict action against the officials and urged that the issue be raised at an international forum.

“When I tried to question them and ask them what the issue was, they said, ‘Arunachal is not part of India,’ and started mocking and laughing and saying things like, ‘You should apply for a Chinese passport, you’re Chinese, you’re not Indian…’" she said, narrating her ordeal at Shanghai Pudong Airport.

She said she is an Indian citizen residing in the UK for over a decade and was travelling from London to Japan via a transit in Shanghai. A female Chinese immigration official came over to her and “singled" her out of the queue.

“I asked her what was happening, and she went on to say, ‘Arunachal — not India, China-China, your visa is not acceptable. Your passport is invalid…’" Prema quoted the woman as saying.

‘It Was Humiliating’

Prema said that when she tried to question them and ask what the issue was, she was met with disdain and laughter. “They said, ‘Arunachal is not part of India,’ and started mocking and laughing and saying things like, ‘You should apply for the Chinese passport, you’re Chinese, you’re not Indian,’" she said.

“I have transited through Shanghai in the past with no issues at all. I couldn’t get in touch with my family for a very long time. The airline staff of China Eastern and about two other immigration officers were speaking in their language, pointing at me and saying ‘Arunachal,’ laughing and calling it China, not India. That was very humiliating, questionable behaviour from the immigration staff as well as the airline staff," she said.

She then sought help from the Indian embassies in Shanghai and Beijing, and Indian officials rushed to her within an hour, she said. “They got me some food and spoke through the issues with them and helped me get out of the country. A very long ordeal — 18 hours — but glad that I’m out of there…" she said.

“We are part of India… We speak ‘shuddh Hindi’, we don’t understand C of Chinese, we are all Indian… I want to raise this awareness that residents of the Northeast should not face such harassment or be told they are not part of the country they are so proudly a citizen of," she added.

She urged the Indian government to “raise this on a diplomatic level with the Chinese authorities".

“This is not something a regular citizen can resolve. I would just like to request the government of India to take strict action against the Chinese authorities and the government on such matters," she said.

News world ‘We Speak Shuddh Hindi’: Arunachal Woman Seeks Action Against China After Shanghai Visa Ordeal

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