[Letter from Mr Minoo Masani]

Summary

This 1967 parliamentary notice by M. R. Masani asks the Minister of Home Affairs to respond to a report in The Times (London) concerning the treatment of Tibetan refugees in India. The notice focuses on allegations by Keith Satterthwaite, a voluntary worker, that Indian officials had forced him out of the Tibetan craft community and were pursuing a general policy of hindering foreign nationals who undertook voluntary work among Tibetan refugees.

Masani asks whether the reported facts are correct, whether the Government had instituted such a general policy, and, if so, why. He also asks whether the Government will abandon what he describes as an unsympathetic policy toward Tibetan refugees. The attached newspaper clipping supplies the reported allegations and states that the Indian Government’s position was to favour specialist volunteers while discouraging general voluntary work that could be performed by Tibetans or Indians. The document is dated 21 November 1967, with typed copies dated 13 and 15 December 1967.

Key points

• M. R. Masani submitted a starred question to the Secretary, Lok Sabha, for answer by the Minister of Home Affairs.
• The question cites a 2 September 1967 report in The Times (London) about Keith Satterthwaite, a voluntary worker among Tibetan refugees in India.
• Satterthwaite alleged that Indian officials forced him out of the Tibetan craft community where he worked.
• The notice asks whether the Government had adopted a general policy of stopping foreign nationals from undertaking voluntary work among Tibetan refugees.
• Masani asks the Government to explain the reasons for any such policy and whether it will be abandoned.
• The attached newspaper clipping reports that the Government preferred specialist volunteers and wanted general work to be performed by Tibetans or Indians.
• The clipping also describes allegations involving volunteers at Dharamsala and the withholding of ration cards from a Tibetan refugee group.