§ 65. Mr. Teelingasked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what are the number of Tibetan 132W refugees who have now entered India and have asked for asylum in the United Kingdom or Colonies, or for permission to pass through these countries to other non-communist areas.
§ Mr. AlportThe total number of Tibetan refugees now on Indian soil is stated by the Indian authorities to be between 12,000 and 12,500. It is not possible to give more precise figures as some refugees have filtered into Sikkim and Bhutan where their exact numbers are not known. So far as is known, of those refugees who have entered India in the main influx since April, 1959, none have asked for asylum in the United Kingdom or Colonies or for permission to pass through those countries.
Six persons of Tibetan origin who stated that they entered India in October, 1957, applied in May, 1959, for visas to transit Hong Kong on their way to Formosa. These visas were granted.