Refugee crisis in India

Refugees, are those people that are uprooted from there home country and seeking asylum and protection in another country. They leave their countries because of war or persecution due to their nationality, race, religion, political opinion or membership in a group.

REFUGEES IN INDIA:


The refugee crisis has been the oldest crises since the time of Independence of India.

Today, India continues to host about 212,874 refugees and asylum seekers including refugees from Sri-Lanka. A maximum number of these refugees are from Tibet, followed by Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Afghanistan.
India continues to receive a large number of refugees time to time from different countries, not necessarily from the neighbouring countries alone.

Major refugee categories in India:


The three major categories of refugees that exist in India are mentioned below:

  • Those who receive full protection and facility according to the standard set by the Government of India eg. The Sri-Lankan Tamil refugees and the Jumma people from Bangladesh. 
  • Whose presence in Indian territory is admitted by the UNHCR and are protected under the principles of non-refoulement eg. Afgan, Somalian, Sudaneese, Burmeese etc.
  • Who have entered India and have merged into their communities. Their presence is not admitted either by the Indian Government or by UNHCR.  Eg. Tribal refugees, Nagas from Burma.

REFUGEE PROTECTION IN INDIA-

  • The Government of India’s approach to refugee issues leads to different standards of protection and assistance among refugee groups.
  • The Foreigners Act of 1946, Extradition Act of 1962, Passport Act of 1967, Citizenship Act of 1955 (amended in 2019) and the Illegal Migrant (Determination by Tribunals) Act of 1983 are some of the laws applicable to both foreigners and refugees. Under these laws, the foreigners can be detained and forcibly deported, even if they are refugees escaping their countries of origin in fear of death.
  • However, India is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention under which the UNHCR operates and it does not have a domestic legislation regulating the entry and stay of refugees.
 


Most of the refugee population in India originates from Sri Lanka, Tibet, Myanmar and Afghanistan.  Refugees from Tibet and Sri Lanka are recognized as such by the government. They are provided protection and assistance directly through specific policies and rules formulated by the govt. On the other hand refugees from Myanmar, Afghanistan and elsewhere are registered and guarded by the UNHCR.

Refugees that are directly recognized by the Indian government are housed in camps and have access to local schools, hospitals and the domestic job market, those registered with the UNHCR don’t get the same treatment. They don't have access to the country’s healthcare facilities, for example, and face difficulties in finding accommodation and jobs. 

The Invisible Crisis-Refugees and COVID-19 in India:



The spread of COVID-19 is usually intimately linked to migration within a country or between countries.
Given the restrictions to mobility and economic activities, there is a significant drop in the employment and income among migrant workers who suddenly find themselves unable to provide help for their families and dependent on aid systems.

Similar economic impacts can already be seen and could continue in the following months for refugees not living in camps (often in urban areas), who also depend to a great extent on the informal sector. In Jordan, UNHCR estimated on 11 May that 40% of refugees were dependent on the informal sector and that a third of them no longer had any work and were having difficulty feeding themselves.

                          
                                                                                                                                         -Anshika Agarwal

              

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