Understanding the Refugee Crisis in India, with a special focus on the Rohingya Refugee Crisis

Abstract

According to the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is defined as “a person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it".
India, in its 76 years as an independent nation-state, has seen its fair share of refugee problems, starting with Partition itself. India, since the partition, has supported Bangladesh's 1971 war of independence from Pakistan and took in tens of thousands of refugees from there. After the 2021 Military Coup in Myanmar, there was a steep increase in widespread violence, internal displacement, and chaos. The human misery caused by this coup lead to a catastrophic refugee crisis in South Asia as refugees flooded into the neighbouring countries. Since this crisis began, India has welcomed over 40,000 Rohingya refugees into the country. And of these, over half of them are registered with UNHRC.
Through this review, our aim is to comprehend the current status of these refugees in the country, three years since they entered into the borders, with focus given to the various issues they face and the manner in which India has responded to this crisis over the years.