Whether it’s the rich western world of Europe and America where millions of refugees have landed in hope of asylum, or the South-East Asian countries like Malaysia, and Bangladesh, where thousands of Rohingya Muslims have entered from Buddhist Myanmar, the world is witnessing a refugee crisis far intense than ever before. Although India has decided to deport nearly 40,000 Rohingyas, who illegally entered India from Myanmar and Bangladesh borders, but on the other hand, India is home to nearly 3 lakh refugees from 30 odd countries. Apart from refugees from neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Pakistan and Bangladesh, India also houses refugees from rich western countries like the US, UK, France, Germany and Australia. According to the latest available data which was presented by Minister Of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju in March 2016, a total of 2,89,394 refugees living in India (as on 31/12/2014) from 28 different countries which also included stateless people. This the number of refugees living in India legally and doesn’t include the numbers of Rohingyas and Bangladeshi migrants living illegally in India. This PPT shows the situation of Refugees in India

1. GROUP ASSIGNMENT
SOCIAL WELFARE POLICIES AND ADMINISTRATION
STATUS OF REFUGEES & LEGAL AIDS REALTED TO THEM IN INDIA
PRESENTED BY
Shanmukha Priya Chadarada (CB.SW.P2MSW16027)
Shelin Varghese (CB.SW.P2MSW16028)
SUPERVISED BY
Mr. S. Kanagaraj
Department of Social Work
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham University

2. CONTENTS
 Introduction
 Refugee
 Distinction between refugees and other foreigners
 Refugee scene in India
 Evidence Requirement to Establish Refugee Claim
 Refugees and the Indian Legal Framework
 The Protection Of Refugees And Asylum Seekers Bill, 2015
 Conclusion
 Reference

3. INTRODUCTION
 Law and order is a State subject under the Indian Constitution, international relations and
international borders are under the exclusive purview of the Union government. Also, all policies
governing refugees are laid down by the Union government though the impact of the refugee
problem as such has to be borne by the State administration to a greater degree if not wholly.
 Security personnel at the international borders, immigration personnel at the land check,
international airports and seaports, besides a host of state police personnel, are all intimately
connected with law enforcement affecting refugees one way or another.
 As the very term ‘security’ denotes, all the above categories of personnel are entrusted with the
onerous responsibility of ensuring national as well as internal security of the country as their first
and foremost charge. They have to make sure that the laws of the land are enforced in regard to
refugees without in any way ignoring or neutralizing security considerations. But, at the same
time, it is also their responsibility that the humanitarian overtones so characteristically and
inseparably associated with refugees in general, are not lost sight of.
 It is also well known that every single situation pertaining to ‘refugees’ is replete with human
rights aspects as well. It is obvious that these have also necessarily to be taken due care of by law
enforcement personnel.

4. REFUGEE
 It should be appreciated that a person becomes a
refugee because of circumstances which are beyond
that person’s control. He/ She is left with no other
option but to flee from human rights violations, socio-
economic and political insecurity, generalized violence,
civil war or ethnic strife all these leading to fear of
persecution.
 Article 1 para. 2 of the United Nations 1951 Convention
defines the ‘refugee’ as “A person who owing to 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,
unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that
country.”

5. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REFUGEES & OTHER
FOREIGNERS While all persons who are not Indian citizens are ‘Foreigners’ including refugees, it is
necessary to clearly distinguish the latter from other categories of ‘foreigners’. There are
considerable misgivings in the minds of many in India because of the large number of ‘illegal
immigrants’ from Bangladesh who have spread into different parts of India.
 There are at least three well-defined groups of foreigners who are different from ‘refugees’.
It is important that the distinction among them is clearly understood and none of them is
confused with or mistaken for a ‘refugee’. These categories are:
A. Temporary Residents, Tourists and Travelers
B. Illegal Economic Migrants
C. Criminels, Spies, Infiltrators, Militants etc.
D. Internally Displaced Persons (IDP)

6. REFUGEE SCENE IN INDIA
 India has been home to refugees for centuries. From the time when almost the entire
Zoroastrian community took refuge in India fleeing from the persecution they were then
subjected to on religious grounds in Iran.
 India has, from time to time continued to receive a large number of refugees from different
countries, not necessarily from the neighbouring countries alone. The most significant thing
which deserves to be taken note of is that, there has not been a single occasion of any
refugee originating from the Indian soil except the Trans boundary movement of the people
during the partition of the country in 1947.
 It is relevant to point out that since its independence, India has received refugees not only
from some of its neighbouring countries but distant countries like Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq,
Somalia, Sudan and Uganda.
 Currently, India is home to approximately 2,01,052 refugees, ranking 10th on a list of countries
with the highest refugee population. The largest number of people living in India as refugees,
or in refugee-like condition is from Tibet and China (1,09,018) followed by Sri Lanka (65,674),
Myanmar (14,301), Afghanistan (10,395), Somalia (746) and Others (918).
Source: UNHCR *Data as of September 2014

7. EVIDENCES REQUIRED TO CLAIM A REFUGEE STATUS
 In order for a claimant refugee to put forward a genuine claim for determination of
refugee status, it is crucial to accumulate all the documents that the claimant can muster in
support of the grounds of persecution or fear thereof resulting in flight from country of
origin.
 The documentation may be in the form of an identity card of employment with some
governmental agency in the country of origin, or an identity card indicating membership of
a particular group. Production of the same would be evidence of a claim of involvement
with particular groups and would also serve to prove the claimant’s identity.
 Any other information that the claimant may be able to gather to prove specific
persecution or fear thereof, such as names of persecutors, leaders of groups involved in
committing persecution, details of areas where persecution is committed will help
strengthen the case of the claimant.

8. REFUGEES AND INDIAN LEGAL FRAMEWORK
 Refugees encounter the Indian legal system on two counts. There are laws which regulate
their entry into and stay in India along with a host of related issues. Once they are within
the Indian Territory, they are then liable to be subjected to the provisions of the Indian
penal laws for various commissions and omissions under a variety of circumstances,
whether it is as a complainant or as an accused. These are various constitutional and
legal provisions with which refugees may be concerned under varying circumstances.
Constitutional Provisions - Articles 22(1), 22(2) and 25(1) of the Indian Constitution reflect that
the rules of natural justice in common law systems are equally applicable in India, even to
refugees. The established principle of rule of law in India is that no person, whether a citizen
or an alien shall be deprived of his life, liberty or property without the authority of law. The
various High Courts in India have liberally adopted the rules of natural justice to refugee
issues, along with recognition of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) as playing an important role in the protection of refugees.

9. THE PROTECTION OF REFUGEES AND ASYLUM SEEKERS BILL, 2015
 It is a matter of surprise that India is yet to enact a coherent and uniform law addressing
the issue of asylum. In fact, the term “refugee” finds no mention under domestic law.
 This is not to say that the Indian government does not have a policy on refugees; given
that there is no legislation on the issue, this policy has traditionally been based on a
combination of executive policies and judicial pronouncements, and thus lacks any formal
structure.
 In the absence of a specific law, the statute that deals with the entry and exit of foreigners
is the Foreigners Act of 1946. However, it does not recognize refugees as a special
category deserving of humanitarian protection.
 Against this background, it is heartening that Shashi Tharoor, a Member of Parliament
and Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, introduced
the Asylum Bill, 2015 as a private member’s bill.
 This Bill seeks to consolidate the various policies that apply to refugees in India, while also
harmonizing them and giving India recognition for its long-standing commitment to
refugee protection. As Dr. Tharoor wrote, this law “will reflect the leading role India has
played in sheltering those fleeing persecution”.

10. Cont.
 The Bill codifies the rights and duties of refugees in India and proposes the establishment
by the government of an autonomous National Commission, which will assess and
determine claims for asylum in India. It is vital to note here that the Bill has been framed
in manner that is contextual to India’s history, capacity and security concerns.
 This Bill, if it passes into law, will not only have a far-reaching impact on refugee
protection but will also give the government a firm structure for asylum management,
which is crucial in the mixed migration context as it exists today.
 Most importantly, the Bill puts systems in place such that State authorities and structures
are prepared to respond to any future refugee crisis at India’s doorstep.
 From a refugee rights standpoint, by legitimizing their stay the Bill will allow refugees to
overcome their past trauma, put them on the path to recovery, enable them to move
forward with their lives and become contributing members of society during their time in
India.
 Most importantly, if the Bill were to become law, it would bring India’s asylum practices in
line with its own democratic, constitutional and cultural values.
http://164.100.47.4/billstexts/lsbilltexts/asintroduced/3024ls.pdf

11. CONCLUSION
 It can be easily seen from the foregoing slides that there is pressure of population and
the attendant economic factors, continues to take a humanitarian view of the problem of
refugees.
 Even though the country has not enacted a special law to govern ‘refugees’, it has not
proved to be a serious handicap in coping satisfactorily with the enormous refugee
problems besetting the country.
 The spirit and contents of the UN and International Conventions on the subject have
been, by and large, honoured through executive as well as judicial intervention.
 By this means, the country has evolved a practical balance between human and
humanitarian obligations on the one hand and security and national interest on the
other. It is in balancing these interests, which may sometimes appear to be competing
with each other, that the security and law enforcement agencies face day-to-day
challenges. If and when a separate ‘Refugee Law’ for the country is enacted, it is
important that this aspect is given due consideration. It is important that security and
enforcement officials do not overlook both the legal as well as the underlying human
angles inherent in the ‘refugee’ situation, especially the latter.

13. THANK YOU

14. REFERENCE
 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/10-countries-with-highest-
number-of-refugees/articleshow/47773635.cms
 http://www.refworld.org/country,,UNHCR,,IND,,,,0.html
 http://aasc.nic.in/Acts%20and%20Rules%20(GOA)/Passport%20Deptt/Foreigners%
20Act1946.pdf
 http://www.hrln.org/admin/issue/subpdf/Refugee_populations_in_India.pdf
 http://www.ipcs.org/pdf_file/issue/51462796IPCS-ResearchPaper11-ArjunNair.pdf
Special Report - Refugees in India: Guests of Destiny
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V_MFMNENQo