No Law on Refugees

What comes as a major surprise to most people is that our country does not have any legislation on refugees and that it is also not a sigtory to the United tions 1951 Convention on Refugees and the 1967 Protocol on Refugees. This information was furnished by the Deputy Secretary, Home (Foreigners’ Branch) Ravi Chunder on September 13, 2017, in reply to an RTI petition filed by the Assam Sanmilita Mahasangha working president Matiur Rahman. This information is both intriguing and frightening, largely because of the enthusiasm with which India has been accepting refugees from several neighbouring countries over the years. Even today, India has been responding positively to all requests to accept refugees from other countries. Many of the Rohingiya refugees from Myanmar have come well prepared with documents that would make it impossible for India to turn down their request for refugee status. This willingness to accept refugees from neighbouring countries blindly militates against the wishes of the people. But the government seems totally insensitive to the people’s wishes. It has, therefore, become imperative for a hopelessly charitable country like India to have rigid legislation on refugees so that the gratuitous generosity about accepting refugees does run counter to the interests of Indian citizens. The government seems to keep forgetting that India is an overcrowded country with one of the highest population densities.

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