India’s treatment of the Rohingya reaffirms the need for a domestic refugee law

The lack of a domestic refugee protection framework has meant that India's recognition and protection of refugees has been inconsistent and subject to political will and motivation. The treatment of the Rohingya in India once again draws attention to the need for a robust and uniform law for the protection of those fleeing persecution, writes GAURI ANAND.

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THROUGHOUT its history, India has accepted refugees, including Jews escaping persecution, Sri Lankan Tamils, Tibetans, and Afghans, all escaping violence. However, India's treatment of the Rohingya has been conspicuously different. The country is now home to approximately 40,000 Rohingya, of whom only around 16,500 have been registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Last week, ten Rohingya who had been lodged at the Tezpur Central Jail in Assam appealed to the Gauhati High Court to either give them refugee status or to send them back to Myanmar. Arrested and jailed in 2014 for entering the country without valid documents, they have remained imprisoned for the last seven years. Saidur Rahman, Mahmadullah, and their respective families are from the Coundang village in Rakhine state, Myanmar.

While hearing the plea, Justices Kotiswar Singh and Malasri Nandy observed: "It has been submitted that the present petitioners are admittedly citizens of Myanmar who have been convicted for entering this country without proper documentation, and had served out sentences imposed by the competent court, and have been languishing in jail for the last seven years."