The ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) by the Election Commission has raised concerns among the Matua community in West Bengal. They fear that a lack of documents may lead to the removal of their names, risking deportation to Bangladesh. This Dalit community of Bengali Hindus has been settled in West Bengal in various phases since the partition of Pakistan and Bangladesh. It's not just the Matuas; citizens from many countries have been in India for decades, even though India is not part of the refugee treaty.
Why the Need for an International Treaty?
Much like other human rights treaties, the International Refugee Convention came into being after World War II. The 1951 Refugee Convention aimed to define what a refugee is, establish their rights in other countries, and ensure no refugee is forcibly returned to a country where their safety is at risk.
The 1951 treaty initially applied only to European refugees before January 1, 1951. To address this limitation, a new protocol was added, removing both the geographic and temporal restrictions, allowing easier asylum for persecuted individuals worldwide.
Source: aajtak
Since then, many countries have adopted it, yet India maintains a distance from it. The massive displacement of populations during the partition, immediately following India's independence, highlighted the diverse nature of migrations, prompting the need for case-specific decisions. Despite the international treaty not fitting into the Indian framework, political and religious displacements continued from countries around India, such as Pakistan, Bangladesh (then East Pakistan), Nepal, Tibet, and later Afghanistan. Fearing that formal adoption of the treaty would necessitate granting refugee rights to new populations despite already limited resources and potential threats to internal security, India refrained from adopting the treaty.
Even without a formal law, millions in India lack citizenship status. Historically an open society, India has seen people arrive for ages, and political upheavals in neighboring countries later prompted more to arrive.
After partition, Hindus and other minorities arrived from Pakistan.
During the 1971 Bangladesh War, millions fled from East Pakistan.
In the late fifties, people accompanied the Dalai Lama from Tibet.
The Rohingya population reached India from Myanmar.
Source: aajtak
On humanitarian grounds, India permitted them to stay, yet adopted varied policies case by case. Tibetans received comprehensive administrative support, including schools and settlements. Sri Lankan Tamils were given camps in Tamil Nadu. Meanwhile, distinct approaches were applied to Myanmar and Bangladeshi citizens, allowing stay based on UNHCR-issued refugee cards. These cards act as an identity, verifying their threat in native countries and security status in India, detailing all necessary information to avert national security issues.
Ultimately, India operates on a flexible model sans treaty participation.
This grants humanitarian asylum, but should the population surge, the country has laws to restrict it. The Foreigners Act and Passport Act empower the government to determine who may stay, for how long, under what conditions, and expel foreign nationals if needed. Under these laws, any non-Indian in India is considered a foreigner, lacking citizenship rights and may be restricted from particular places.
