Rights Of Refugees In India With Special Reference To Their Victimisation And Possible Solutions
By Udit Sharma & Vanita Sharma, Himachal Pradesh National Law University. *
Abstract
Refugee is not just a term. It is an expression that can alter someone’s life. It is a statement that, if once applied upon a person, renders him to the whims of a different power. A power with which he has no ethnic, social or national link. In other words, refugee is the metaphorical boundary, on one end of which lies security and on the other side lies a life of uncertainty & fear. A simple definition of the term “Refugee” means any person who has taken shelter. In more technical sense, Refugee would mean any person or group of persons who have left their native land and have taken shelter to other nation owing to several social, economic and political reasons. ‘Refugees’ have been a hot potato of Indian socio-political arena. While the natives fear them and consider them as a burden on the already deficient resources, which in fact leads to violence and other forms of victimisation of refugees, there is a section that perceives them as an addition to the already saturated amount of population whose inflow is likely to cause and sometimes causes law and order troubles. But, being run on the lines of socialism and democracy, a conflict from humanitarian perspective also arises. Many a times this conflict has reached to the judiciary. This paper provides an insight into the refugee issue from the Indian perspective and how refugees in India are victimised and the allied causes for it. The paper also ponders upon the possibilities of framing a refugee centric legislation as a possible solution to the refugee issue in India and how it can act as a medium to curb their victimisation.
* Udit Sharma has done his LL.M. from Himachal Pradesh National Law University (2019-20) & Vanita Sharma is a Ph.D. Scholar at Himachal Pradesh National Law University (2019-Pursuing).
