Socio-Legal Analysis of the Rohingya Crisis: An Indian Perspective | Original Article

ABSTRACT:

This paper is concerned with the Rohingya situation in South-east Asia caused by the exodus of about a million Rohingyas from Myanmar.[1] There are estimated 40,000 Rohingya refugees in India.[2] Most of them belong to Muslim community. In October 2018, Indian authorities started repatriating Rohingya Refugees to Myanmar, despite United Nations finding that Myanmar’s top generals should be should be investigated and prosecuted for genocide.[3] The forcible return of refugees violates the principle of non-refoulement, the international norm that forbids returning people to a place where they are at real risk of serious abuse. The Ministry of Home Affairs also said in an affidavit before the Supreme Court that India, as a non-signatory to the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention, India was not obliged to adhere to the principle of non-refoulement.[4] The purpose of this research paper is to undertake a socio-legal analysis of the stand taken by India on this issue.