The United States should: • • • • Raise concerns over detention, deportation, and status of Rohingya in high-level engagements with India including when Prime Minister Modi visits the White House as expected in the summer of 2023 and when President Biden attends the G20 Summit in New Delhi in September 2023. Urge UNHCR to take a stronger stance against government intimidation and restrictions on activities in support of refugees. Support NGOs facing such intimidation through private and public engagement with Indian officials. Offer and encourage other countries to offer resettlement opportunities for Rohingya in India and press the Indian government to allow for exit visas and further resettlement to third countries including the United States. Provide additional funding to NGOs and local civil society supporting the Rohingya and other refugee populations in India, including protection and services for women and girls. Methodology The Azadi Project and Refugees International partnered on a research trip to Rohingya refugee settlements in Delhi and Hyderabad, India in February and March 2023 to assess the conditions and challenges facing Rohingya living in India. The team interviewed Rohingya refugees, refugee-led organizations, UN officials, local and international NGOs providing humanitarian and legal assistance to Rohingya, and other experts. This report is further informed by previous research and interviews by The Azadi Project in Chennai, Delhi, and Hyderabad in 2022 and 2023 as well as several years of research by Refugees International on challenges faced by Rohingya in Myanmar, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Thailand. Background     The Rohingya people have suffered decades of persecution in Myanmar, including a series of crack downs by the Myanmar security forces in the 1970s, 1990s, 2012, and 2016-17 that led hundreds of thousands to flee the country. The failure of successive Myanmar governments to recognize Rohingya as citizens has rendered them stateless – without the direct protection of any country, often denied basic services, and more vulnerable to exploitation. The attacks starting in August 2017 caused more than 770,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh. These attacks have been recognized by the United States as genocide and crimes against humanity. The same military responsible for those attacks launched a coup in February 2021 that has led to widespread attacks on civilians and ongoing fighting with armed resistance groups across the country. These events have further diminished the prospects of safe return of Rohingya. The majority of Rohingya refugees, nearly 1 million, are now living in the largest refugee settlement in the world in Bangladesh. Tens of thousands live in other countries around the region, including Malaysia and India, and to a lesser extent Indonesia and Thailand. The context of the Bangladesh camps has been extensively covered, including in past Refugees International reports. The focus of this report is on the lesser-known population of Rohingya refugees living in India. 6 | A SHADOW OF REFUGE: ROHINGYA REFUGEES IN INDIA