The Rohingya in India are largely concentrated in a handful of locations. Most live in the cities of Hyderabad, Jammu, Nuh, and Delhi. One Rohingya-led organization reported that there are more than 90 Rohingya refugee settlements across India. Rohingya, as a mostly Muslim community, tend to concentrate in areas of India with large Muslim populations. Hyderabad in southern India, which has a more than 40 percent Muslim population, has the largest settlements of Rohingya in India, with 32 slum-like urban settlement areas referred to as camps hosting approximately a population of 7,200 Rohingya. India’s foreign policy towards Myanmar reflects a careful balancing act – one that tends to favor good relations with the military junta over denouncing the coup and atrocities. India shares a more than 1,000-mile-long border with Myanmar. While it is concerned about tens of thousands of mostly ethnic Chin refugees that have crossed into India since the coup, India also wants to maintain intelligence sharing with the Myanmar junta on Indian insurgents along the border. India also has economic interest in Myanmar, particularly concerning large trade and infrastructure projects central to its Act East Policy. It also has a broader geopolitical interest in good relations with the junta to counter growing Chinese influence in Southeast Asia. India has denounced the violence in general terms but done little to pressure the junta. Indeed, India joined China and Russia in abstaining on a December 2022 UN Security Council resolution calling for an end to violence and release of political prisoners. India has also reportedly supplied weapons and military technology to Myanmar’s military junta. India’s Refugee Policy India does not have a domestic law nor consistent policy on refugees and asylum seekers and is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol. India’s Foreigners Act and Passport Act lump refugees in with other foreigners and require them to have valid documents, such as passports and visas, to stay in India. Without such documents, refugees are considered “illegal immigrants” and subject to detention and deportation. India has provided documentation and permission to some groups of refugees directly, while offering Long Term Visas (LTVs) to others. In 2011, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) set out a standard operating procedure to deal with foreign nationals who claim to be refugees, which included provision of LTVs where “prima facie the claim (of refugee) is justified, (on the grounds of a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, sex, nationality, ethnic identity, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.” But, in practice, this guidance is rarely followed, and many refugees remain vulnerable to criminal prosecution rather than refuge. India has a history of hosting refugees even if not recognizing them. It has provided refuge to Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans, Tibetans, Afghans, and Chin and Rohingya from Myanmar. The treatment of these groups has varied, however, depending on location, ethnicity, and the geo-politics of the time. Tibetans persecuted by the Chinese during times of tension between India and China, for example, found welcome and access to official residency, education, and work permits. Similarly, Sri Lankan Tamil refugees have been recognized and directly assisted by the government of India and the local Tamil Nadu state government. Chin refugees from Myanmar, though not recognized as refugees by India, have found support from the local government and community in Mizoram, with whom they share an ethnic affinity. 8 | A SHADOW OF REFUGE: ROHINGYA REFUGEES IN INDIA