Migrants, Refugees and the Stateless in India
scarcity, erratic electricity charged at exploitative prices and poor
sanitation facilities.30 Most Rohingya are also engaged in menial
wage labour like other refugee groups in the country and complain
of exploitation at the hands of their employers.
Child labour is common, with a majority of Rohingya children
being forced to stay out of school and work for a living. Some
local NGOs have helped, aiding in the construction of schools,
community sheds and toilets for the Rohingya. However, the rise
in anti-Muslim rhetoric across the country since the assumption
of power by the BJP, has resulted in increased hostility towards
them among the local population. In Jammu, where most Rohingya
refugees live, the chairman of the local Chamber of Commerce and
Industry threatened to launch an ‘identify and kill movement’
against illegal foreign settlers.31 According to the UNHCR, a total
of 306 Rohingya persons of concern are detained in 10 different
states in India as of July 2019, and about a fourth of the Rohingya
respondents in a survey reported being harassed by local police
and intelligence services.32
Of all these groups, only the estimated 85,000 Tibetans33 seem
to have relatively good access to rights and services. The Tibetan
community in Karnataka is largely agricultural and lives in closeknit communities with economic interactions with the local
Indian population. Those in Himachal Pradesh have more or less
integrated with the pre-existing local economy. Dharamshala is
now an internationally renowned Tibetan centre, where thousands
of monks mingle freely with locals and tourists. The relatively
better quality of life for Tibetans can be attributed to the strong
community leadership, in the form of the Central Tibetan Authority
30 ‘The Most Unwanted: A Gripping Account of Rohingya Refugees Living
in India,’ The Indian Express, June 26, 2018, https://indianexpress.com/article/
india/the-most-unwanted-a-gripping-account-of-rohingya-refugees-living-inindia-4464103/.
31 ‘Jammu Commerce Chamber Says It Will Identify and Kill Rohingya
Muslims If State Does Not Deport Them,’ Scroll.in, March 16, 2018, https://
scroll.in/latest/834067/jammu-commerce-chamber-says-it-will-identify-and-killrohingya-muslims-if-state-does-not-deport-them.
32 ‘Figures at a glance,’ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees—
India; Brenner, ‘Rohingya Migration to India,’ 8.
33 Rahul Tripathi, 'Tibetan Refugees down from 1.5 Lakh to 85,000 in 7 Years,'
The Indian Express, September 10, 2018, https://indianexpress.com/article/india/
tibetan-refugees-down-from-1-5-lakh-to-85000-in-7-years-5349587/.
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