South Asia State of Minorities Report 2019 that ‘identifying person whose citizenship is doubtful’ is central to this exercise. Furthermore, the national government has asked for detention centres to be established in each state, and Foreigners Tribunals to be set in districts across the country. And some BJPruled states, such as Uttar Pradesh57 in the north and Karnataka58 in the south are relying on the police to arbitrarily round up ‘suspected foreigners’, all of whom are Muslim. Rights scholars and activists point out that the goals of this exercise are irrational, and the costs far outweigh whatever gains there might be. The methods used to roll out the exercise are also unconstitutional, as they violate the provisions of non-discrimination and ensuring dignity and equality of all in the constitution and international law.59 Conclusion India has neither signed the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees nor devised its own domestic refugee law. Refugees and forced migrants are therefore treated on a par with other foreigners and not guaranteed basic rights, such as prohibition of discrimination, equality of opportunity, and freedom of speech and movement. The core principle of the UN Convention on Refugees is nonrefoulement, which asserts that a refugee should not be forced to return to a country where they face serious threats to their life and freedom. This principle, considered a rule of customary international law, was violated when the Indian Supreme Court refused to intervene to stop the deportation of Rohingya refugees by the central government in October 2018. India has also not ratified the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Statelessness Persons, meaning that stateless persons are not recognised as legal entities deserving the minimum standards of treatment due to them, including the right to education, 57 ‘UP Cops to Launch Crackdown on Illegal Bangla Immigrants,’ The Times of India, October 2, 2019, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/up-copsto-launch-crackdown-on-illegal-bangla-immigrants/articleshow/71402211.cms. 58 ‘Karnataka Police Arrests 60 on Suspicion of Being Undocumented Bangladeshi Immigrants,’ The Wire, October 27, 2019, https://thewire.in/rights/ karnataka-police-arrests-60-on-suspicion-of-being-undocumented-bangladeshiimmigrants. 59 Gautam Bhatia, ‘A Bill That Undercuts Key Constitutional Values,’ The Hindu, October 6, 2019, https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/a-bill-thatundercuts-key-constitutional-values/article29611770.ece. 60