Migrants, Refugees and the Stateless in India are high,’ reported a voluntary health worker working with the Pakistani Hindu community in Jodhpur.22 While there have been many positive moves at the policy level, there are complaints that these are yet to translate to any tangible change in the communities’ quality of life. One non-Muslim group that has seen local pushback in India are the Hindus from Bangladesh. Influential student organisations have spearheaded a campaign since 1978 against the ‘invasion’ of Assam by ‘land-hungry Bengali immigrants’.23 A similar example of local pushback has been the case of Chakma and Hajongs in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, which has resulted in the systematic rolling back of many employment-related and food-related benefits that had been granted to the group. In addition to living in extreme poverty, citizenship, despite several decades of residence and birth of children, remains uncertain for them. It is estimated that there are 64,208 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees living in over 100 government-run camps in Tamil Nadu (TN), and more than 40,000 elsewhere across the state.24 While the conditions in these camps are described as woeful, lacking basic facilities in terms of sanitation and security, the Sri Lankan Tamils have benefited from the efforts of a receptive TN state government, which has claimed success in several healthcare and education initiatives. Yet, problems persist, especially with regard to finding gainful employment. The TN government has issued ration cards to the refugees, which enables them to buy essential goods at low prices. They also have free access to government hospitals. The state government also gives them cash assistance of INR 1,000 (c. USD 14) per month, which is woefully inadequate. ‘The sum paid to us has not been revised despite the rising cost of living. We cannot live on with these trivial amounts even for a 22 Geetanjali Krishna, ‘The Nowhere People: Pakistan Hindu Refugees in India Await a Normal Life,’ Business Standard, September 23, 2018, https://www. business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/the-nowhere-people-pakistanhindu-refugees-in-india-await-a-normal-life-118092300002_1.html. 23 ‘How Bangladeshi Muslims Wiped the Assamese Out in Their Own Land,’ Assam Portal, accessed February 22, 2019, https://assam.org/news/howbangladeshi-muslims-wiped-assamese-out-their-own-land 24 ‘Refugee Camps,’ Organisation for Eelam Refugees Rehabilitation, Accessed January 26, 2020, https://oferr.org/tbdonations/refugee-camps/. 49

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