Migrants, Refugees and the Stateless in India those from the majority faith, while closing its doors to minorities. In parallel, there is a systematic effort to make foreigners of sections of Indian citizens, primarily Muslims, rendering them refugees in their own land. The spectre of mass statelessness in India’s Assam, and potentially other parts of India, of an unprecedented magnitude, seems an actual possibility with every passing day. This chapter deals with refugees, migrants and the stateless in India, to identify who the refugees and migrants are; what the circumstances of their displacement (or disenfranchisement) were; the consequences their displacement has had on their lives—their lived experiences of deprivation and violence—and finally, the nature of state actions, creating the conditions for the victims. Section 2 of this chapter dwells on the scope of the study, its methodology, and the process of data collection. We then report findings, starting with a quick mapping of the various refugees and stateless peoples in India. This is followed, in Section 4, by a deeper exploration of the causes and drivers of displacement to India of groups of our interest, as well as an account of their experiences. Section 5 is an examination of the consequences of displacement on individuals and Section 6 is a review of the Indian state’s responses, against the backdrop of international norms and standards. In Section 7, we focus on the National Register of Citizens (NRC) update in Assam, an administrative process that has created ‘non-citizens’ and ‘foreigners’, and which the Indian government now wants to scale up across the country. In Section 8, we try to draw some concluding remarks on India’s stance on refugee protection and integration and her commitment to relevant international norms, besides issues of citizenship and national identity. Section 9 is a compilation of a set of recommendations for reforms. Scope of the Study, Methodology and Data Collection For the purposes of this study, we focus on refugees in India escaping armed conflict, persecution, human rights violations and abuses from within South Asia—the stateless, and specific minority groups in India that have been targeted for disenfranchisement. The bulk of the refugees were religious minorities in their own countries: Hindus and Sikhs from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh; 33

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