South Asia State of Minorities Report 2019 stateliness and citizenship when the barriers of social segregation are still in place. For Bangladesh’s Dalits, too, while they do not fall within the de jure definition of statelessness, many face de facto symptoms of statelessness due to the persistence of untouchability. The continued stigma around caste and descent serves to undermine their ability to access many basic rights and needs, such as housing, let alone well-paid employment. For the large Rohingya population, statelessness is an important but often unacknowledged dimension of their plight. Their situation extends beyond the remit of Bangladesh alone and requires a concerted international response. In the meantime, with a return to Myanmar seemingly inconceivable in the immediate term, every effort must be made to regularise their situation and afford displaced community members the security and dignity of recognition. Recommendations Regarding Urdu-Speaking Bangladeshis (Biharis): • The government should remove all legal and other barriers to allow linguistic minorities to access all services of the state as citizens and based on principle of equity. • Ensure that the draft Citizenship Bill 2016 will not make the linguistic minorities stateless again by eliminating those articles which might affect their rights as citizens. • Effective implementation of the Supreme Court’s orders with regard to their rights as citizens should be ensured. Remove obstacles in getting official documents like passport, trade licence, birth certificate, national identity card, etc. Regarding Dalits: • Dalits should be given recognition as a special community. Disaggregated data of the Dalit population should be collected in the upcoming census of 2021. This will help identify their special needs and provision of necessary support can be ensured. • The government should pass Anti-Discrimination Bill to address untouchability and discrimination-based work. It 30