ROHINGYA MIGRANTS

Recently, the Ministry of Home Affairs has informed in the Lok Sabha that according to some reports some Rohingya migrants are indulging in illegal activities.
The response came on the queries about the current situation of Rohingya living illegally in various parts of the country.

Rohingya

The Rohingya people are a stateless, Indo-Aryan ethnic group who reside in Rakhine State, Myanmar.
They are described by the United Nations (UN) as one of the most persecuted minorities in the world.
The Rohingya refugee crisis is caused by the Rohingya people having long faced violence and discrimination in Myanmar.
To escape discrimination and violence in Myanmar, minority Rohingya Muslims have for decades fled from the Buddhist-majority country to neighboring Bangladesh and other countries, including India.

Important points:

The continuance of the illegal immigration of Rohingyas into India and their continued stay in India is found to be having serious national security ramifications and poses serious security threats.
It impacts the interests of local populations in the areas seeing large-scale influxes of illegal immigrants.
It also increases the political instability when leaders start mobilising the perception of the citizens of the country against the migrants by the elites to grab political power.
The persistent attacks against the Muslims perceived as illegal migrants has given way to radicalisation.
In the recent decades, trafficking of women and human smuggling have become quite rampant across the borders.
The rule of law and integrity of the country are undermined by the illegal migrants who are engaged in illegal and anti-national activities.
Centre had issued instructions to the State governments and Union Territory administrations, advising them to sensitise the law enforcement and intelligence agencies to take appropriate steps for prompt identification of illegal migrants.
Consolidated instructions to tackle the issue of overstay and illegal migration of foreign nationals have also been issued.

The Citizenship Act, 1955

It provides for the acquisition and determination of Indian citizenship.
Moreover, the Constitution has also provided citizenship rights for Overseas Citizens of India, Non-Resident Indians, and Persons of Indian Origin.

Way Forward

In spite of not being a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, India has been one of the largest recipients of refugees in the world.
However, if India had domestic legislation regarding refugees, it could have deterred any oppressive government in the neighborhood to persecute their population and make them flee to India.

SOURCE: THE HINDU ,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,MINT

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