Mizoram, India – A nurse at a hospital in Mizoram, India, told 26-year-old Jamie as she struggled with childbirth, “Why are you screaming? You are a refugee.” A few hours later, Jamie’s baby Sophia was born, joining a growing group of stateless babies born to Myanmar parents seeking refuge in Mizoram.
Jamie and her husband fled Myanmar after the 2021 military coup and arrived in Champhai, a town in Mizoram, 320km (199 miles) from the Myanmar border. However, life across the border has not been what they had hoped for. “Sophia was not given a birth certificate. They say we need an Indian voter’s ID, something we cannot get since the country has also not given us a refugee ID,” Jamie says.
Many families with children from Myanmar have sought refuge at camps in the village of Zokhawthar, Mizoram, near the Myanmar border. However, they are facing difficulties in obtaining refugee identity documents and accessing basic necessities such as food, education, and healthcare. The lack of a national refugee law and India’s non-signatory status to the 1951 Refugee Convention has left many people seeking asylum in India in limbo.
Hui Yin Chuah, research officer at the Mixed Migration Centre (MMC) in Asia and the Pacific, explains that India’s refugee-related policies lack a comprehensive legal framework, resulting in an ad hoc approach to addressing these issues.
In Zokhawthar and Champhai, the state government provides donation-based food and shelter to refugees, but the lack of official documentation makes it difficult for them to access government services. The UNHCR has been collaborating with the Government of India to address the essential needs of the most vulnerable refugees registered with UNHCR.
However, refugees and asylum seekers in India are still unable to use social protection schemes due to the requirement of an Aadhar card, a social and public welfare identity document in India. Without government-issued documentation, refugees and asylum seekers are unable to benefit from the government’s social protection programmes.
The situation is particularly challenging for Muslim refugees, as the Indian government has taken a harsh stance towards them. The Indian home ministry announced last year that Rohingya refugees with UNHCR cards in Delhi would be kept in detention centers and then deported, as they are considered “illegal foreigners” under the country’s Foreigner’s Act.
In 2019, the Modi government passed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) which fast-tracks citizenship to undocumented Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians immigrants from certain countries, excluding Muslims and minorities from Myanmar. This has sparked protests across the country amid fears that India has adopted a religious criterion for citizenship.
Despite these challenges, there is little optimism that India will sign the UN refugee convention or introduce a refugee law anytime soon. As the country heads to the polls this year, the issue of migration is not expected to be a priority for campaigning leaders. However, legal experts believe that India’s constitution and courts will continue to step in to provide protection for refugees, as they are obligated to protect the lives of anyone within the territory of India.
*Some names have been changed to protect identities.