Search

Detentions and a looming threat of deportations have significantly increased for Rohingya refugees since 2017, when the Indian government drastically changed its protection policy and categorised them as 'illegal migrants' under law. The result has been an impetus to the security authorities to proactively detect and monitor with the eventual aim to detain and deport Rohingya refugees to Myanmar. Fuelling such illegalisation process is the Indian authorities' arbitrary manipulation and contraction of the long-standing hosting of certain 'non-citizen' refugees in the country to suit the politics of the day. In addition, the Supreme Court (ostensibly the arbiter of rights for all within India's territory) recently issued an interim order which effectively approved this Rohingya refugee 'illegalisation' position, hardening the perilous illegalisation of the community in India. To interrogate these developments, the present article analyses the growing illegalisation through detention and deportation of Rohingyas in India by contextualising the conception of 'non-citizenship' as a legal status and a normative category. The article proposes that the notion of 'non-citizenship' must be engaged with in a broader analytical manner than a static illegality based on lack of documents, in legal, judicial and policy discussions around refugee protection in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on the authors' joint activism on the rights of refugees and stateless people in India and Myanmar, this article considers how digital ID systems can be used to exclude minorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes the experiences of the refugee population in India and Myanmar with identification documents and digitization. In India, the digital identification system has brought advantages but also economic and social exclusion for refugee communities. In Myanmar, an attempt has been made to implement a digital identification system that could further limit the rights of minorities and opposition groups. The article also narrates the experience of a Rohingya refugee in India and how the Aadhaar card provided him with some protection and access to basic services. However, the situation changed when the Indian government considered Rohingya refugees as "illegal" and made it difficult for them to access essential services. The article discusses the negative consequences of the digital identification system in India and Myanmar. In India, the Aadhaar card has become a mandatory requirement to access services such as education, financial services, and driver's licenses. This has led to the exclusion of refugee communities and other marginalized groups. In Myanmar, the military regime has used identification systems to restrict the movement of the population and persecute opposition and minorities. The digitization of identification systems can be harmful when used by state authorities to discriminate against and exclude certain groups. The article discusses the use of paper and digitized identification systems to restrict freedom of movement and segregate the Rohingya community in Myanmar. These systems are used to block access to food, income, funds, and humanitarian assistance, as well as to prevent the dissemination of information about atrocities committed. While the digitization of identification systems can improve the efficiency of aid and services delivery for refugees, it can also generate additional risks and vulnerabilities. Furthermore, digitization can support states' ability to strip minorities of their rights and impose statelessness on them. [Extracted from the article]