ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the legal dimensions of Rohingya refugees’ lives in India. Variously represented as foreigners, Muslim, stateless, suspected Bangladeshi nationals, illiterate and impoverished, a large number of Rohingya have been and continue to be arrested for violation of the Foreigners Act, 1946, and the Passports (Entry into India) Act, 1929, among other legislation. Against this background, the chapter approaches the Rohingya migration to India from a legal perspective. It foregrounds refugee experiences, and analyses the plenary powers of the Government of India vis-à-vis foreigners, the place of the new legal developments in the broader context of ‘refugee law’ and the extent to which being recognized as a refugee has secured rights for Rohingya. It also seeks to analyse developments in refugee law, one in which a state-led status determination mechanism appears implicit.
