Thousands of Afghans continue to flee their country since the Taliban seized control last month. Nearly half a million are expected to seek sanctuary in other countries by the end of the year, according to the United Nations.

Many of them will head to India. The country has a long-standing practice of welcoming asylum seekers, but selectively, and still doesn’t have a clearly defined state policy. Is an ad hoc system sufficient to take in more refugees on top of the estimated 245,000 that India currently hosts? And can it ensure uniform treatment of refugees from different communities such as the Rohingyas, the Tibetans or the Sri Lankan Tamils? What measures could help asylum seekers feel more socially included and have the basic rights to jobs and education?

In this edition of WorklifeIndia, we discuss whether it’s time for India to formulate a national refugee protection framework.

Presenter: Devina Gupta

Contributors: Dilip Sinha, former Indian ambassador; Anas Tanwir, advocate, founder – Indian Civil Liberties Union; Sadaf Habib, Afghan national, Asylum seeker; Ali Johar, refugee, founder - Rohingya Literacy Programme