The Central government reasserted last week that its policy on the Rohingya refugees in India, who it calls “illegal foreigners”, will not change. It did so while denying a tweet by Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri which said the government will move the Rohingya refugees living in Delhi to flats meant for economically weaker sections. Denying this, the Home Ministry said the government would continue efforts for their “deportation” to Myanmar, from where more than a million Rohingya have fled in the past decade after targeted attacks by the Myanmar military that the United Nations has termed a “genocide”. This week marks five years since the last big migration of the Rohingya, who have sought shelter in a number of countries around the world. 

Here we discuss India’s policy on the Rohingya and the need for a refugee law.

Guests: Meenakshi Ganguly, Human Rights Watch’s South Asia Director; Vivek Katju, a former diplomat, and has served as India’s envoy to Myanmar

Host: Suhasini Haidar