Rights Of Refugees In India: The Legal Perspective With Special Reference To Their Educational Rights

Abstract

Several International Conventions, such as the United Nations Convention on Status of Refugees, 1951(hereinafter referred to as the "Refugee Convention") and its Protocol of 1967, lay down the procedure for determining the status of refugees and protection of their rights. India has a history of witnessing a mass influx of refugees but still prefers to have adhocism in its refugee policies & laws. The country is not a signatory to the Refugee Convention nor its Protocol of 1967. The well-known reasons available in the existing public literature are; security issues as borders are highly porous, the enormous strain on domestic resources, and a demographic imbalance that might come. However, the Indian Judiciary has evolved with time and treated refugees as a separate class of persons and extended the scope of protection for refugees through various Articles of The Constitution of India, specifically Articles 14, 21, 25, and 32. However, India still needs to strengthen the legal protection of refugees and their Human Rights. The need to analyse the judicial pronouncements, responses of the Indian Parliament, its role in protecting refugees, and their human rights with special reference to their Right to Education is of utmost importance.

The researcher attempts to analyse all these issues of Law, policy and judicial interpretations and implementation of rights of refugees with special reference to their Right to Education.