Since it attained independence in 1947, India has played host to numerous communities fleeing persecution and violence. The partition of the sub-continent in 1947 saw one of the largest forced dislocation of people witnessed till then, and created refugees numbering in the millions. Since then, India has hosted and protected diverse refugee communities including those from Tibet, Burma (now Myanmar), Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh (erstwhile East Pakistan). This volume analyses India reasonably good record of providing protection and hospitality to refugees, while pointing out the contradictions in the relation between these positive aspects and the manner in which state power has been exercised in post-colonial India. In examining the varied encounters between the state and refugees, the contributors demonstrate that India's story of providing care is simultaneously one of limiting care. It reveals the power of the state to decide whom to extend hospitality to and whom to deny it to. Providing protection and humanitarian assistance to those seeking refuge should not be a question of dispensing kindness. What is required in place of a regime of charity is a regime of rights. (Adapted from the publisher's abstract).

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refugee state role immigration policy