This paper provides a new and original perspective on the plight of migrants in India. It incorporates an in-depth and practical analysis of Indian legal policies through the lens of migrant and refugee rights. In examining the extra-legal provisions operating in two of India’s borderland states—Assam and Jammu & Kashmir—I show how special legal exemptions in Indian law inherently undermine efforts to protect migrant rights. I argue that these extraordinary laws hinder pathways to justice in three distinct ways: by circumventing international principles of non-refoulement; challenging the jurisdiction of India’s Supreme Court; and delegitimising migrant-friendly laws. In highlighting an often overlooked aspect of migrants’ rights issues, this paper brings the human element of India’s regional border disputes and related legal mechanisms to the fore. © 2017 South Asian Studies Association of Australia.

Assam Asylum India human rights migrant Rights Extraordinary law statelessness Law Jammu & Kashmir Legal

social justice legal rights migrants experience India human rights asylum seeker political border Jammu and Kashmir Assam