A+| A| A-
Lost in Transition
The September 2015 Supreme Court judgment over the festering Chakma refugee issue turned the spotlight on one of the most intractable refugee issues in the history of post-independent India. Much like its first landmark verdict of 1996, this judgment also unequivocally upheld the refugees' right to Indian citizenship. Ironically, while the refugees have not benefited from the 1996 ruling over the last two decades, the verdict itself has come to attain the status of a "case law." This paper cogitates about the futility of a legal-centric approach to addressing an issue, which is deeply embedded in the complexity of state formation in modern South Asia. By unspooling the rather complex narrative of Chakmas' refugeehood and statelessness, it proposes a "solution of solidarity" approach that might help resolve what has until now proved irresolvable.
This is a much-revised version of a paper that was originally presented at the South Asian Studies Council, Yale University in April 2010. I would like to express my gratitude to B S Chimni for encouraging me to think along the lines of a "solution of solidarity" framework. I would also like to thank Akshi Chawla and Kuldeep Bishnoi for their suggestions and comments on earlier drafts of this paper.
Dear Reader,
Or
To gain instant access to this article (download).
(Readers in India)
(Readers outside India)
