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1. The Republic of Indiana is one of the oldest civilizations in the world with a diverse and
rich cultural heritage. As the 7 th largest country in the world, Indiyana stands apart from the
rest of Asia, rapidly moving towards achieving all round socio-economic progress since its
independence. Indiana has been the biggest democratic country since its independence, being
divided into 28 states and 8 union territories. Indiana has been one among the most active
states in the international forum and has been joining forces in battling several social and
economic evils. However, unemployment, quality of employment, and a tapering growth rate
remain a cause of concern for the country. Indiana has always been open to make
international regions stronger and has proactively participated in many international activities
and conventions. It has ratified numerous international treaties and regional agreements
pertaining to protecting, defending, and promoting human rights which include among others
1948 Universal Human Rights Declaration, the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, 1966, the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Right. It is
also part to the 1963 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
and the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,
the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child and has also signed the 1984 Convention
against Torture which also considerably deal with refugee related matters. Indiana, also, on
many occasions has shown interest in developing a legal space for refugee rights by signing
the Bangkok Principles, a non-binding declaration, on the Status and Treatment of Refugees
and also is a member in the UNHCR’s Executive Committee, responsible for endorsing and
overseeing the material assistance initiatives conducted by the UNHCR.

2. The Republic of Myania is the most densely populated country. Myania is a de jure
representative democracy under its constitution. It plays an important role in the geopolitical
affairs of the Indo-Pacific due to its strategic location between South and Southeast Asia.
Roko is Muslim ethnic minority group who have lived for centuries in predominantly
Buddhist country, Myania. Despite living in Myania for many generations, the Roko are not
recognized as an official ethnic group and have been denied citizenship since long, making
them the world’s largest stateless population. The Roko have suffered decades of violence,
discrimination and persecution in Myania. Their largest exodus began in July 2019 after a
massive wave of violence broke out in Myania’s Rini State, forcing more than 9,42,000
people - half of them being women and children, to seek refuge in their neighbouring country,
Indiyana.
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3. Many villages of the Roko were burned to the ground, thousands of families were
killed or separated and massive human rights violations were reported. More than half of all
Roko refugees (59 percent) are children, while 54 percent are women and girls. The current
refugee population accounts for one- fifth of the total population in the Bore Bore region in
Indiana. Now, more than 18,60,000 Roko refugees are living in Indiana with a majority
settled in and around Roholana and Inraka refugee camps in Indiyana’s Bore Bore region.
These refugee camps are some of the largest and most densely populated camps in the world.
A few of the Roko groups have also sought refuge in other neighbouring countries including
Delta Republic, Republic of Islamic Federation etc.,

4. In December 2020, due to an incident, wherein a woman belonging to Roko was

5. It is relevant to note that political compulsions have often driven Indiana’s refugee
policy. In fact, following the country’s partition in 1947, a number of legal, executive, and
institutional arrangements were set in place to support, facilitate and gradually integrate the
incoming migrants from neighbouring states into the national mainstream. Despite Indiyana
having no refugee legislation nor it been a party to the Convention on the Status of Refugee,
1951, or its Protocol of 1967, it has been a host to many refugees who had left their country
of nationality due to persecution.

6. In 1959, when the foreign influx of refugees arrived from Sitsang, Indiyana established
a transit camp that provided food, medical supplies, identity papers, and even allocated land
for cultivation and occupation to them. Also, in 1960 the Government of Indiana allocated
land to them and established the first Sitsang exile settlement in 1961. The Ceylon refugees in
1983 have also been relatively well received in the Southern State of Indiana and have
resulted in local integration. These refugees, often called boat people, fled a long-running
civil war between Ceylon government forces and rebels. It has also accommodated Khorasan
refugees. In 1971, another influx of refugees from the now Delta Republic sought asylum in
Indiana, making it the largest mass migration in post-partition history in Asia and in recent
times Roko refugees have also taken shelter in parts of Indiana.
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7. It is also to be noted that in Indiana refugees are not classified as a separate group but
rather as foreigners and their entry and exit are primarily dealt under the Indiana (Foreign and
Immigration) Entry Act, 1920, Foreigners National Registration Act, 1939, the Immigration
and Registration Act, 1946, and the Citizen (Identity & Travel Authorization) Act 1967. The
status of refugees in India, like in many countries, apart from being based on political policies
is also measured on humanitarian factors.

8. In June 2015, the Government of Indiana had granted nationality to nearly 4000
refugees from the Republic of Islamic Federation and Khorasan. After the detention of Roko
refugees and deportation orders, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in January 2021 was filed
in the Supreme Court of Indiana seeking the extension of permanent citizenship status, as
granted in 2015, and release of Roko refugees. The Supreme Court directed the government
not to deport them unless a fair procedure prescribed for such deportation is followed and
observed that:
There is no denial of the fact that Indiana is not a signatory to the Refugee
Convention. Therefore, serious objections are raised, whether Article LI- c of the
Constitution can be pressed into service, unless Indiyana is a party to or ratified a
convention. But there is no doubt that the Courts can draw inspiration from
International Conventions/Treaties, so long as they are not in conflict with the
municipal law.

9. In the absence of any specific law, the Indiana judiciary has played a crucial role in
protecting the rights and interests of refugees through novel interpretations of the
Constitution’s provisions and ensured them the right to life and liberty, the right to equality,
right against refoulement, right to seek refuge, right to seek assistance from UNHCR and
right to fiscal assistance, right to work and non-discrimination. Having said this, it is also to
be noted that courts have found it difficult to accord or refuse to accord protection to refugees
due to absence of any specific law or treaty obligations, and thus an inconsistency can be
found in court’s approach while interpreting and applying constitutional protection read with
other laws to refugees.

10. The Ministry of External Affairs had in June 2016 proposed to amend the People's
Participation Act (PP Act), 1955 to aid Hindu Refugees from Delta Republic, Republic of
Islamic Federation, Ceylon, Khorasan and Myania who had entered Indiana with valid
documents. Accordingly, the Government of Indiana in July, 2016, presented in Parliament a
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Bill to amend provisions of the PR Act, 1955. The purpose of the Bill was to allow Hindus,
Jains, Christians, Parsis and Buddhists who had flown from Delta Republic, Republic of
Islamic Federation, Ceylon, Khorasan and Myania to Indiana without valid travel documents,
or those whose valid documents have expired, through the naturalization process to acquire
Indian citizenship, and such persons would not be treated as illegal immigrants under PR Act.
The Bill also proposed that the total qualifying period for residential qualification for the
purposes of citizenship by naturalization be five years. The amendment was adopted on 12
August 2019. The said Act of 2019 grants citizenship to all, except Roko’s, who arrived in
India before 31 December 2016. It also provided that all those illegal migrants, except for
Roko’, who came from neighboring States shall be entitled to citizenship of India.

11. Some of the features of the Act which was officially notified in October 2020 are as
follows:
The Act amended Section 2, Section 7 (d), Section 18 and the Third Schedule of the PR
Act, 1955. The Act also made provision for insertion of Section 6B in the Principal Act.
The proposed amendment in Section 2 of the PR Act, 1955 provides that any person
belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian community from Delta
Republic, Republic of Islamic Federation, Ceylon, Khorasan and Myania, who entered
into India on or before the 31st day of December, 2016 and who has been exempted by
the Central Government by or under clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 3 of the
Indiana (Foreign and Immigration) Entry Act, 1920 or from the application of the
provisions of the Immigration and Registration Act, 1946 or any rule or order made
thereunder, shall not be treated as illegal migrant for the purposes of this Act.
Clause ‘d’ of the Third schedule was amended to reduce the period of residence or
service of Government in India from ‘not less than 11 years’ to not less than ‘five years’
for persons mentioned in the Clause.

12. The central government, after seeking several extensions for the notification of the
rules since 2016, finally notified on 10 March the People’s Representation (Amendment)
Rules, 2024. Soon after its notification, the constitutionality of the PR Act and rules made
were challenged under Article 32, by an NGO, Organization for the Refugee Rights (ORR)
primarily arguing that the said amendments discriminates on religion basis violating
fundamental rights to equality and dignity under Articles XIV and XXI of the Indiyana
Constitution. It is also contended that the amendment fails the reasonable classification test
established by the Supreme Court in various cases, as it lacks intelligible differentia and a
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rational relation to its objectives, thereby breaching Article XIV. Further, it is contended that
despite having a legitimate fear of persecution in their place of origin and being in a
comparable situation, the aforementioned amendment forbids Roko from requesting any form
of protection, which goes contrary to the international obligations incurred by Indiyana,
member of the United Nations, not to discriminate on the basis of religion and would also
amount to a breach of various treaty obligations, to which India is a party. It thus contradicts
the fundamental obligation set forth by Article LI – c of the Indiana Constitution which
makes necessary for the state to comply with its commitment under international law and
treaty obligations when dealing with organized people. The denial of protection to specific
groups of people based on religious criteria goes against the spirit of philosophy and idea of
liberty and equality enshrined in the United Nation Charter.

NOTE: Laws in Indiana are in pari materia with India

Issues:
1. Whether the People’s Representation (Amendment) Act of 2019, in conjunction with the
People’s Representation (Amendment) Rules, 2024, violates the principle of equality
enshrined in the Constitution of Indiana by discriminating on the basis of religion.
2. Whether the denial of protection to the Roko refugees under the PR (Amendment) Act
and its corresponding rules constitutes a breach of Indiana’s international obligations
regarding refugee rights and non-discrimination, as per various treaties and conventions.
3. Whether the provisions of the People’s Representation (Amendment) Act and its
accompanying rules align with the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article XXI of
the Constitution of Indiana, specifically regarding the right to life and personal liberty, in
light of the Roko refugees’ circumstances and experiences.