India’s Turn To Learn From The Migrant Crisis In Europe

What is happening in the central regions of the planet?

 Europe is facing its worst refugee crisis since World War 2, refugees mainly from the Middle East (Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan) and North African Regions are seeking asylum in the apparently safer regions of Eastern Europe. The world has witnessed horrifying images of refugees risking their lives just to get a glimpse of safety, people are taking dangerous sea journeys across the Mediterranean to reach Europe, losing their own live or lives of their near and dear ones.

                             

 It is only in 2015 that Europe has woken up to the flow of refugees, the Syrian war has been going on for four straight years now and shows minuscule signs of amelioration which in turn will definitely increase the flow of refugees exponentially. Data shows, more than one-fifth of the Syrian population has fled the country, firstly due to Bashar-Al-Assads cruel regime, targeting innocent civilians, secondly the havoc ISIS has caused with sexual slavery, murders and intolerable tortures. More than 19 million people around the world have been forced to flee their homes to date, due to war and persecution, a large number joins them every day, most of them want to go to Europe, but why Europe?

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The numerous refugees of Syria previously began to set camps in their neighboring countries, but saw little future prospects there hence embarking on journeys to Europe for a better life.

What should India be prepared for in the coming future?

                 

Turkey, also called the bridge between the east and west was previously flooded with Syrian refugees therefore a large mass began their journey to further west, a similar situation could be a cause for concern for the Indian State, considering its geographical significance in South Asia. The two time Nobel Prize winning agency the “UNHCR”(United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees)is baffled in the present situation, leaving the European Union to scrutinize the scenario. It is a moment for all governments including India’s to reexamine their preparedness to respond to similar situations. According to stats, there are about 2 lakh refugees currently living in India, India is also geographically at the center of refugee movements in the South Asian region, despite this, India is yet to sign the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, it even lacks a domestic asylum framework, but it is all not so bad, as India has signed a number of International  Conventions  keeping the interest of refugees in mind, it has laws that protects their rights(e.g. Right to Education applies to all refugee children as well). India is a member of the UNHCR executive committee and displays commitment to protecting refugees, emphasizing the need of burden sharing and cooperation with regard to the Syrian and Afghanistani conflicts. Easier said than done, India is reluctant to sign the Refugee Convention or adopt a domestic asylum framework as this would cause a very heavy inflow of refugees into the Indian territory.

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How can India be ready to help?

As the only stable democracy in South Asia and an emerging power with aspirations to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council, India should make attempts to devise a legal framework, at both domestic and regional levels supplementing asylum management and hence setting an example for other governments.       

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About the Author: Rishabh Raj Singh is currently a student at Delhi University and is whole heartedly dedicated to join Indian Army .It’s his dream too to serve the country like every other aspirant. He loves music (Guitar) and art (Pencil Sketching), sports (Boxing) and games (Table Tennis) and is a state level Swimmer.