Page 51 - IJPS-10-4

International Journal of

Population Studies

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Exploring public opinions on Rohingya refugees

residing in India: An empirical study

Monika Verma † and Kristina Kironska *
†
Department of Asian Studies, Faculty of Arts, Palacky University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czechia

Abstract

The Rohingya population is widely acknowledged as one of the most persecuted
minority groups worldwide. The ongoing tripartite conflict involving the Rohingya,
the Rakhine, and the Myanmar military has resulted in numerous clashes and
massacres, leading to forced displacement. Countries such as Bangladesh, Thailand,
Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan, and India have recorded an influx
of Rohingya immigrants. While extensive studies have been conducted on the
Rohingya in Myanmar and Bangladesh, there has been a limited scholarly focus on
the Rohingya in India. This article aims to fill this gap in the literature. It is important
to note that India is neither a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention nor the 1967
Protocol, which addresses refugee status and protections, nor does it have a domestic
† These authors contributed equally refugee law. Consequently, refugees in India are not officially recognized as a distinct
to this work.
group and lack legal protection against exploitation and abuse. This situation
*Corresponding author: leaves them vulnerable to various forms of mistreatment, including exploitation,
Kristina Kironska
(kristina.kironska@upol.cz) violence, and limited access to employment, education, and healthcare. Although
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees designates the Rohingya
Citation: Verma, M. & Kironska, K. as refugees, the current Bharatiya Janata Party government views this stateless
(2024). Exploring public opinions on
Rohingya refugees residing in India: community as illegal migrants and a perceived threat to India. This stance raises
An empirical study. International important questions: (i) How does the Indian population perceive and internalize
Journal of Population Studies, this interpretation? (ii) What are their attitudes toward the Rohingya, and what policy
10(4): 45-62.
https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.2174 options do they prefer? To address these inquiries, the authors of this article analyzed
data from the Sinophone Borderlands Indo-Pacific Survey, a large-scale online
Received: November 3, 2023
survey organized by one of the authors. In addition, interviews were conducted with
Accepted: July 2, 2024 Rohingya individuals residing in India to gather firsthand perspectives.
Published Online: September 27,
2024
Keywords: India; Rohingya; Refugees; Public opinion; Policy options
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s).
This is an Open-Access article
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution
License, permitting distribution, 1. Introduction
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is The Rohingya population is widely recognized as one of the most persecuted minorities
properly cited. globally. The ongoing tripartite conflict involving the Rohingya, the Rakhines, and the
Publisher’s Note: AccScience Myanmar military has resulted in repeated clashes and massacres over the years, leading
Publishing remains neutral with to forced displacement both within and outside of Myanmar (Hossain et al., 2020; Ware
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional & Laoutides, 2018). While the historical background of the Rohingya crisis extends far
affiliations. back, encompassing events such as World War II and previous instances of massacres

Volume 10 Issue 4 (2024) 45 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.2174