Since the military takeover of power in Myanmar at the beginning of last year, widespread violence, internal displacement, chaos, and human misery has set off a catastrophic refugee crisis in South Asia. As the military crackdown on protesting civilian shows no signs of abating, thousands of Myanmar citizens have left their homes without any hope of returning soon. Of those who fled Myanmar, many sought asylums in India. However, while India condemned the coup and the ongoing violence, it has shown scant regard to the protection of the rights of asylum-seekers. Even after a year since the coup, India refuses to accept those who crossed the border out of fear of persecution at the hands of the military as refugees. This article focuses on India’s obligations towards the refugees staying in the country. It argues that despite India being a non-signatory to the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, India’s constitutional principles, refugee-related judicial pronouncements, and the various international conventions it has adopted obligate it to protect the refugees on its soil.
