06 Mar, 2017   ·    PR Chari, Mallika Joseph and Suba Chandran (Ed)

South Asia has 14 percent of the world’s refugee population and is the principal source and host of refugees. The causes behind the displacement? political instability, armed conflict, lack of resources and so on in South Asia and its immediate neighborhood have not declined but, in fact, have been increasing; and the security threats posed by the refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) is set to increase given the lack of resources and poor governance prevalent in the region. Yet, none of the countries in South Asia have signed any major convention or treaty at the international level in regard to refugees; nor have they any national legislation or regional framework to deal with these issues.

A comprehensive study focusing on the various dimensions of displacement in South Asia including refugees, migrants, stateless persons and internally displaced persons (IDPs) was felt imperative by the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies.

Acknowledging non-traditional sources of insecurity as being the cornerstone of human insecurity, the IPCS had commenced to focus on a range of non-military threats to security including Drug Trafficking, Terrorism, Refugees, Organized Crime, Governance and Environmental Issues. The current volume with specific focus on migration and displacement is a small step in that direction.

Table of Contents

1. Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons in South Asia: an Overview
PR Chari.

2. Humanitarian Concerns and Security Needs: Sri Lankan Refugees in Tamil Nadu
V. Suryanarayanan.

3. Bhutan: Creating Statelessness - a Recipe for Regional Instability
Tapan Kumar Bose.

4. Still waiting for a Better Morrow: a Decade of Burmese Refugees in Bangladesh
C.R. Abrar.

5. Towards a National Refugee Law for India
T. Ananthachari.

6. Resolving the Refugee Problem: a Role for Human Rights Organizations
D.R. Kaarthikeyan.

7. Bangladeshi Migrants in India: Towards a Practical Solution - a View from the North-Eastern Frontier
Wasbir Hussain.

8. Refugees in South Asia: Security Threat or a Security Tool?
Suba Chandran.

9. The Bihari Muslims of Bangladesh: in a State of Statelessness
Zarin Ahmad.

10. Managing the Internally Displaced in Sri Lanka
Renuka Senanayake.

11. Managing Refugees: the Role of UNHCR in South Asia
Sumbul Rizvi.

About the Editors

PR Chari is former member of the Indian Administrative Services, has held several important positions including Additional Secretary, Ministry off Defence and Director, Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses. He was International Fellow, Centre for International Affairs, Harvard University, and is currently Director of the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS). He has worked extensively on nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and Indian defence issues and is the author of many distinguished publications.

Mallika Joseph is Deputy Director at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies. She researches on various issues relating to South Asian security. In particular, she works on security sector reforms and has worked with the DFID on a study on Security Sector Reforms in Asia. In 2007 and in 2006, she was part of the DFID high-level technical team that offered consultancy for broad based SSR engagement in Guyana. Her areas of interests include security sector reforms, international terrorism, Left Extremism, improvised explosive devices, small arms and light weapons. She has also co-edited Reintroducing Human Security in South Asia, Consolidating Peace in Jammu and Kashmir, Terrorism and its repercussions on International Politics and Missing Boundaries: Refugees, Migrants, Stateless and Internally Displaced Persons in South Asia.

D. Suba Chandran is Deputy Director, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi and is currently a Visiting Fellow at the CSRS, University of Jammu. His primary area of research includes Pakistan’s internal security, in particular Balochistan, FATA and Northern Areas. He also works on Kashmir, terrorism, particularly Suicide Terrorism. Since January 2007, he is under taking field research in Kashmir on a study titled – People, State and Violence: Conflict Transformation in Jammu and Kashmir. He also edits an annual titled Armed Conflicts and Peace Processes in South Asia. D. Suba Chandran is the author of "Limited War".

PR Chari, Mallika Joseph and Suba Chandran (Ed)
New Delhi: Manohar Publishers, 2003

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