Donning traditional Indian attires and dancing to Bollywood hits or bhangra tunes, refugees from various countries mesmerised Delhiites with
their performance but with a message that they had lost their homes not their future.
Myanmares, Afghans, Somalis and refugees and asylum seekers of other nationalities got together on Saturday on the eve of World Refugee Day and came up with an enthralling presentation here organised by the UN Human Rights Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and its implementing agencies.
"For me, India is a second home away from my home," says Abdinur Farah, a 25-year-old Somali who fled to India in 2005 along with his younger sister after his family members got
killed.
"I am not the one, there are hundreds of my countrymen who fled Somalia to escape deaths or persecution."
Echoing similar views, Mohammad Roheed, an Afghan refugee, said the situation in their country forced his family to leave Kabul. "We find ourselves secured in India than never before."
India has a population of about 2,50,000 refugees of various nationalities who fled their countries because of conflicts and fear of persecution.
Among them, over a lakh are Tibetans and 73,000 Sri Lankan Tamils, who are under direct protection of the government.
Besides them, there are a number of refugees and asylum seekers of other nationalities, including Afghans, Myanmarese
and Somalis who are under the protection of UN Refugee Agency in Delhi.
According to the UNHCR, about 13,500 refugees have been under its mandate, of which 9,000 are Afghans, 3,500 from Myanmar and 1,000 of other nationalities, including 700 Somalis who are living in small accommodations in nondescript corners of the city.
There are also 7,300 asylum seekers registered with the UNHCR, which determines the refugee status of foreigners and provides them necessary protection and assistance.
Although India hosts thousands of refugees, it is not a signatory to the the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol, which sets out the rights of
individuals granted asylum, and the responsibilities of nations that grant asylum.
According to UNHCR officials, India's track record in accepting and handling mass influx of refugees over the years has been commendable.
"Despite not being a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention, India has been a generous country for refugees. Perhaps, this lies in its centuries-old tradition of being hospitable to
everyone," says Nayana Bose, Associate External Relations Officer at UNHCR-India.
"India has been providing asylum and protection to a large number of refugees for decades. For example, the Tibetans, who came to India along with the Dalai Lama, are well cared for and add to India's diversity."
Similarly, during and after the Bangladesh Liberation War, India opened its border and allowed Bangladeshis to come here and they were later settled in various places, she said.
India is also housing thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils who fled their country in the wake of the civil war in 1980s.
India honours the international principle of
'non-refoulement', and the rights of refugees are by and large respected through Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to equality before law and the right to life and personal liberty respectively to anyone residing in the country.
The principle of non-refoulement prohibits the forcible return of refugees to their own countries where they would be subject to persecution and where their lives and freedom could be threatened.
But, human rights activists say things are not so rosy and refugees are viewed like any other foreigners who could be economic migrants or environment refugees.
According to them, the distinction between refugees and migrants often gets blurred in India and this has something to do with the break-up of the entire region along religious, ethnic and linguistic lines.
"India doesn't have a national legal frame work on refugees and in the absence of this refugees don't have any legal status in India and there is no clear protection regime for them, say activists," says Ravi Nair, Executive Director,
South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre (SAHRDC).
"A national law would help distinguish between those who are seeking asylum in India for political reasons from those who are illegally migrating to the country for economic reasons," he says.
"The present Foreigners Act 1948 is woefully inadequate and arbitrary, and does not follow due process of law and is violative of the fundamental rights chapter of the Indian
Constitution," adds Nair.
Under this law, a foreigner without a valid refugee certificate from UNHCR can be booked and even deported for overstaying in the country.
The UNHCR official also agrees, saying: "Because of the absence of a refugee specific legislation, all refugees are not treated the same in the country."
"A national law would have ensured a right-based regime instead of the one that deals with refugees in an ad hoc manner."