In July, 2024, a report by Rita Manchanda (Writer, scholar-researcher, and human rights activist) and Manahil Kidwai (Human Rights Lawyer), titled “Destinies Under Detention- A Case for the Right to Dignity & Human Treatment of Rohingya Refugees in India” reveals that the living conditions of the Rohingyas inside the detention centres, were found to be inherently dehumanising towards the Rohingyas detainees. It is particularly worrying that the architecture of the detention centre has very limited exposure to sunlight and they are not provided with a regular supply of clean blankets, bedsheets and mattresses in the detention centre. There is no provision for clean drinking water inside the facility as the water coolers regularly stop working. The cleaning of the detention centre at Shehzada Bagh is done by the Rohingyas with no arrangements for getting them daily wages for the labour.
The Report asserts that in India, Rohingyas are facing a renewed isolation and disregard that is amplified with hate speeches against them alongside unsubstantiated claims by the Union of India that Rohingyas are a threat to national security. These factors have contributed to a general scepticism and a trust deficit against the Rohingyas within the common population in India. The most significant dent on the protection of the Rohingya community in India came on 08 April, 2021, when the Supreme Court of India passed an Order in the case of Mohammad Salimullah and Another v Union of India and Ors. 2021 SCC OnLine SC 296 refusing the interim stay on the detention of Rohingyas in Jammu and allowing their deportation, subject to the process as established by law. This order escalated the detentions of Rohingyas across India in various “detention centres”.
This report aims to document and analyse the procedures that were followed (and not followed) while detaining the Rohingyas across the country with a special emphasis on the Shehzada Bagh detention centre in New Delhi. It asserts that the Rohingyas were not served any notice prior to being detained and neither were they given an opportunity to present their cases before any Court of law. It is particularly observed that the detained Rohingyas’ claim for refugee status was not assessed before their detention orders were processed, which violates the procedure established with the 2019 Standard Operating Procedure circulated by the Union of India.
Rohingyas have complained of unhygienic food that provides limited nutrition and inadequate medical facilities. These concerns have been intensified following the incident in 2024, when a young woman named Hamida, aged 19, died of unknown reasons. She was most probably one of those trafficked women who entered India as a minor and instead of being protected, she was punished with indefinite detention without sufficient care which caused her death.
The primary objective of the report is to document and analyse the series of arbitrary detentions of Rohingya refugees and their indefinite confinement across India, particularly at the Shehzada Bagh detention centre, in the northwest suburb of New Delhi. The report also studies the living standards of the Shahzada Bagh and other detention centres. On the basis of these readings, the report asserts that the indefinite and arbitrary detention of Rohingyas in India, in an ad hoc, uneven, ‘pick and choose’ pattern is in violation of national and international legal standards including the Foreigner’s Act, 1946, The Passports Act, 1929, the Constitution of India and various international human rights law instruments that India is a party to.
The research analysis in this report is based on the primary data and notes collected by the authors from various group discussions and interviews of Rohingyas who are either detained at various detention centres, relatives of detained Rohingyas or are former detainees at the detention centres. Certain names have been changed to protect identity. The secondary sources for this publication include official documents circulated and published by the Union of India, documents submitted to various Courts by the Union of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, the Foreign Regional Registration Office (FRRO) and the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB). The research also relies on various Court orders passed in the various High Courts of India and the Supreme Court of India. Additional information has been extracted from the various ground reports, policy briefs and other media reports that have been published regarding arbitrary detentions and the living conditions of Rohingya people at the various detention centres in India.
However, as per the report, the most common grievance against the detention centre was the horrible food, lack of hygiene, healthcare and dignity within the premises. The Rohingyas who were earlier detained inside the detention centre complained of abusive officials who treated them with indignity and there was no grievance redressal mechanism to address this.
As per the research conducted in the report, in every single Rohingya inside the detention centre complains of long-term medical complications, weakness, UTIs, and various other problems that remain undetected. A case in point is that one of the detainees, Ms. Shadiya Akhtar, (whose sister had approached the Delhi High Court on her behalf), who was hospitalised after the Orders of the Court and subsequently she was diagnosed with Hepatitis C. It was not until the Orders of the Supreme Court of India, Shadiya Akhtar was provided complete treatment for Hepatitis C. She was later cured of the Hepatitis. Similarly, in case of another Rohingya detainee at Shehzada Bagh, orders had to be obtained from the High Court of Delhi for the delivery of her baby in 2023 December. These interventions in the Courts contributed to the well-being and protection of young and vulnerable women detainees, yet in regular instances, minors like late Hamida (until 2023) lack necessary life-saving treatments contributing to either their deaths or loss of healthy lives. Discussion around the health situation in the detention centre remains of utmost importance, especially because the facilities house several children and their environment is found to be inconsistent with the requirements of developing a healthy childhood.
The findings in the report are worrisome because they are in contradiction with the set standards and procedures established by the 2019 model detention guidelines, the prison manual and the Constitution of India and standards prescribed by the Courts in India. Needless to mention, the rights violations of the Rohingyas in India are also in utter disregard of its international legal obligations and standing within the international community. The country is a party to various international human rights law instruments including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the Child Rights Convention (CRC). India is also a signatory to the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants.
Indefinite detention of Rohingyas in New Delhi
The indefinite detention and confinement of the Rohingyas is a particularly important subject that requires attention. In general, there is no pattern in which Rohingyas are being picked up and detained in various detention centres across India. In Delhi particularly, these detentions have occurred on a “pick and choose” basis and without granting any chance to the Rohingyas to either present their cases or exercise their rights within the existing and set laws of India and the Constitution of India. In this report, the authors shall attempt to outline the facts and available data regarding the detention of Rohingyas in New Delhi, and across India and then analyse the arbitrariness of these detentions under the premise of the existing legal structures and obligations of India. The findings in the report conclude with stating that the treatment of Rohingyas in the detention centres is not just arbitrary and illegal but also Rohingyas are being subjected to cruel and inhuman treatment that amount to torture. In conclusion, it is recommended that the procedures established by law are followed by the authorities in India while detaining the Rohingyas as well as in the treatment accorded to them generally across the country.
Issue in Context:
The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic minority group who have lived for centuries in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar. Despite living in Myanmar for many generations, the Rohingya are not recognized as an official ethnic group and have been denied citizenship since 1982, making them the world’s largest stateless population. Several Rohingyas remain in indefinite captivity and detention without fair trial within Myanmar. There are several reports and videos of women being brutalised, raped and pushed into sexual slavery while men have been tortured and cruelly slaughtered in bloody conflict in Myanmar. Children were impaled on steel rods and thrown into fires, adults were shot and villages were burnt by the Myanmar’s military. Rohingyas in Myanmar continue to face severe violence, particularly sexual and gender-based violence by the military, police and civilian mobs. Approximately 9,000 Rohingyas were brutally killed between 2016 and 2017.
Following the armed conflict and genocide, several Rohingya groups fled to various countries including Bangladesh and India. According to the Indian Home Ministry and Reuters, an estimated 40,000 Rohingyas sought asylum in India. In January 2019, UNHCR India acknowledged the presence of 18,000 Rohingyas who are registered as refugees. However, their rights as asylum seekers and refugees remain diminished due to the absence of a clear refugee policy in India amongst other factors. The refugee camp in Madanpur Khadar in New Delhi houses approximately 50 families. The settlements do not have any ceilings, there are no doors, toilets, and sanitation or hygiene standards. The Rohingya community in general is a community that has been historically deprived of all social resources and benefit
Conclusion:
However, the SoP establishes that when deportation is not possible, it is up to the Ministry of Home Affairs to initiate a third country resettlement for the detainees. But in the present practice, several years pass before the MHA even initiates the conversation on the resettlement of these detainees to any other countries. The findings suggest that the infection of Hepatitis C is strikingly high amongst the Rohingya women detainees. The unfortunate death of Hamida Begum, a young adult who was actually a minor at the time of detention remained inconsequential, and could not change the way things worked in the detention centres.
The report stressed that it is a matter of immediate urgency that the provisions of the Foreigner’s Act, 1946, the Standard Operating Procedures and the Constitution of India be followed ad verbatim in the treatment of the Rohingya detainees across detention centres. Not only should their refugee status determination procedures be timely completed, further steps for their stay, deportation, third-country resettlement or other appropriate mechanism be utilised. For the context at hand, it is also pertinent that the complete medical history of the detainees be carefully assessed and accordingly caregiving must be arranged in consultation with organisations from the social sector who may want to work with the authorities to provide medical services, vocational training, mental health support and various other services inside the detention centre as well as in the refugee camps.
The full report can be found here:
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