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‘Can’t compare Sri Lanka refugees and Rohingya’
What has happened?
Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, who fled the war in the island nation in the 1980s, stood on a “different footing” from the Rohingyas who seek shelter from persecution in native Myanmar. Any comparison between the two is misconceived, the Centre has told the Supreme Court.
Why?
- The Centre was responding to comparisons made by the Rohingya in the Supreme Court between their plight and the “relief facilities” given to the Sri Lankan Tamil refugees.
- The Rohingya have sought the same aid and the benevolence India had shown the Sri Lankan Tamils.
Centre’s affidavit
- It explained that India reached out to the Sri Lankan Tamils on the basis of two Indo-Sri Lankan Agreements signed in 1964 and 1979.
- India had agreed to repatriate and grant Indian citizenship to six lakh persons of Indian origin “together with their natural increase by 1981-82.”
- The Supreme Court cannot direct the government to ensure that foreigners enter the territory of India
- The law mandates that a foreigner entering India should have a passport.
