Migrant Neglect: A Grim Reality Behind Sanctuary
India often promotes itself as a safe haven for persecuted minorities from neighboring countries, but migrant neglect tells a different story. However, a closer look reveals a different picture—one marked by migrant neglect. While the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) claims to protect non-Muslim refugees, its promise remains largely unfulfilled.
Recent events underscore the growing crisis. In May, Sanjay Kumar and his wife Sapna Kumari—Pakistani Hindu migrants from Sindh—were found murdered in Mumbai. Their brutal deaths followed the mysterious 2020 mass death of 11 Hindu migrants in Jodhpur, still unresolved. These tragedies show that safety is far from guaranteed, even within India’s borders.
Dire Conditions, Delayed Citizenship
Over 80,000 Pakistani Hindu migrants live in informal camps across northern India. Most lack citizenship, documents, or access to basic services. Consequently, families suffer daily. Camps have poor sanitation, little or no electricity, unsafe drinking water, and no healthcare.
Children face even harsher barriers. Without proper documents, many cannot attend school. As a result, an entire generation grows up without education or future prospects.
Moreover, despite bold promises, the CAA has changed little. In 2014–15, only 4,300 refugees received Indian citizenship. By 2015, just 36,000 had long-term visas. Thousands of others remain in limbo, waiting without answers.
In 2021 alone, nearly 800 Hindu families returned to Pakistan. Though the threat there is real, many preferred it to the hopelessness they faced in India. Their return highlights a harsh truth—India’s hospitality often stops at symbolic gestures.
Politics Over Protection
Analysts argue that the CAA is more about domestic politics than genuine asylum. Refugees are featured in election rallies and used to stir nationalist sentiment. Yet, after the speeches end, they face silence, isolation, and neglect.
These patterns reveal a strategy: draw in vulnerable minorities, project protection, then discard them once their political value fades.
As public attention shifts elsewhere, conditions worsen. Meanwhile, new arrivals continue to cross the border, only to join the long line of waiting, undocumented lives.
In the end, what remains is migrant neglect—a humanitarian crisis wrapped in political theatre. For thousands seeking refuge, India offers neither dignity nor a clear path forward.
