Rohingya Refugees Face Stateless Reality in Hyderabad

A teenage Rohingya refugee in Hyderabad secured 84% in her Intermediate exams, but her aspirations came to an abrupt halt. Lacking official documentation, she joins thousands of displaced individuals navigating an invisible legal wall in India.

A 19-year-old named Anam* now instructs youth at a local school in the Old City of Hyderabad, teaching in the same classrooms where she once studied. Her high academic achievement initially signaled progress toward higher education, but the admission process abruptly stalled.

She recounted this sudden halt to Siasat.com without expanding further, as no single event can capture the complex reality confronting Rohingya Muslims residing across India.

Anam possesses a UNHCR refugee certificate, which officially denotes her status as an asylum-seeker. However, she lacks an Aadhaar card and voter identification. Because India did not sign the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, the state does not formally recognize Rohingya individuals as refugees. Consequently, this UN document grants no residency permissions and offers no shield against potential deportation.

The document serves only as verification of her existence while leaving her without an official homeland. Legally, she remains completely stateless.

The arduous journey to Hyderabad

Anam was merely a toddler when her parents and two siblings escaped from the Rakhine State in western Myanmar, joining roughly 700,000 Rohingyas migrating toward Bangladesh through the dense terrain of Buthidaung. She holds no direct memories of that specific border crossing. Her early recollections begin in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, where her family resided for nearly 2 years before her father, working as a day laborer, relocated them to Delhi after learning about UNHCR documentation.

The family eventually established themselves in Hyderabad.

Muzaffar*, aged 41, underwent a comparable migration to escape an earlier period of state-sponsored violence. He arrived in India in 2010, having completed education up to Class 10 in Myanmar, where he witnessed ongoing crackdowns by military administrations against the Muslim minority, which he estimates constitutes 0.5% of that nation’s population.

He recalled the period preceding the displacement with deliberation. He noted that modern Myanmar’s founding figure, Aung Sang, alongside his daughter, Aung San Suu Kyi, envisioned a balanced society focused on peaceful interfaith coexistence.

The subsequent assassination of Aung Sang triggered a systematic denial of academic and professional opportunities for the Muslim minority, resulting in generational disenfranchisement from basic civil liberties.

He clarified to Siasat.com that military regimes intentionally blocked the Muslim minority from accessing schooling and formal employment, which stripped generations of fundamental human rights.

In Myanmar, Muzaffar owned agricultural land dedicated to monsoon paddy cultivation alongside winter crops like turmeric and various vegetables. He traveled on foot alongside his spouse, Fathima*, and their offspring toward the border of Bangladesh. His parents were unable to reach India, remaining instead at a state-run settlement situated deep within a Bangladeshi forest.

A period of 16 years has elapsed since he last saw his parents. He explained, with a calm demeanor shaped by long-term hardship, that he spent a considerable duration entirely unaware of his mother’s location.

When questioned about why Bangladesh, despite its Muslim majority, resisted absorbing the fleeing population permanently, Muzaffar countered with a direct parallel regarding regional policy. He questioned whether India would automatically welcome a Hindu individual escaping religious persecution from Bangladesh.

Bangladesh initially implemented a total border closure before establishing temporary government infrastructure to provide basic shelter, which Muzaffar emphasizes was intended only until regional stability returned. He observes that stability remains distant.

He alleged that authorities pressured them to adopt Buddhism, granting land retention exclusively to converts, while non-converts fled or faced fatal violence.

He perceives a broader economic motivation behind the religious friction, asserting that the primary objective was the systematic seizure of Rohingya-owned lands.

Before settling in Hyderabad, Muzaffar spent time in Bangladesh and Aligarh, choosing his current city due to its historical reputation for societal tolerance. He currently operates as a scrap picker, generating between Rs 500 and Rs 600 on productive days, supplemented occasionally by manual construction labor.

Extended intervals occur where no employment options are available. He maintains a single-room residence costing Rs 4,000 in monthly rent, while 5 of his 7 daughters live within a school dormitory, leaving the youngest child with him and Fathima.

He observed that while 3 months of labor in Myanmar could sustain a household for an entire year, survival in India demands continuous daily employment to avoid starvation.

Living in unsanitary camps but nowhere else to go

Muzaffar initially occupied an unauthorized settlement in Balapur but chose to relocate to protect his daughters from local security risks and avoid the poor environmental conditions.

Similar makeshift settlements across Balapur, Falaknuma, and Chandrayangutta have housed numerous Rohingya populations for multiple decades. The areas feature open drainage lines and overhead plastic tarps, with families occupying tightly packed shelters devoid of natural light or proper airflow behind damaged metal doorways.

Swarming insects and structural waste expose young residents to unsanitary living conditions, while private property owners demand monthly rents ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,500 for the small sheds. Inhabitants note that local discrimination prevents their children from utilizing nearby open spaces.

A public demonstration occurred 3 months ago calling for the state administration to expel the Rohingya population, followed recently by law enforcement warning a camp owner regarding neighborhood security accountability.

The Executive Director of the COVA Peace Network, Mazher Hussain, informed Siasat.com that approximately 2,000 Rohingya households resided in Hyderabad up to 2018. His association managed a UNHCR-backed initiative between 2010 and 2018, delivering aid to roughly 150 families.

He stated that the non-recognition of Rohingya Muslims as formal refugees stems directly from central government sovereignty decisions.

Hussain noted that these individuals cannot purchase mobile connections or establish bank accounts, leaving them entirely stateless and unrecorded, contrasting with historical integration frameworks seen in western nations.

He added, however, that the continuity of international support frameworks remains uncertain globally.

Shut out of the mainstream

The absence of national biometric identification effectively excludes this population from standard state infrastructure.

The District Welfare Officer for Ranga Reddy, Srilatha, confirmed to Siasat.com that an Aadhaar card remains a mandatory requirement for expectant mothers, infants, and young children seeking nutrition programs through Anganwadi networks or the Public Distribution System, alongside basic urban healthcare.

Independent charitable groups offer basic medical interventions, but public hospitals cannot process emergency admittances or childbirth procedures without standard regional documentation.

Primary education access has evolved gradually following extended institutional pressure, allowing some youths to enter intermediate schooling. However, the constitutional mandate guaranteeing universal education regardless of origin faces significant local resistance.

Multiple academies reject Rohingya enrollment outright, a trend worsened by a shrinking institutional willingness to accept UNHCR identity papers. Beyond secondary schooling, institutional barriers remain absolute.

Anam cannot secure placement in professional academies due to a lack of state certificates or official tracking data. A prior UNHCR pathway allowing students to complete language testing for sponsored international education has been suspended within India for approximately 2 years.

A veteran educator named Zaheda Begum, who has taught at the community school for 15 years, has witnessed numerous youth encounter these systemic barriers. She praised Anam’s exceptional academic performance while noting that broader geopolitical gridlocks continue to obstruct her advancement.

An 15-year-old named Ameena Bibi*, the eldest sibling among 6 children and daughter to Muzaffar and Fathima, was born within Hyderabad and aims to enter medical school, keeping her ambitions quiet given her unstable surroundings.

The UNHCR card, which frequently requires multiple years to acquire, represents the sole mechanism validating their presence. Without it, individuals remain completely untracked by public welfare systems.

Muzaffar remains focused entirely on immediate survival, maintaining a routine centered on labor, rent obligations, and family care while expressing gratitude for the relative physical safety available in Hyderabad.

Future Outlook

The systemic exclusion of the Rohingya population in Hyderabad points toward an escalating legal impasse. As biometric integration becomes mandatory across all tiers of Indian public administration, stateless communities face near-total isolation from both primary welfare and advanced socioeconomic mobility. Without a shift in India’s broader legislative framework regarding non-signatory refugee handling, generational displacement will likely intensify urban poverty clusters within these unofficial municipal camps.

FAQs

Why does India not recognize Rohingya individuals as official refugees?

India is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol. Consequently, the government views domestic refugee management through national security and sovereignty frameworks rather than international mandates, treating undocumented cross-border entrants as illegal migrants.

Can Rohingya refugees open bank accounts or buy SIM cards in India?

No. Standard financial institutions and telecommunication providers in India strictly require official national identity documents, such as an Aadhaar card or permanent account number (PAN), which are unavailable to individuals holding only UNHCR refugee certificates.

How do Rohingya children access basic education in Hyderabad?

While the Right to Education Act technically covers all children on Indian soil, practical enrollment relies heavily on localized advocacy and non-governmental interventions. Many formal institutions deny entry, leaving students dependent on specialized community schools.