II Unit

Social Issues

FACTORS FOR THE GROWTH OF SLUMS

 Rapid growth of population:

o Population explosion and poverty force the urban poor to live in
slums and that leads to an increase in the size of slums.
o Also, a regional imbalance in development creates rural to urban
migration, thus increasing the overall urban population density
which pressurizes the urban poor to move into slums.
o In the past 15 years, India’s urban population density has
increased by 45%. It is further estimated that 40% of the
population will live in urban areas by 2026.
o With increasingly densified urban population, there exists a huge
demand for land.
o This shortage of land forces the urban poor to live in increasingly
dense communities creating slums in the process.

 Poor Urban governance:

o A major factor for growth of slums use of rigid, often outdated
urban planning regulations, which are typically bypassed by slum
dwellers to meet their housing needs.
o Another issue is the failure of governments to incorporate slum
dwellers as part of the overall planning process.
o This is often due to the inability of many governments to keep
pace with urbanization because of ill-designed policies, lack of
resources and corruption.
 Administrative failure:
o City authorities faced with rapid urban development lack the
capacity to cope with the diverse demands for infrastructural
provision to meet economic and social needs.
o Not only are strategic planning and intervention major issues in
agenda to manage rapid urbanization, but city governments are
not effectively linking the economic development trajectory to
implications for urban growth and, hence, housing needs.
 Unavailability of affordable housing:
o Rising material costs and labor costs resulting from labor
shortage is another reason for the growth of slums as it makes
developers unable to deliver affordable housing to the market.
o The gap between growing demand for affordable urban housing
and insufficient supply has encouraged the formation of slums.
o Whenever the demand surplus is not met by formal sectors, this
gap is typically filled by an informal dwelling such as a slum
 Limited access to financial resources:
o slum dwellers typically inhabit marginal locations such as
dumping grounds mainly due to the low purchasing power of
slum dwellers in formal land markets when compared with high-
income groups.
o Further, the urban poor lack the access to formal financial
resources to help them purchase new homes or maintain a new
life in a new housing unit.
 Rural to Urban Migration:
o Rural to urban migration is one of the primary drivers of growth
of slums in Indian cities.
 o Urban centres which are not equipped to support additional
population, fail to cope up with high influx of people which
ultimately causes several problems such as housing shortages,
unemployment, and development of slums.
 Social factors:
o Moreover, social backwardness forces people to live in congested
areas away from main areas. For example, more Scheduled Castes
(SCs) live in slums – with one out of every five residents
belonging to the SC category.
REFUGEES

MEANING

A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of
persecution, war or violence. A refugee has a well-founded fear of persecution
for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a
particular social group. Most likely, they cannot return home or are afraid to do
so. War and ethnic, tribal and religious violence are leading causes of refugees
fleeing their countries.
69% of those displaced across borders come from just five
countries: Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Myanmar.

1951 Refugee Convention

The 1951 Geneva Convention is the main international instrument of refugee
law. The Convention clearly spells out who a refugee is and the kind of legal
protection, other assistance and social rights he or she should receive from the
countries who have signed the document. The Convention also defines a
refugee’s obligations to host governments and certain categories or people, such
as war criminals, who do not qualify for refugee status. The Convention was
limited to protecting mainly European refugees in the aftermath of World War II,
but another document, the 1967 Protocol, expanded the scope of the Convention
as the problem of displacement spread around the world.
Refugees at Global Level

According to the UN, by the end of 2018, there were around 70.8 million people
around the world who had left their home countries because of conflict and
persecution. Of these 70.8 million, roughly 30 million are refugees. Globally, more
two-thirds of all refugees come from five countries: Syria (6.7 million),
Afghanistan (2.7 million), South Sudan (2.3 million), Myanmar (1.1 million), and
Somalia (0.9 million).

According to the UN’s Global Trends report released in June 2019 this year, there
are 37,000 new displacements every day. In 2018, 13.6 million people were newly
displaced due to conflict and or persecution.

Refugee - Definition

The UN defines refugees as those individuals that have fled their own countries
because of persecution, war or violence. A refugee has a well-founded fear of
persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or
membership in a particular social group. Most likely, they cannot return home or
are afraid to do so. War and ethnic, tribal and religious violence are leading causes
of refugees fleeing their countries.

Refugee crises today is caused by any number of reasons but the most common are
war (Bangladesh, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan), domestic conflicts (Tibet, Sri Lanka,
Myanmar), natural disasters (famine), environmental displacement, human
trafficking and—this one will turn up at all our doorsteps soon—climate change.

Global refugee forum

Facts:

 Almost 90 per cent of the world’s refugees are hosted in developing

countries. Eight countries host more than half the world’s refugees.
  Just 10 countries provide 75 per cent of the UN’s budget to ease and resolve
their plight.

Why Migration happens?

 War, human rights violations, underdevelopment, climate change and natural

disasters are leading more people to leave their homes .
 Migrants have also left their countries in search of better opportunities or
simply for survival.

What does India do with asylum seekers?

India offers asylum to a large number of refugees, but it is not a signatory to the
1951 Refugee Convention

New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants

 Adopted at UNGA
 The declaration expresses the political will of world leaders to protect the
rights of refugees and migrants to save lives and share responsibility for large
movements on a global scale
 Commitments made are:
o

 Protect human rights of all refugees and migrants. It includes

rights of girls and women and also promote their full, equal and their
meaningful participation to find solutions.
  Ensure that all refugee and migrant children receive education
within few months of arrival.
 Prevent and respond to gender-based and sexual violence.
 Support countries receiving, rescuing and hosting large
numbers of refugees and migrants
 Condemn strongly xenophobia against refugees and migrants
and support global campaign to counter it.
 Strengthen positive contributions made by migrants for their
social and economic development in their host countries.
 Improve delivery of humanitarian and development assistance
through innovative multilateral financial solutions to those countries
most affected.
 Strengthen global governance of migration by bringing the
International Organization for Migration (IOM) into the UN system.

Critically examine the causes, consequences and remedies of World’s recent

Refugee crisis. (200 Words)

Civil wars and persecution of certain groups have precipitated the global refugee
crisis into the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world. According to Amnesty
International, there are around 50 million global refugees right now.

Causes
 1. Instability in the West Asia – There is great instability in the west Asia. War
between the ISIS and Kurdish rebels in Iraq and Syria, attacks by Saudi Arabia
on Houthi rebels in Yemen, the civil War in Syria. All of them combined to
displace a large number of people from these countries.

2. Economic Reasons – A large number of refugees from Africa have been

forced to leave their countries in search of opportunities abroad, primarily in
Europe.

3. State Persecution – Rohingyas are a sect of Muslims who claim they are
original inhibitors of the Rakhine, a state in Myanmar. However, Myanmar
considers them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and has withdrawn
citizenship rights from the Rohingyas. This has forced Rohingyas to flee to
other countries.

4. Climate Change – Low lying island nations are threatened by rising sea
levels and forced to leave their countries. Such refugees are known as
Environmental refugee.

Consequences

1. The refugees also have an impact on the economy and society of their host
nations. Large number of refugees can have a devastation impact on the host
nation. The Indo-Pak war of 1971 was caused primarily due to the refugee
problem.
 2. Large number of refugees actually loses their lives while trying to reach
different countries which might take them.

3. They could be used by terrorist organisations, sex or slave trade etc., thus
denial of basic human rights, disruption of global peace

4. Pressure on neighboring countries e.g.: Around half of the population in

Syria got displaced and most them have entered into Turkey, Jordan.

Remedies:

1. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) must be empowered

with budgetary resources to tackle the problem at a war footing.

2. All states should put in place comprehensive refugee policy to avoid ad-hoc
measures in line with the UN convention.

3. Moral and diplomatic persuasion to stop persecution and promote

reconciliation among stakeholder in various countries such as Myanmar,
Pakistan and Bangladesh to avoid migration of people.

4. Diplomatic pressure from powerful nations and organisation such as

UNHCR as seen in recent cases where Indonesia and Malaysia have
accommodated refugees on temporary basis.

It has to be accepted that there is a glaring failure in dealing with refugee problem
at the global level. There is a visible apathy on the part of big powers to see this as
a humanitarian crisis. This apathy is one reason why many Rohingyas died
enroute rowing while fleeing from Myanmar to countries like Malaysia and
Australia. Silver lining is that there is already established institution in the form of
UNHCR to deal with the issue. But it has to be given more teeth and power.

[Richer countries in the west and Asia-pacific should find more room for refugees
in order to share the burden more equitably as at present, 86 % of all the refugees
are in developing countries which lack infrastructure and resources to tackle the
challenge. There has to be more meaningful efforts, driven not by merely
geopolitical calculations, but by moral, humanitarian conviction to solve the crisis.]

Refugees crisis in India

India is home to diverse groups of refugees, ranging from Buddhist Chakmas from
the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, to Bhutanese from Nepal, Muslim
Rohingyas from Myanmar and small populations from Somalia, Sudan and other
sub Saharan African countries.

According to the UNHCR, there were 204,600 refugees, asylum seekers and
‘others of concern’ in India in 2011. They were made up of 13,200 people from
Afghanistan, 16,300 from Myanmar, 2,100 from various other countries and the
two older populations of around 100,000 Tibetans and 73,000 Sri Lankan Tamils.
The UNHCR financially assisted 31,600 of them.

In late 2011, the Rohingya started to arrive in India’s Northeast following stepped-
up persecution by the Myanmar’s armed forces. According to the Home Ministry,
there are roughly 14,000 Rohingya refugees in India who are registered with the
UNHCR, and there are estimated to be 40,000 Rohingya living in India illegally.
Other refugees include Ahmadiyya, Shia, Hazaras from Pakistan and Afghanistan.

legislation with India deals with refugee

India is not a signatory to the 1951 Convention on Refugees or the 1967 Protocol
Relating to the Status of Refugees.

India does not have any domestic law for refugees, so until now has been dealing
with refugees on a case-by-case basis. The refugees are handled under the
Passports Act, 1967 and Foreigners Act of 1946, Extradition Act, 1962, and the
Citizenship Act, 1954. They define person from non-Indian nationality as a
foreigner, independent of his/her specific legal status. However, there are no laws
for protection of refugees, Constitution of India grants right to equality (Article 14)
and right to life and liberty (Article 21) to its non-citizens also.

In 2011, the Union government circulated to all states and Union Territories a
Standard Operating Procedure to deal with foreign nationals who claimed to be
refugees. As per this procedure, a foreigner claiming a refugee status is verified
and if it is found to be genuine case, he/she is issued a Long-Term Visa (LTV).

How does India see Rohingya refugees?

In 2017, in an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court, the government said

1. Rohingya presence in the country has serious national security ramifications and
it poses national security threats.

2. threat of demographic imbalance

 3. Illegal influx of Rohingyas into India started in 2012-13 and inputs suggest links
of some of the immigrants with Pak-based terror groups.

4. Also, radicalized Rohingyas might attack Indian Buddhist.

India is not signatory to the 1951 Convention on Refugees

1. Convention caters to need of individual asylum seekers, what India is dealing with
since its inception is mass influx, plus mixed flow of refugees, asylum seekers,
legal/illegal migrants
2. Reasons are also security-related. The line of argument is that borders in South
Asia are extremely porous and any conflict can result in a mass movement of
people.
3. India also fears uncontrolled infiltration of terrorists, criminals and unwarranted
elements.
4. India voiced that migration is a matter of bilateral and not multilateral relations and
International agreements can restrict their freedom of action.
5. A strain on local infrastructure and resources in India that is poorly equipped to
deal with sudden spikes in population.
6. It can upset the demographic balance, a tinderbox in India, as shown by
contentious issues like NRC in Assam.
7. Convention call for non-refoulement which worries India.

issues with India’s current informal policy to deal with refugees

 Without a law, India has handled the inflow of refugees through a mix of political
and administrative measures. Therefore, India’s approach, at best, can be called ad
hoc, coming out with a series of procedures and relief and rehabilitation measures.

1. In the absence of a law, India has been found making discriminatory treatment
between refugees, for instance Two groups that have fared especially well are the
Sri Lankan Tamils and the Tibetans while others have not received similar
goodwill.
2. There is no specific agency or machinery that has been responsible for determining
the status of refugees
3. There have been allegations of politics of vote bank when dealing with refugees in
absence of law that could ensure transparency and fairness

What is the way forward for India?

1. Formulate a formal domestic refugee policy and law

2. Look after refugee’s health, education of children, security of refugees
3. Give work permits
4. Identify those threat to Internal security on priority basis

Having hosted close to 500,000 refugees at various points, India should formalize
its arrangements. A law will also bring about greater coherence in terms of
treatment meted out to various refugee groups, instead of the somewhat
discriminatory treatment to different refugee groups.

For a country such as India that has acted by and large generously in hosting
refugees, it should aim to improve its credentials with the global community in
general. This will include India pushing for a law that will include human rights
standards in the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers, thus getting rid of the
arbitrariness currently on display.
migrant worker

A “migrant worker” is a person who either migrates within their home country or
outside it to pursue work.

Usually, migrant workers do not have the intention to stay permanently in the
country or region in which they work.

As per census 2011, the total number of internal migrants in India is 36 crore or
37% of the country’s population.

The Economic Survey pegged the size of the migrant workforce at roughly 20 per
cent or over 10 crore in 2016

Issues of migrant workers

No social security benefits: Migrant workers face issues as they hardly have
social security. Facilities like breaks, overtime, sick pay and minimum wage laws
may not be followed because there is no recourse for the worker.

Coercion at work: Due to poor regulation at workplace, issues like sexual or

physical assault incidents often goes underreported. The fear of consequences also
forces the migrant worker to remain shut.

Inhospitable condition: Workers may be housed in unsanitary conditions, which

are especially dangerous for children. Migrant workers are also subject to harsh
conditions on the job, such as working in extreme weather for long hours with no
breaks.

Discrimination: Since the migrant worker are not from the place of their work,
cultural differences present problems for migrant workers even when they are
away from the job site. Local residents discriminate or resent migrant workers for
taking the available jobs in the area, thus fuelling the ‘sons of the soil’ feeling.

Vulnerable community: Despite contributing 10 per cent of India’s GDP, these

workers are socially and politically vulnerable

Government steps for migrant workers

Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana: After the lockdown, Pradhan Mantri Garib
Kalyan Yojana with a financial package of Rs. 1.7 lakh crore was launched to help
poor, needy and unorganised sector workers of the country.

PM SVANidhi Scheme: PM SVANidhi Scheme was launched to facilitate

collateral free working capital loan upto Rs.10,000/- of one-year tenure, to
approximately, 50 lakh street vendors, to resume their businesses.

Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan: In order to facilitate employment of

migrant workers who have gone back to their home state, Pradhan Mantri Garib
Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan was initiated in 116 districts in Mission Mode.

State migrant cell: Migrant workers’ Cell is being created to prepare a database of
migrant workers in states with mapping.

eShram portal: It is a national database created to register the unorganised workers

in the country, including the migrant workers.

National policy on migrant workers: NITI Aayog has been mandated to prepare a
draft national policy on migrant workers to reimagine labour-capital relations
while integrating the migrant workers within the formal workforce
 How technology could provide Solutions?
 Providing digital public infrastructure (DPI): Digital public infrastructure
systems that enable the effective provision of essential society-wide functions and
services can enable a paradigm shift, allowing governments to co-create solutions
with the private sector and civil society.
 Adopting Public private partnership models: There are three key areas where
DPI can enable public-private partnerships (PPP) in the delivery of social
protection of migrants,
1. Awareness of entitlements: One barrier faced at the initial stage is lack of
awareness of entitlements or of the need to reapply, when migrants move from one
state to another. Jan Saathi is an application that provides migrants
withinformation on eligible social security schemes. Organisations such as
Haqdarshak not only inform potential beneficiaries about their eligibility for
various schemes, Central or State, but also help them avail entitlements.
2. Information about livelihoods and housing: The informal nature of the labour
market makes access to affordable and safe living conditions a challenge,
especially if the family migrates as a unit. Ministry of Housing and Urban
Affairshas introduced the Affordable Rental Housing Complexes under PMAY-
Urban but the availability of such facilities is inadequate compared to the number
of migrants. Bandhu’s ecosystem of applications connect migrant workers directly
with employers and housing providers, to give them more informed choices.
Jobsgaar and MyRojgaar also play a similar role by connecting workers to
employers.
3. Healthy Grievance redressal Mechanism: Gram Vaani bridges the gap in
grievance redressal by providing a platform where citizens can use Interactive
Voice Response (IVR) to record their grievance in accessing entitlements.
 Aajeevika Bureau and The Working People’s Charter built the India Labourline to
provide legal aid and mediation services to migrant workers.
 Adopting a well-designed data: While a growing ecosystem of private players
(NGOs, civil society organisations, not-for-profit and for-profit entities) are
addressing these needs, well designed data exchanges can help unlock a strong
public-private collaboration in the delivery of social protection.

What more government can do to address the issue of migrants?

 Creating centralized data: The state’s digital efforts are often in siloes and the
need to maximize the use of data across schemes and departments is a high
priority.
 E-Shram: Initiatives such as direct benefit transfers and linking schemes for the
portability of entitlements have shown promise. e-Shram, which is a national
database of unorganized workers, aims to reduce access barriers to social
protection for migrants.
 Making portable entitlement: Recent announcements of API-based integration of
e-Shram with the various state government labor departments and with the One
Nation One Ration Card scheme are a step in that direction.
 Working with the private sector: Enabling linkages of migrant data with the
private sector can lead to benefits on the demand side, in the form of reduced
transaction costs in identifying jobs, affordable housing, and redressal of
grievances.
 Engaging the private sector: Private players who have established relationships
with these mobile populations can help the state in planning and forecasting the
demand for benefits. An example of this is the digital payment ecosystem since the
introduction of UPI.
 Conclusion
 Digital technologies have potential solutions to problems and transform the
livelihood of migrants. The need for adequate data protection and safeguards is
essential for the implementation of any such initiative.