Ganesan, 69, who lives in a camp for refugees from Sri Lanka, in Irumboothipatty village in Karur district of Tamil Nadu, describes November 30, 2023, as a day of “rebirth”. It was on this day that the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recognised him as an Indian. “I just couldn’t believe it,” he says, his subdued tone masking his joy. “I had been waiting for that moment for more than 30 years. It is as if I have got a second life.”
The Government of India considers all refugees in India “illegal migrants” and India does not have a law governing refugees. This means that Sri Lankan refugees, who came to India fearing violence and persecution during the civil war, which lasted from 1983 to 2009, are ineligible for Indian citizenship even if they have lived in India, like Ganesan has, for over 30 years. Camps in Tamil Nadu house 58,457 refugees (as on March 31, 2023). There are also 33,375 refugees living outside these camps.
Also read | 45% of Sri Lankan Tamils living in camps were born in India: Report
