Assignment 2003

Module A    /    Module B    /    Module C    /    Module D    /    Module E    /    Module F

MODULE A

Nationalisms, ethnicities, partition, and partition-refugees

Term Paper

• Discuss (with examples taken from the readings) how nationalism and the formation of nation states in South Asia have resulted in massive displacements of people. 

• On what grounds will you say that partition refugees should be considered as a distinct category of refugees? 

• What political and other policy lessons can be learned from the history of the South Asian states in protecting and rehabilitating the refugees?  Do you think from your study of the reading material that the records of the South Asian states are uniform in this respect? 

Review Note

Write a review note on any two articles on the partition refugees (selecting the articles from the readings).

OR

Comment on the land settlement scheme in Bhutan and show (if possible with examples taken from other South Asian countries) how annexation of land is a primary factor in forcibly displacing people. 

MODULE B
Gendered nature of forced migration, victim-hood, and gender-justice

Term Paper

• Forced displacement of populations is in the first instance displacement of women – Discuss.

• Discuss the common and the specific features of the situations of two groups of displaced women – those displaced due to violent conflicts and those displaced due to development policies and projects.

• On the basis of the reading material discuss, why listening to women’s experiences and chronicling them is particularly important in understanding the “refugee-situation” and forging appropriate responses.

Review Note

Write a note on rehabilitation policies of the Indian State on the basis of a review of the relevant reading material given to you. 

OR 

Analyse, how the reading material suggests that single women (unaccompanied girl child or widow, or unmarried single woman) form a distinct category of the victims.

MODULE C

International regime of protection, sovereignty and the principle of responsibility, and political issues relating to regional trends in migration in South Asia

Term Paper 

• How have recent global economic and political trends and changes impacted on international refugee law?

• Does a review of the reading material suggest to you the simultaneous requirement of three sets of protection laws and arrangements – global, regional, and national? Comment on the aspects of harmonisation and their specific needs.

• What are the legal instruments that women refugees in South Asia can take recourse to, and comment on the limitations of these instruments?

• Analyse the way international refugee law defines “fear” and “vulnerability”.

Review Note

Write a brief commentary (on the basis of reviewing the material sent to you) on the paradoxical coexistence of the nation-state system and the essentially international nature of the task of refugee protection.

 OR

Review the relevant reading material on the role of the UNHCR in South Asia and point out its achievements and limits.

MODULE D

Resource politics, environmental degradation, and forced migration

Term Paper 

• How have conflicts over resources led to forcible displacement of groups of population in South Asia?

• The resettlement question is in the last instance an issue of access and management of resources – comment.

• The issues of land and water lie at the heart of the Palestinian refugee crisis – discuss.

Review Note

On the basis of your readings write a note on the concept of “environmental refugees”.  

OR 

Show how refusing women or divesting them of control over and access to resources have led to large-scale expulsion of women.

MODULE- E

Internal displacement - causes, linkages, and responses

Term Paper  

• Show how the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement base themselves on some of the essential elements of international human rights and international humanitarian laws.

• Given the inherently difficult relation between the two principles of sovereignty and responsibility, comment on applicability of the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement in South Asia.

• Displacement of population is the result of three interacting phenomena – politics of citizenship, politics of homeland, and politics of resources – discuss.

Review Note

Review the material on internal displacement in the Northeast. 

OR 

Write a comparative review note on the IDPs of Burma (Myanmar) and Afghanistan.

MODULE F
Ethics and Practices of Care and Protection in South Asia 

Term Paper 

• Trace the various dimensions that Catherine de Wenden brings to notice in her answer to the poser, “How Can One be Muslim in France?”

• Show how ethical considerations of care are predicated by considerations of security and rule.

• Do you think that distinctions can be made between groups of vulnerable people? Comment in this connection on the validity of categorising victims on the basis of vulnerability.

Review Note

“Granting the refugee the right and the means to communicate is essential for the ethics of a regime of refugee care and protection” – write a note on this on the basis of the different readings (given to you in all the modules) on the lived experiences of the refugees. 

OR 

Write a commentary on a situation of massive displacement and mass expulsions that evoke defiance in form of creative responses.

OR

Select any four articles from the journal REFUGEE WATCH (sent to you in various modules) to make a compendium and compose an editorial stating reasons for your selection and the commonality of the theme that marks them.