The second assignment is a term paper based on one of the compulsory modules (A-D). The participants are given a choice to write an essay on any one of the modules that they particularly like. This essay can be on a topic different from the ones that we have given.  However, it has to be based on some primary research. The essay has to be of at least 3000 words. The first draft of the term paper was submitted by 10 November after which they received comments from respective module tutors. Participants are expected to revise their term paper and present it during the workshop in Kolkata. Some of the best term papers are published in Refugee Watch. Also 50 percent of the grade for the distance education also depends on the term paper. 

The abstracts of the introductory notes and the module assignments are presented below: 

Term Paper
Module A (Forced migration, racism, immigration, and xenophobia) Core faculty: Samir Kumar Das  

Discuss how the four themes mentioned in the Module title are interlinked and how such inter-linkages have been reinforced in the wake of globalization particularly during the last two decades.  
OR
Prepare a report on refugee situation or that of internal displacement and reflect on how it is linked up with such issues as racism and xenophobia.
OR
Argue with the help of ethnographic studies why forced migration induced by partition is a continuing process rather than its product.   

OR
Discuss with suitable case studies the problems associated with the interpretation of the phrase "well-founded fear".

Module Note

The first module (Module A) deals with trans-border forced migration in the context of racism, xenophobia, and the immigration issues in the context of cross-border refugee flows and other forced population movements across the border. In this module we discuss the root causes of the refugee flow and the un-wanted and unprotected status of the refugees. It must be remembered that when we are discussing the causes of refugee flow we are not ignoring the historic patterns of migration on which population flows including forced population movements are often built. Some have termed this as “transplanted networks”. This historical perspective is essential as a perspective when we consider refugee flows. Also it must be borne in mind that whatever be the cause, refugees have a right to care, protection, and settlement, though it is true that if the root causes are not considered seriously, then there is a probability that we shall consider the refugee situation as a banal one, and neglect thereby the question of the rights of the refugees or the duty of the States and the international community to protect the escapees of violence. One example is around the concept of “well-founded fear” which is a test for grant of refugee status.

The “well-founded fear” concept has evolved from a relatively simple inquiry within which the refugee's subjective feelings of "terror" were prominent, to a much more complex and wide-ranging inquiry within which concepts such as the "safe state" have become increasingly the sole determinants of the issue of the well-founded fear.