The second category identified by Ghosh includes instances where there have been failures in nation-building. He has again contrasted the South Asian scenario with European scenarios by highlighting that “[u]nlike the European experience, in large parts of the decolonised world, state formation has preceded nation formation”. Under this category he discusses Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, and the Rohingya refugees. In particular, the history of the Rohingya community, their migrations, and several attempts at their repatriation have been discussed by the author, but the latest dynamics of the conflict have not been described which leaves readers with an intellectual longing for more information on this contemporary issue.
Discussing the political aspect of displacement, Ghosh states that initially host societies are sympathetic towards refugees, but with the passage of time they become suspicious of them while conversely, refugees start demanding more rights. The scarce resources of the society come under pressure when refugees and natives compete for control. Moreover, the power dynamics of a polity are challenged by a large number of refugees that change the demography of the host societies. Analysing the same phenomenon, Ayesha Jalal has described in The Struggle for Pakistan: A Muslim Homeland and Global Politics how the settling of Urdu-speaking Mohajirs in Karachi negatively affected the economic and political prospects of the Sindhi-speaking natives of the province.
Ghosh also discusses this problem from the prism of security that is increasingly being used even in Europe in the wake of the refugee crisis resulting from areas affected by the militant ‘Islamic State’ group. In the chapter ‘Relief and Rehabilitation’, among other things, Ghosh quotes Amtul Hassan (Impact of Partition: Refugees in Pakistan) in saying that by 1957, around 30,000 of the hundreds of thousands of women who suffered rape, torture and other forms of dishonour were recovered by both countries — Muslim: 20,728; Hindu: 9,032.
Discussing legal dynamics, Ghosh highlights that no country in the region has signed the international refugee covenants of 1951 except Afghanistan, but Afghanistan does not host any refugees thus rendering this membership ineffective. Although Ghosh falls short of suggesting it, there is a dire need for a coordinated effort to come to a legal paradigm, under the auspices of Saarc, perhaps, to effectively resolve the problems of migrants, refugees and the stateless in the region.
Ghosh also dedicates a chapter to the cultural and psychological effects of migration which have usually been neglected by researchers working on the issue. Although globalisation is bringing various cultures closer, there is a cultural hegemony of the developed world. The phenomenon of migration impacts the cultural milieu of the sending societies as well as the host societies irrespective of the politico-economic dominance. The book concludes on a positive note that “in spite of South Asia being a witness to one of the most massive human flows starting with the Partition of India ... its humanitarian spirit has not been denied”.
The writer works with the Civil Services of Pakistan.
Migrants, Refugees and the Stateless in South Asia
(SOCIOLOGY)
By Partha S. Ghosh
Sage Publishing, India
ISBN: 978-9351508540
384pp.
Published in Dawn, Books & Authors, December 18th, 2016