Sucharita Sengupta | Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID), Geneva (original) (raw)

Uploads

Papers by Sucharita Sengupta

Routledge eBooks, Jun 4, 2019

Refugee Watch Online, 2023

A blog post- in style of news reporting-on the back to back fire incidents in Rohingya camps of B... more A blog post- in style of news reporting-on the back to back fire incidents in Rohingya camps of Bangladesh, the latest being a massive breakout in March 2023.

This article is part of a Special Report on the ‘Changing face of migration’, produced in collaboration with the Calcutta Research Group and Monash University , 2022

'Statelessness is not a legal problem but a humanitarian crisis' and the sea, that is used by man... more 'Statelessness is not a legal problem but a humanitarian crisis' and the sea, that is used by many refugees stuck in camps, further produces new forms of statelessness. Through this framework, in this short reflective piece, I have written on the Rohingya's attempt to cross the Bay of Bengal from Bangladesh to the South and Southeast Asia that shot up in 2020 during the pandemic and has been consistent through 2020 and 2021. What are the potential solution to the crisis that the sea poses for migrants- certainly not deterring movements- but then what?

Revisiting the 1951 Refugee Convention: Exploring Global Perspectives, 2022

This is a short piece, a critique of the 1951 refugee convention on it's 70th year. I have attemp... more This is a short piece, a critique of the 1951 refugee convention on it's 70th year. I have attempted to look into its efficacy in respect to the lack of citizenship/statelessness of the Rohingya refugees living in camps of Bangladesh.

In a post-colonial democratic structure, social governance emerges crucial as a form of governanc... more In a post-colonial democratic structure, social governance emerges crucial as a form of governance in relations to conflict management, especially in a conflict economy. With its origin in western style mass democracy and market system, social governance has evolved into a system that has multiple trajectories. The post-colonial states have addressed demands for justice through the axis of development and in a neoliberal world that has meant the growth of market economy, urbanism and capital accumulation in tandem with massive infrastructural changes. That has in turn created occasion for massive transfer of resources necessitating new logistical apparatus. The logistical spaces that were used as conduits were the favoured spaces. This caused massive increase in governmental expenditure and the beneficiaries were a chosen few. In this circuitous mode of development capitalism, induction of new groups became a necessity when older groups were no longer pacified. One can see this phen...

Sucharita Sengupta, 2020

Forced migration across the borders in South Asia is often conflated with “economic migration”, t... more Forced migration across the borders in South Asia is often conflated with “economic migration”, thereby blurring the distinction between “forced” and “vo- lition”. A migrant in need of asylum often gets branded as an “economic migrant” or “illegal immigrant”. In a similar context, this research would unveil the exclu- sion, counter-resistance and self-resilience of stateless Rohingya refugees fleeing persecution in Myanmar, that emanated as a post-colonial fallout spanned between the murky borders of Myanmar–Bangladesh–India, but is now a widely discussed global and transnational phenomenon. The chapter will focus on the experiences of the Rohingyas in camps of Bangladesh and explore their survival strategies, economic activities, and how they are using transforming their identities and changing them with time and context as a means to survive. I aim to look into predicaments of life in dire vulnerabilities, a statelessness, yet a life, that is resilient and looking beyond the victimization of the Rohingyas as refugees, which remains a poignant truth. In this chapter, I have referred to two periods of my field work, the first in 2015 and the second, in 2019. A massive change in the stance of the Bangladesh government on the issue of the Rohingyas has changed within these two periods. While following a massive influx of Rohingyas in Bangladesh from August 2017, the government was welcoming, and it supported almost 1 million Rohingya refugees; however, patience appears to be wearing thin. Bilateral talks with Myanmar to repatriate the Rohingyas have failed attempts to look into their agency from invisibility to being audible globally and desperate bid to survive against all odds and addresses the fol- lowing questions: Way forward for the Rohingyas? How do the Rohingyas perceive themselves? Do they consider themselves as stateless? Is there a way forward?

The first chapter of the book is based on my field work in Bangladesh in 2015. It looks into the ... more The first chapter of the book is based on my field work in Bangladesh in 2015. It looks into the precarious drives of the stateless Rohingya across the Bay of Bengal in perilous boat journeys. Many die in the process otr find themselves in concentration camps, as victims of human trafficking. Does the sea provide a safer escape route? Why did the Rohingya emerge as the new boat people of Asia in 2015? The chapter explores some of these questions.

Book Abstract :

The Rohingya of Myanmar are one of the world's most persecuted minority populations without citizenship. After the latest exodus from Myanmar in 2017, there are now more than half a million Rohingya in Bangladesh living in camps, often in conditions of abject poverty, malnutrition and without proper access to shelter or work permits. Some of them are now compelled to take to the seas in perilous journeys to the Southeast Asian countries in search of a better life. They are now asked to go back to Myanmar, but without any promise of citizenship or an end to discrimination. This book looks at the Rohingya in the South Asian region, primarily India and Bangladesh. It explores the broader picture of the historical and political dimensions of the Rohingya crisis, and examines subjects of statelessness, human rights and humanitarian protection of these victims of forced migration. Further, it chronicles the actual process of emergence of a stateless community-the transformation of a national group into a stateless existence without basic rights. This volume will be of great interest to students and researchers of human rights, migration and diaspora studies, race and ethnic studies, refugee studies, politics and international relations, discrimination studies, and peace and conflict studies, as well as to international organizations, those in law, media and journalism, civil society and policymakers.

Refugee Watch Online, 2020

In this short writeup/blog post I present the fear and apprehensions of some of the Rohingya refu... more In this short writeup/blog post I present the fear and apprehensions of some of the Rohingya refugees, I could interact with, living in Cox's Bazar, camps of Bangladesh during the covid 19 pandemic. Cut off from the world, with no internet connection, disinformation proved to be more fatal, hindering safety for the people concerned. What is happening to the world's largest refugee camps? what is the precocity of their living conditions'- this is just another glimpse to that.

Quint. , 2019

Since August 2017, crisis surrounding Rohingya settlements in Myanmar intensified across the bord... more Since August 2017, crisis surrounding Rohingya settlements in Myanmar intensified across the borders between Myanmar and Bangladesh, resulting into fleeing and subsequent resettlement of a million Rohingya as refugees in Bangladesh. This short piece is reflective of bits and pieces of my field experience in the Rohingya camps of Bangladesh in 2019.

On Governance and Logistics in Nagaland, in lieu of the Look East (Act) Policy. What is the curre... more On Governance and Logistics in Nagaland, in lieu of the Look East (Act) Policy. What is the current state of affairs and nature of politics in the State? What is the relation between 'outsiders' and 'insiders'? The paper is based on fieldwork in Dimapur and Kohima.

This working paper is about the supposed proliferation of borders in Northeast India, following t... more This working paper is about the supposed proliferation of borders in Northeast India, following the Look East-Act East Policy, ushering in labour mobility and at the same time outflow of people from the NER. These contradictory trends and the ongoing trends are explored in the paper.

Conference Presentations by Sucharita Sengupta

This paper is based on my field work in 4 correctional homes/prisons of West Bengal where in I ha... more This paper is based on my field work in 4 correctional homes/prisons of West Bengal where in I have tried to explore the conditions of women from Bangladesh and Myanmar (Rohingya) who have been incarcerated in India under the Foreigner's act for 'illegally' crossing over the Indo-Bangladesh borders. I engage with the subject by critically inquiring into what is 'illegal' here? What does border mean to the people who for economic and myriad reasons are forced to migrate? How legitimate is it to brand them within categories? Drawing from my interviews in the prisons and historically looking at the issue through the lens of partition of the Indian subcontinent, this paper argues that migration through these borders have remained natural through time immemorial and thus we need to reorient our thoughts instead on the volatile construction of artificial 'borders' that have resulted into dividing homes and hearts. Are the migrants 'illegal' in this context or is it the new modern state that renders human flow as illegal' and capital flow as 'legal'?