Paper short abstract:

The threat of eviction of the Tibetans living in Majnu ka tila and the struggle that arose between the refugees and the Indian authorities offers an interesting insight of the way New Delhi deals with refugees. It shows that precarious settlement goes with precarious status though, as an international issue, Tibetans benefit from a special treatment.

Paper long abstract:

Caught between the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the 2001 Master Plan, the Tibetan colony of Majnu ka tila was threatened in 2006 by the eviction of its inhabitants and the demolition of the buildings built by the refugees. Started a struggle between the refugees, supported by the Chief Minister Sheila Dixit and several politicians, and the courts.

Through the history of the Tibetan settlement in the capital-city and the analysis of these recent developments, this paper will show that the ways Delhi deals with the issue of refugees' settlement echoes the policies India implements regarding refugees in general, Tibetans in particular. India, which is neither part to the Geneva Convention of 1951 nor has it enacted a law on refugees, follows ad hoc policies. They consist in the case of Tibetans in a de facto but not by rights recognition, which render Tibetan status and settlement highly precarious as it depends on the government of India's changing agenda.

Moreover, the struggle led by the refugees and their supports offers an illustration of the contemporary showdown between the executive and the legislative powers as well as the difference made by the Indian authorities between issues which have an international audience and domestic ones: while thousands of slum dwellers have been evicted, Tibetans still live in Majnu ka tila.