India: Situation and treatment of Muslims, including in Hyderabad; availability of state protection; ability of Muslims to relocate and access housing, employment, education and healthcare, including in Hyderabad (2017-June 2020)
Sources report that Muslims are the largest religious minority group in India (CSSS and MRG June 2017, 5; Time 3 Mar. 2020; AP 25 Apr. 2020). According to the latest national census in 2011, there were approximately 172.2 million Muslims in the country (India 2011). They accounted for approximately 14 percent of the population (CSSS and MRG June 2017, 5; Australia 17 Oct. 2018, para. 3.5). Data from the census indicates that there are Muslims in every Indian state, with Uttar Pradesh having the largest population, with approximately 38.5 million Muslims residing there, followed by 24.7 million Muslims in West Bengal, 17.6 million in Bihar and 13 million in Maharashtra (India 2011). With a population, respectively, of approximately 8.6 million Muslims out of a population of 12.5 million, and 62,000 Muslims out of a population of 64,000, the now-abolished Jammu and Kashmir state [now the Jammu and Kashmir territory and the Ladakh territory] and the Lakshadweep union territory were the only areas in India with a Muslim majority (India 2011).
Sources note that Indian Muslims constitute a diverse population, with different languages, castes (CSSS and MRG June 2017, 5; Valenta 2018) and ethnicities (CSSS and MRG June 2017, 5). According to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), 85 percent of Indian Muslims belong to the Sunni tradition, while most of the rest are Shi'a (Australia 17 Oct. 2018, para. 3.7).
1.1 Muslims in Hyderabad (Telangana State)
A report by the Telangana state government indicates that based on the 2011 census, approximately 12.7 percent of residents in the Telangana state were Muslims (Telangana Aug. 2016, 2). Based on the 2011 census, the Government of Telangana indicates that around 1.713 million Muslims live in Hyderabad district, out of 4.465 million Muslims in Telangana (Telangana 2017, 73).
2. Treatment by Society
Sources note that Muslims encounter societal (Freedom House 2020; CSSS and MRG June 2017, 5) and economic marginalization (Freedom House 2020). According to the US Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2019, Muslims are among the most vulnerable groups in relation to societal violence based on religion and caste (US 11 Mar. 2020, 58). Similarly, a report by the Center for Study of Society and Secularism (CSSS)  and Minority Rights Group (MRG) indicates that Muslims "continue to be disproportionately affected" by communal violence (CSSS and MRG June 2017, 16).
2.1 Cow Protection Movement
According to sources, Muslims are targeted by "cow protection groups [gau rakshaks]" (HRW Feb. 2019, 1, 4) or "cow protection mobs" (US 29 Apr. 2019, 1). The Washington Post explains that cows are considered sacred in the Hindu faith and are protected from slaughter in several regions in India (The Washington Post 16 July 2018). Sources indicate that opponents to beef meat consumption have been bolstered by the discourse of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government elected at the national level in May 2014 (CSSS and MRG June 2017, 3, 18; HRW Feb. 2019, 1) and by cow protection measures adopted by states (CSSS and MRG June 2017, 18). Human Rights Watch (HRW) reports that between May 2015 and December 2018, at least 44 people, including 36 Muslims, were killed in 12 Indian states in relation to beef consumption, while 280 people were injured across 20 states for the same motive (HRW Feb. 2019, 1). Sources also indicate that the cow protection movement is adversely impacting Muslims whose livelihood is related to the cattle trade (HRW Feb. 2019, 56-59; The Washington Post 16 July 2018). Sources report the case of a dairy farmer returning from an animal fair with cattle bought there who died after he was attacked and beaten on 1 April 2017 in Rajasthan by cow vigilantes alleging he was smuggling cows (NDTV 14 Aug. 2019; The Indian Express 7 Apr. 2017; Firstpost 5 Apr. 2017). On 19 January 2019, a cattle trader gone to sell buffalos was attacked by a vigilante group, tied to a pole, stripped, and beaten in Rohtak (Haryana state) (Firstpost 24 Jan. 2019; MG 22 Feb. 2019).
In a report on the cow protection movement, HRW writes that "the alleged assailants [in cases of violence regarding cows documented by the organization] were members of local cattle protection committees affiliated with Hindu extremist groups, often with links to the ruling party" (HRW Feb. 2019, 44). The same source adds that BJP officials have "largely failed to condemn attacks on Muslims … Their policies and statements appear to have encouraged abuses by cow protection groups, who believe they are politically protected from being held accountable" (HRW Feb. 2019, 44-45).
2.2 Delhi Riots
Sources report that on 23 February 2020, in north-east Delhi, Kapil Mishra, a BJP politician, called for police to clear a protest by [mostly Muslim (The New York Times 1 Mar. 2020)] opponents to a new citizenship law (The Guardian 16 Mar. 2020; Time 3 Mar. 2020; The New York Times 1 Mar. 2020) perceived as "anti-Muslim" [see section 3 of this Response for further details on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)] (The Guardian 16 Mar. 2020; The New York Times 1 Mar. 2020). Following this declaration, Mishra followers or people inspired by his speech began to clash with protesters on 23 February 2020 (Time 3 Mar. 2020) or on 24 February 2020 (The Guardian 16 Mar. 2020). According to Time, on 24 and 25 February, the conflicts between Hindus and Muslims intensified (Time 3 Mar. 2020). Sources indicate that Muslims' properties were targeted (National Herald 1 Mar. 2020; Time 3 Mar. 2020; Scroll.in 23 May 2020). According to the Guardian, in the affected areas, men were stopped by Hindu rioters asking them to see their ID cards and, if they refused, they were forced to "show whether or not they were circumcised, as is common among Muslim men" (The Guardian 1 Mar. 2020). In another article, the Guardian reports that a group of eight Hindu men beat and left for dead a Muslim rickshaw driver (The Guardian 16 Mar. 2020). Similarly, according to the Washington Post, a mob vandalized a 58-year-old Muslim's house, before shooting him and throwing him into a fire (The Washington Post 6 Mar. 2020). The Diplomat, a current affairs magazine for the Asia-Pacific region, reports that "[a]t least two mosques in Mustafabad were vandalized and attacked with stones" (The Diplomat 27 Feb. 2020). Four mosques were also attacked by rioters with gas cylinder explosives in Shiv Vihar, according to the Guardian (The Guardian 16 Mar. 2020). According to sources, there were between 40 and 51 deaths, most of them Muslims (The Guardian 16 Mar. 2020; Time 3 Mar. 2020; The New York Times 1 Mar. 2020). Other sources indicate that at least 200 people were injured during the events (The Diplomat 27 Feb. 2020; HRW Apr. 2020, 32).
2.3 Treatment Related to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Pandemic
According to sources, Muslims are accused of conspiring in order to spread the COVID-19 virus, after an outbreak had been linked to a meeting of the Islamic missionary group Tablighi Jamaat (DW 14 May 2020; FP 22 Apr. 2020; The Washington Post 23 Apr. 2020). Sources report that Muslims have been attacked on the grounds of such accusations related to COVID-19 (The Quint 8 Apr. 2020; NPR 23 Apr. 2020). Sources report the case of Muslim volunteers distributing relief packages in Karnataka who were accused by alleged members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) [a "right-wing Hindu extremist group" (CSSS and MRG June 2017, 3)] of deliberately spreading the virus (Scroll.in 7 Apr. 2020; The News Minute with IANS 6 Apr. 2020) and were attacked (Scroll.in 7 Apr. 2020). According to sources, in a village northwest of Delhi, a Muslim man, returning home from a religious gathering, was beaten by [Hindu (The Guardian 13 Apr. 2020)] people who believed he was trying to spread COVID-19 (NPR 23 Apr. 2020; The Guardian 13 Apr. 2020).
3. Treatment by Authorities
3.1 Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)
Sources indicate that, in the second week of December 2019, the Indian parliament passed the CAA (US Feb. 2020, 1; The Washington Post 19 Dec. 2019; Business Today 11 Dec. 2019). It was a campaign promise in 2014 and in 2019 of the BJP party (US Feb. 2020, 1) or the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) [a coalition led by the BJP (The Times of India 11 June 2019)] that governs India at the national level (Business Today 11 Dec. 2019). Sources explain that the act amends the previous Indian legislation on citizenship which prohibited migrants deemed "illegal" to acquire Indian citizenship (Malik, et al. 31 Dec. 2019; US Feb. 2020, 2). The act provides the following:
2. In the Citizenship Act, 1955 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act), in section 2, in sub-section (1), in clause (b), the following proviso shall be inserted, namely: —
"Provided that any person belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian community from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, who entered into India on or before the 31st day of December, 2014 and who has been exempted by the Central Government by or under clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 3 of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 or from the application of the provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946 or any rule or order made thereunder, shall not be treated as illegal migrant for the purposes of this Act;".
3. After section 6A of the principal Act, the following section shall be inserted, namely: —
'6B. (1) The Central Government or an authority specified by it in this behalf may, subject to such conditions, restrictions and manner as may be prescribed, on an application made in this behalf, grant a certificate of registration or certificate of naturalisation to a person referred to in the proviso to clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 2.
(2) Subject to fulfilment of the conditions specified in section 5 or the qualifications for naturalisation under the provisions of the Third Schedule, a person granted the certificate of registration or certificate of naturalization under sub-section (1) shall be deemed to be a citizen of India from the date of his entry into India.
… (India 2019)
Sources explain that the CAA excludes Muslims from the list of communities protected by the law (Malik, et al. 31 Dec. 2019; US Feb. 2020, 1; HRW 11 Dec. 2019). According to HRW, while the government says the law is aimed at protecting religious minorities from adjacent countries, it leaves out Muslim minorities such as the Ahmadiyya from Pakistan (HRW 11 Dec. 2019). The same source also indicates that BJP politicians called Muslim immigrants and asylum seekers "'infiltrators'," "demoniz[ing]" them in order to gain electoral support (HRW 11 Dec. 2019).
According to the BBC, the CAA is seen as linked to the National Register of Citizens (NRC), which is a list of people able to prove they were living in the Assam state on 24 March 1971, a day before neighboring Bangladesh's independence (BBC 11 Dec. 2019). Sources report that, after an update of the NRC in Assam state, the finalized NRC released in August 2019 excluded 1.9 million Assam residents (US Feb. 2020, 2; HRW Apr. 2020, 9; FP 26 Sept. 2019). According to HRW, the NRC process was not sufficiently standardized, which resulted in "arbitrary and discriminatory decisions by officials" (HRW Apr. 2020, 9). According to sources, the CAA will allow those excluded in the Assam NRC and belonging to one of the religious communities listed in the CAA to maintain their Indian citizenship (US Feb. 2020, 3; HRW Apr. 2020, 25). Muslims who have failed to provide valid document will be labeled "'illegal migrant[s]'" (US Feb. 2020, 2; HRW Apr. 2020, 25) and at risk of statelessness and arbitrary detention (HRW Apr. 2020, 25).
3.2 Treatment by Police Forces
3.2.1 Regarding the Cow Protection Movement
The HRW report on cow-related violence indicates that in "most" of the cases analyzed by the organization, police authorities "delayed filing First Information Reports (FIRs) … or failed to follow other procedures" (HRW Feb. 2019, 27). The same source reports the words of a former police commissioner from the Maharashtra state:
"The general atmosphere in the country is that it is our holy duty to save the cow. And some police officers, with their hidden bias, understand the feelings of these vigilantes and may find ways out for them not to be convicted in the courts. We are only hearing cases of murders. But there may be rampant extortion, bullying, and corruption in the name of the cow by both police and vigilantes." (HRW Feb. 2019, 27)
The Washington Post details in a 2018 article the story of a Muslim cattle trader in Uttar Pradesh who, on his drive to a meat-processing plant, has to pay bribes to the police in order to proceed with his travel and who "alleged that officers attempting to negotiate a bribe recently beat him with a baton and forced him to squat like a chicken, with arms woven through his legs and gripping his ears" (The Washington Post 16 July 2018).
3.2.2 During and After the Delhi Riots
Sources report that during the Delhi incidents in February 2020, Delhi police forces, under the control of the Home minister and BJP member Amit Shah, did not intervene to stop the rioters and participated in the violence (The Diplomat 27 Feb. 2020; The Guardian 16 Mar. 2020; The New York Times 12 Mar. 2020). According to the same sources, a video filmed during the events shows police officers beating a group of Muslim men and making them sing the national anthem as they laid in the street (The Diplomat 27 Feb. 2020; The Guardian 16 Mar. 2020; The New York Times 12 Mar. 2020). Other sources indicate that police did not respond to calls for help from citizens in Muslims neighborhood during the events (The Washington Post 27 Feb. 2020; National Herald 1 Mar. 2020; The Guardian 16 Mar. 2020). According to the Guardian, the police forces may have purposefully ignored calls from Muslims residents (The Guardian 16 Mar. 2020). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
On 16 May 2020, two members of the People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR), a Delhi-based civil rights organization, published an opinion piece in the Hindu, accusing the police of "communal bias" referring to "illegal detentions of Muslims and refusal to lodge 'missing person' complaints by Muslims" (Kumar and Chitkara 16 May 2020). The same source further adds that most Muslim anti-CAA protest organizers are targeted by the police for allegedly conspiring to provoke the Delhi riots (Kumar and Chitkara 16 May 2020). According to the Guardian, the Delhi police has arrested two Muslim student activists under false charges, using the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), for their alleged role in the Delhi riots (The Guardian 22 Apr. 2020). The same source adds that "[t]he riots are widely acknowledged to have been sparked by incendiary comments made by Kapil Mishra"; however, the police has focused its investigation "on the Muslim and student activist community, particularly those who had been previously known to the police for involvement in mass student protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in December" (The Guardian 22 Apr. 2020). According to Amnesty International India,
[g]overnments in India have routinely used repressive laws such as UAPA and sedition, to bypass human rights and stifle dissent. In 2018, the conviction rate under UAPA was 27% while 93% of the cases remained pending in the court. Similarly, since 2016, only 7 sedition cases saw conviction. These laws are mere tools of harassment that the government uses to harass, intimidate and imprison those who are critical of the government. The slow investigative processes and extremely stringent bail provisions under these laws ensure that they are locked up for years altogether. (Amnesty International India 1 May 2020)
3.2.3 Treatment of Muslims in Hyderabad
Sources report that on 6 January 2020, the Hyderabad police conducted a "cordon and search operation" in Shakkar Gunj [a Hyderabad locality] (The News Minute 7 Jan. 2020; Firstpost 28 Apr. 2020). A cordon and search operation is a "military tactic" that the Hyderabad police has used since 2015, and in which a locality is closed down and the police conducts a house-to-house search, asking residents to present their identity documents and their vehicle registration documents (Firstpost 28 Apr. 2020; The News Minute 7 Jan. 2020). According to the secretary general of the Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee, a human rights organization based in Hyderabad, quoted in Firstpost, an Indian news source, cordon and search operations target poor and Muslim areas (Firstpost 28 Apr. 2020). According to Firstpost, police forces present such operations as aimed to "keep tabs on suspicious persons, illegal activities, rowdy-sheeters, property offenders and those involved in other offences" and is based on the Code of Criminal Procedure (Firstpost 28 Apr. 2020). However, a senior advocate at the Telangana High Court interviewed by First Post, states that, according to his knowledge, there are no provisions regarding cordon and search operations in the Code of Criminal Procedure (Firstpost 28 Apr. 2020).
3.3 Treatment by Society in Hyderabad
Information on the treatment of Muslims by society in Hyderabad could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
4. Ability to Relocate
Article 19 of the Indian Constitution provides the following:
19. Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech, etc.— (1) All citizens shall have the right—
(d) to move freely throughout the territory of India;
(e) to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India … (India 1949)
The Australian DFAT indicates that this right is subjected to "reasonable restrictions in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India and the security of the state" (Australia 17 Oct. 2018, para. 5.14). The same source adds that the government and the courts have the responsibility to interpret the meaning of "'reasonable restrictions'" and that "[i]t enables laws and regulations that can restrict movement (for example, where there is unrest or in some border areas) and residence (non-residents [were not able] to buy land in [the now abolished] Jammu and Kashmir or in Uttarakhand)" (Australia 17 Oct. 2018, para. 5.14).
Sources report that India has approximately 40 (PTI 23 Apr. 2020) to 45 million internal migrants (The Indian Express 29 Apr. 2020). An article by Krishnavatar Sharma, the co-founder and director of the Aajeevika Bureau, a "public service initiative to provide services and support to millions of vulnerable migrant workers" based in Udaipur (World Economic Forum n.d.), published by the World Economic Forum, notes that
Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are the biggest source states, followed closely by Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and West Bengal; the major destination states are Delhi, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. (Sharma 1 Oct. 2017)
According to the Australian DFAT, internal migration possibilities may be limited by "language barriers, a lack of documentation, lack of familial or community networks, lack of financial resources and employment opportunities, and discrimination based on ethnicity, religion, caste or gender" (Australia 17 Oct. 2018, para. 5.16). The source further adds that migrants' access to public services, social security and banking facilities can be limited by a lack of identity documents and proof of local residence (Australia 17 Oct. 2018, para. 5.18). Similarly, IndiaSpend, a data-driven journalism nonprofit organization that provides analysis of the Indian economy, education, and healthcare "with the broader objective of fostering better governance, transparency and accountability in the Indian government" (IndiaSpend n.d.), reports that internal migrants can lose their entitlements to state benefits when they relocate to another state, as "the benefits of central government schemes are often relayed to citizens through state or local governments … which can make them available only to their permanent residents or domiciles" (IndiaSpend 28 Aug. 2019). The same source notes that Indian states have reservations for their residents in "areas such as public sector employment, tertiary education and social welfare schemes such as the public distribution system for food grains" (IndiaSpend 28 Aug. 2019).
According to data from a survey on the labor force in India for 2017-2018 by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), unemployment rates, by percentage, for men and women belonging to major religious groups were the following:
(India May 2019, vii, 98)
In an academic paper published in 2017 in the Journal of Social Inclusion Studies, authors Naik, Khan and Verma, based on data from a 2011-2012 national survey on employment and on interviews with migrant workers in Delhi, note the low presence of Muslims in the governmental workforce as well as in the organized private sector, and further add that it forces them "to work in the unorganized private sector and [in] petty self-employment" (Naik, et al. June 2017, 47, 49). The same source further notes that Muslims tend to occupy work positions lacking social security and fixed sources of income and that "[t]hey are highly concentrated in the industrial sector and low quality employment such as craft and related works, plants and machine operators" as both sectors represent together "nearly 40 percent of total employment among Muslims while the corresponding share among Hindus is around 25 per cent only" (Naik, et al. June 2017, 58). Similarly, a summary of an article published in July 2018 by the Indian journal Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) on occupational choices of Muslims, an ex-millworker in Mumbai notes that 45 percent of Muslim ex-millworkers become self-employed after the closure of textile mills, in comparison to 31 percent of non-Muslim ex-millworkers (EPW Engage ). The source further adds that there are 18 percent of Muslims in wage labour and 26 percent of Muslims who are self-employed work in the industry, repair and processing occupational group that is "seen to have a low social status and low earnings," as compared to a 12 percent average amongst ex-millworkers in wage labour and an average of 9 percent for self-employed ex-millworkers (EPW Engage ).
According to an academic paper by Sujit Kumar Mishra published in the Social Change journal presenting selected data from a study on residents of Hyderabad's "slums," 98.9 percent of Muslims respondents were employed in the informal sector, while 87.2 percent of the Hindu respondents worked in the informal sector (Mishra 1 Mar. 2018, 46). The Times of India also reports that 63 percent of Muslims in Hyderabad live with an income below the poverty line, based on a survey conducted by an NGO, the Helping Hand Foundation (HHF), and "survive mostly on government doles, meagre daily earnings and charity" (The Times of India 22 Apr. 2020). The same source adds that 2.93 million of Muslims in Hyderabad are "daily wagers," 120,000 belong to the "elite class" with an annual income of 10 million rupees [C$177,918] and above, 170,000 belong to the upper middle class, 1.16 million belong to lower middle class and 3.63 million are below the poverty line (The Times of India 22 Apr. 2020).
Information on employment support services for Muslims could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
According to sources, Muslims encounter discrimination when searching for housing (Reuters 23 Jan. 2017; ThePrint 13 Mar. 2020). According to News18, an English language news channel partnership between TV18, an Indian television network, and CNN (News18 n.d.), "[f]inding accommodation has been becoming difficult for young Muslim men and women in metropolitan cities" and it reports cases of Muslims who faced discrimination from landlords in Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai (News18 13 Nov. 2018). The Indian Express, an English-language newspaper, reports that a residential society in the Vadia village (Gujarat state) asked its members to "'refrain from selling properties to the Muslim and Vankar (Dalit) communities'" (The Indian Express 31 Aug. 2019).
In their paper on Muslim residents of Hyderabad "slums," Mishra indicates that approximately 44 percent of Muslims in those neighborhoods lived in "pucca (permanent) houses," while 43.1 percent lived in "kaccha (temporary) houses made of tin/asbestos sheets" and 12.6 percent lived in "semi-pucca" (Mishra 1 Mar. 2018, 42- 43). In comparison, 58.4 percent of Hindu lived in "pucca houses," 15.2 percent in "semi-pucca" houses and 26.4 percent in "kaccha" houses (Mishra 1 Mar. 2018, 43). Access to water was similar between Muslims and Hindus, and access to closed drainage sanatory was "slightly better for Muslims than Hindus" (Mishra 1 Mar. 2018, 44-45).
A study on participation in higher education for 2016-2017 by the Ministry of Human Resource Development of India notes that 4.9 percent of higher education students are Muslims (India 2017, 17). According to data from a national family health survey for 2015-2016 in India by the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) in Mumbai and ICF, the organization responsible for the international Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the levels of schooling according to religion for respondents aged between 15 and 49, in percentages, are the following:
(IIPS and ICF Dec. 2017, 1, 61-62)
According to ThePrint, an Indian news website, 23.7 million Muslims students have received a scholarship during the first term of Prime Minister Modi's government (ThePrint 21 Oct. 2019). The same source explains that the Ministry of Minority Affairs grants scholarship at three levels:
- Pre-matric level, which includes children attending Classes 1 to 10 "who have secured at least 50 per cent in the previous final examination." Parents' income must be less than rupees 100,000 annually [C$1,778];
- Post-matric level includes students attending Classes 11 and 12 and those "pursuing equivalent vocational courses affiliated with the National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT)." The family income must not exceed rupees 200,000 per year;
- Merit-cum-means scheme "covers students pursuing technical and professional courses at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels." Parents' annual income must not exceed rupees 250,000 (ThePrint 21 Oct. 2019).
According to sources, a [private (NDTV 19 Apr. 2020)] hospital, specialized in cancer treatments and located in Uttar Pradesh, posted an advertisement denying treatment to Muslims unable to provide a negative COVID-19 test (The Wire 19 Apr. 2020; NDTV 19 Apr. 2020; The Times of India 20 Apr. 2020). Sources indicate that a case was registered by the police against the hospital [owner (NDTV 19 Apr. 2020)] (NDTV 19 Apr. 2020; The Times of India 20 Apr. 2020). Further information, including information on the outcome of the case, could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
The Associated Press (AP) indicates that Muslims in India have "less access to health care than other groups" (AP 25 Apr. 2020). Further and corroborating information on access to healthcare, including information on access to healthcare in Hyderabad and on governmental support for access to healthcare, could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
 The Center for Study of Society and Secularism (CSSS) is a civil society organization based in Mumbai (CSSS n.d.). The CSSS promotes public awareness about secularism through research, publications, and training (Oxfam India n.d.).
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