"India lacks a coherent legal framework for the protection of refugees, treating them simply as non-citizens who may be a potential threat to society. As a result of this treatment, which is also reflected in societal attitudes, many of India?s refugees suffer severe hardship. The South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre ( SAHRDC) recently interviewed seven representative Burmese refugees about their experiences as refugees in Delhi. Each of the seven refugees detailed a grim life of poverty and insecurity, often accompanied by physical danger. Their stories underscore the urgent need for India to adopt national legislation that grants refugees rights and protects them from exploitation and abuse inherent in the vulnerable situation in which refugees find themselves...Conclusion: Coherent national legislation granting refugees rights and protections in India could go a long way toward alleviating the climate of fear and insecurity in which Burmese refugees live in India. It could start to shift governmental and societal attitudes towards refugees. Instead of the current legal framework that sees foreign threats everywhere; new legislation could send the right message that refugees are not threats but rather persons unfairly persecuted by their country of origin who deserve India?s protection..."