Document #1298167
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
Information on these subjects, other than
that provided below, could not be found among the sources consulted
by the DIRB.
According to sources, approximately 80 per
cent of India's population is Hindu, 14.4 per cent Muslim
(Europa 1994, OAA Feb. 1995, 2, RIAS June 1994, 11) 2.4 per
cent Christian, 2 per cent Sikh, 0.7 per cent Buddhist, 0.5 per
cent Jain and 0.4 per cent others (ibid. June 1994, 11; OAA Feb.
1995, 2).
It is stated in India: Comments on
Country Conditions and Asylum Claims, which is published by the
United States' Office of Asylum Affairs (OAA), that to "escape
violence in Punjab, many residents, both Sikhs and Hindus, have
established residences in other parts of India where they are able
to pursue their lives without interference by the police or by Sikh
terrorist organizations" (Feb. 1995, 6). Page 14 of this attachment
provides the OAA assessment of Hindu and Muslim asylum claims in
the Unites States.
Response to Information Request IND16887.E
of 17 March 1994, available at Regional Documentation Centres,
provides information on the treatment of Punjabi-speaking non-Sikhs
outside the Punjab.
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of
additional sources consulted in researching this Information
Request.
The Europa World Year Book 1994.
1994. 34th ed. Vol. 1. London: Europa Publications.
Office of Asylum Affairs (OAA), Bureau
of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, United States. February 1995.
India: Comments on Country Conditions and Asylum Claims.
Washington, DC: United States Department of State.
Refugees, Immigrants and Asylum Section
(RIAS), Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia. June
1994. Country Profile: India. Parkes, ACT: Department of
Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Office of Asylum Affairs (OAA), Bureau
of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, United States. February 1995.
India: Comments on Country Conditions and Asylum Claims.
Washington, DC: United States Department of State, pp. 6, 14.
Amnesty International Reports.
Yearly. 1993, 1994.
Asian Survey [Berkeley, Calif.].
Monthly. 1993 to present.
Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices. Yearly. 1993, 1994.
Critique: Review of the Department of
State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Yearly.
1992, 1993.
Documentation, Information and Research
Branch (DIRB), Immigration and Refugee Board [Ottawa]. March 1995.
India: Chronology of Events: February 1991-November
1994.
_____. September 1994. Contextual
Information Package: India.
DIRB Indexed Media Review
[Ottawa]. Weekly. February to June 1992; July 1994 to present.
DIRB "India" country file. January 1995
to present.
Encylopedia of the Third World.
1992.
The Europa World Year Book.
Yearly. 1993.
Foreign Broadcast Information Service
(FBIS) Daily Reports. January 1995 to present.
Human Rights in Developing Countries
Yearbook. Yearly. 1993, 1994.
Human Rights Watch World Report.
Yearly. 1993, 1994, 1995.
Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB),
Refugee Division. 24 August 1994. "Update on the Punjab and Human
Rights in India." (transcript of Professional Development Session
held in Vancouver, BC on 24 August 1994 and given by Professor Paul
Brass, department of political science, University of Washington at
Seattle, and Farhad Karim, Asia Watch).
India Today [Delhi]. Weekly.
September 1994 to present.
Keesing's Record of World Events
[Cambridge]. Monthly. 1992 to present.
News from Asia Watch. 1992 to
present.
Office of Asylum Affairs (OAA), Bureau
of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. December 1994. India:
Comments on Country Conditions and Asylum Claims.
Political Handbook of the World.
Yearly. 1992, 1994-1995.
World Directory of Minorities.
1991.
On-line of media sources.
Oral sources.
Note on oral sources:
Oral sources are usually contacted when
documentary sources have been exhausted. However, oral sources must
agree to be quoted in a publicly available Response to Information
Request. If they refuse, the Response will read "no information
currently available." Contacting oral sources is also subject to
time constraints; for example, there are periods of the year when
academics are unavailable.