NHRC, India F. iv. She alleged discrimination because her son had been denied access to a public land allotted by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to Dadar Parsi Colony Gymkhana, for public purposes and for improvement of the city of Bombay. Sheadded that three other iconic Gymkhanas in Mumbai on New Marine Lines, namely, Hindu Gymkhana, Parsi Gymkhana and Islam Gymkhana, had resolved these issues and do not discriminate. v. Her son (a minor) raised as a Parsi-Zoroastrian, is being discriminated against on the basis of religion and race. She further alleged that her son is being ex-communicated on the basis of race, which is a violation of Articles 14,15,19,21 and 25 of the Constitution of India. vi. She further alleged that she hadbeen discriminated against since her marriage to a non-Parsi Hindu. A year after her marriage, when her aged and disabled parents wanted to buy a flat in the Dadar Parsi Colony, the building housing Society objected because she had married a non-Parsi and would inherit the flat, in course of time, being the only child of her parents. She also alleged that ultra-orthodox members of the Parsi Community hadbeen hosting disparaging remarks and insults publicly on social media. A male Parsi who marries a nonParsi female, and their children are treated as Parsis, but not a female Parsi who marries a non-Parsi male and their children. This victimization is a clear case of discrimination and violation of fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution of India. vii. The Commission took cognizance ofthe matter 08/02/2022 andissued notice to the Chief Secretary to the Government of Maharashtra and the Commissioner of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) calling for an action taken report to the Commission, within prescribed time frame. viii. The matter is under consideration by the Commission. Rights of refugees and asylum seekers 7.62 Refugees are persons outside their respective countries of origin, who need international protection because of a severe threat to their life, physical integrity or freedom in their country of origin because of persecution, armed conflict, violence or serious public disorder. Asylum Seekers are those who have applied for asylum or refugee status and have not received a decision from the concerned authorities of the country of asylum. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), 1948, affirms: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” 7.63 Refugees and asylum-seekers are thus entitled to two partially overlapping sets of rights: those which States are obliged to respect, protect and fulfil under international human rights law, and the specific rights of refugees. 7.64 India has, however, neither signed the 1951 UN Convention nor the 1967 Protocol. Still, India has signed numerous human rights instruments of the UN and other World Conventions on Human Rights issues and related matters that articulate a commitment to protecting refugees and asylum seekers. These international regimes and the Constitution's guidelines make it necessary for India to adopt a refugee policy that is non-discriminatory and includes all who have faced persecution, ANNUAL REPORT 95 2021-22