They are homeless at ‘home’. Yet, they cannot cross borders and seek ‘outside’ help: rather they are forced to remain as the ‘other’ within the boundaries of their ‘own’ national states. The number of such homeless/displaced people, which, for more than two decades, are known as ‘Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDPs) – constitutes twice the number of refugees since 1990s. IDPs and refugees are very closely related since basically both are displaced persons. Like refugees, the IDPs “breaks up the immediate family . . . cuts off important social and community ties; terminates stable employment relationships; precludes or forecloses formal educational opportunities; deprives infants, expectant mothers, and the sick of access to food, adequate shelter, or vital health services; and makes the displaced population especially vulnerable to acts of violence, such as attacks on camps, disappearances, or rape.
URL : http://www.southasianrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/IDP-Report-India.pdf