Asylum means shelter and active protection extended to a Political refugee from another state which admits him on his request. It means giving protection to an alien who is accused of committing offences of political nature .Asylum is the protection given to a person seeking it in a territory of another state. States have been granting protection to individuals and groups fleeing persecution for centuries, however the modern refugee regime is largely the product of the second half of the twentieth century. Like international human rights law, modern refugee law has its origins in the aftermath of World War II as well as the refugees’ crisis of the interwar years that preceded it. Article 14(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted in the 1948, guarantees the right to seek and enjoy asylum in other countries.
According to Article 14 of the Universal declaration of Human Rights: “Every one has the right to seek and enjoy in other countries asylum from prosecution.”
The right to asylum is nothing but the competence of every state to allow a prosecuted alien to enter and to remain on, its territory under its protection. Such fugitive alien stays under the hospitality of such state but is always under surveillance. Asylum may be classified into two types: territorial and extra- Territorial. Territorial asylum is guaranteed by a state in its own territory and is considered as an attribute of the territorial sovereignty of the state. However territorial asylum is not usually granted to ordinary criminals. It is designed and employed primarily for the protection of persons accused of political offence such as treason, desertion, sedition, religious refugees. The grant of asylum is a humanitarian act and it cannot be regarded as unfriendly by another state. On the other hand extra territorial asylum is granted by a state not only on its physical territory, but on its notional territory, like in a legation and consular premises and on warship. The 1951, U.N. convention is the instrument for the protection of refugees. According to article 2 of the convention refugees should respect the laws and regulations of their host country and refrain from activities which are inconsistent with their refugees’ status. A very famous and a well known case is that of Dalai Lama and his Tibetan Followers. The repressive policies of China compelled Dalai Lama and hid his followers to leave Tibet. Later they sought political refugee in India. China however made a big issue over it and alleged that India was interfering in the internal affairs of China. But according to the principles of territorial asylum, India as a sovereign state was within her right to grant asylum to Dalai Lama and his followers. A state has the liberty to do whatsoever except if it is against the law.
To conclude asylum is a humanitarian act of a state to grant protection to people who asks for and to see that their basic right is protected and are sheltered from any harm or threat.
