Purpose This study aims to explore the social exclusion and the everyday practices of boundary-making and identity negotiation of the repatriated Tibetan Muslim community residing in Jammu and Kashmir since 1960. This study highlights the effect of the State Subject law of Jammu and Kashmir, which, in effect, denied the community rights-based citizenship, creating juridical liminality for Tibetan Muslims. This liminal legal status became a major factor in their social exclusion and gave rise to new social, political and economic structures with which they had to negotiate on a daily basis. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a qualitative research design to achieve its objectives. Through purposive and snowball sampling techniques, twenty two (22) participants were recruited. Access was facilitated through two key informants. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, which allowed for a greater depth of exploration of the participants’ stories. Findings This study demonstrates how juridical liminality, complex geopolitical location and questions of identity contributed to social exclusion of Tibetan Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir. Research limitations/implications This study extends the concept of juridical liminality by demonstrating how prolonged legal ambiguity produces various forms of social exclusion. It contributes to citizenship and diasporic studies by foregrounding lived, negotiated belonging beyond formal legal status. Additionally, it brings attention to the under researched Tibetan Muslim community in Jammu and Kashmir, enriching scholarship on exile and minority identities. The findings also call for policy and comparative research on marginalised communities in complex geopolitical contexts and borderland regions. Practical implications This study emphasises the need for inclusive citizenship and legal reforms to prevent social exclusion and prolonged juridical liminality, and to ensure equal access to education, employment and political participation for Tibetan Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir. Social implications This study highlights how prolonged legal ambiguity shapes everyday experiences of stigma, marginalisation and identity negotiation within society. Originality/value By contextualising the Tibetan experience of exile within the broader discussions, this paper, through interviews, policy analysis and ethnographic research, highlights how exclusion is both institutionally created and socially experienced.
Khan et al. (Fri,) studied this question.