The expression “out of the frying pan into the fire” accurately articulates the present situation of Rohingya Muslims taking refuge in India.
The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic minority group who have lived for centuries in a predominantly Buddhist Myanmar – formerly known as Burma. Despite living in Myanmar for generations, the Rohingya are not recognized as an official ethnic group and have been denied citizenship since 1982, making them the world’s largest stateless population.
As a stateless population, Rohingya families are denied basic rights and protection and are extremely vulnerable to exploitation, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and abuse. The Rohingya have suffered decades of violence, discrimination and persecution in Myanmar. Their largest exodus began in August 2017 after a massive wave of violence broke out in Myanmar. Entire villages were burned to the ground, thousands of families were killed or separated and massive human rights violations were reported. In the wake of this, hundreds and thousands of people left Myanmar and took shelter in different countries around the world.
Some 22,500 Rohingya Muslims, who are registered with UNHCR, fled to the world’s largest democracy in the hope of living a dignified and protected life. However, their situation in India is nothing different from what they faced back home. India under the influence of Hindutva ideology is increasingly becoming an extremist state. Though there exists no record of Rohingya Muslims being involved in anti-state and terror activities, the Hindutva proponents have actively demanded the expulsion of Rohingya Muslims calling them “terrorists”. Amit Shah, the head of Modi’s party, referred to Rohingya as “infiltrators” and “termites” and threatened to throw them into the Bay of Bengal.
India’s constitution which promises “the right to life and personal liberty, along with the right to equality before law” to even the non-citizens residing within the Indian territory has been unable to protect the refugees. The Rohingyas are detained by police without any charges. In custody, the older children are forcefully separated from their parents which is a violation of India’s model detention code that states “families should not be separated.”
Furthermore, most Rohingya refugees are detained even after they have served their sentences. Children living in these detention centres have been robbed of their basic right to education and even a place to play. Older people with age-related mobility issues are left at the mercy of fellow detainees for food and toilet access. Such callous disregard for human dignity is inexcusable for a nation that claims to uphold democratic values. This sort of treatment heaps fresh trauma on individuals especially the children who have already had a narrow escape from death in genocide going on in their own country.
The Indian government’s blatant religious discrimination is exposed in its Jekyll-and-Hyde treatment of refugees. While the Sri Lankan Tamil refugees were open-heartedly welcomed in India with the government of India and the local Tamil Nadu government directly assisting them through different government programs, violence and hostility are all the Rohingya Muslim refugees encountered.
The Indian government, in its bigotry, has stooped so low that instead of treating the world’s largest persecuted minority with compassion and empathy, is further inflicting misery on them. Not content with detaining them and depriving them of their basic rights, the Modi administration has cancelled the license of NGOs working to aid the oppressed refugees.
The international media and champions of human rights that raised hue and cry over Pakistan’s decision to “repatriate” Afghan refugees, after generously hosting them for more than 40 years, remain silent on this issue. Rather than subjecting the Rohingya Muslims to inhumane treatment, the government of India should negotiate the matter with the UNHCR and get the refugees settled in some other country where they can live a dignified life.
The writer is a freelance columnist.