The Rohingya Muslims, who fled Myanmar due to persecution by the Mynamar army have fled to Bangladesh, India and other south Asian countries. In India, they have settled in Jammu, Hyderabad, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi-NCR and Rajasthan. The Myanmar govt does not recognize Rohingya’s as citizens and accuses them of seeking to create a Muslim state and also spreading terror.
In the south of India it is not surprising that Hyderabad is a natural place of asylum for the Rohingya’s, the city with its large Muslim population and culture is seen as a safe habitat. While official records talk about 14,000 Rohingya’s across India, unofficially the number is close to 40,000. Hyderabad is said to have at least 5000 of them. The city is also home to many Bangladeshi illegal migrants as well.
In the city of Hyderabad, the Rohingya’s are settled around Balapur. A few of them have refugee status and most are illegal migrants. They largely receive lot of support from NGOs and local residents. These NGOs register the details of the refugees and also coordinate with the police, UN agencies and provide them with help to settle. Some of them live in rent free tents and others in rented tents. The current
Politics –
AIMIM practices aggressive Muslim politics and has complete control over the old part of the city and its residents. With a pliant TRS as its ally there is no one to keep a check on the happenings in the old city. Despite past instances of tracking terror networks to the city there is fierce resistance to any mention of terror links to old city. MIM has an interest in ensuring that the Rohingya’s are taken care. Rohingya’s are their future vote banks. Owaisi said in 2017- “"As far as my party is concerned, we are of the firm opinion that the Rohingya issue should not be looked as a Muslim issue. It is a humanitarian issue,". He means Rohingya’s are Muslims don’t touch them.
Apart from the MIM rest like the Cong, TRS, TDP, MBT and others oppose deportation of the Rohingya’s on humanitarian grounds. Clearly their mind is on the Muslim vote.
What do Rohingya’s do –
Most of these illegal immigrants work as labour, construction, scrap collection, domestic maids etc. They live on meagre wages and some local support. They are exploited since they are illegal and paid half the wages Their children are sent to local schools. Their living conditions are miserable.
Security threat -
It is well known that Rohingya’s are actively trying to acquire PAN card, Aadhar card etc by illegal means. Some of them have been caught doing so. There is sufficient help from some of the NGOs in this illegal activity.
That they can be a potential security threat is well recorded. Rohingya Solidarity Organisation, the Harkat-al Yaqin, the Arakan Rohingya and Salvation Army (ARSA) are some of the organizations created to establish an independent Muslim state. There are also reports that Pak based terrorist organizations and Middle east based Muslim organizations are providing material help to the above.
There is little doubt that Rohingya youth are easy prey to fundamentalist groups and pose a grave threat to India’s security. Hyderabad has been in the news for wrong reasons in the past with respect to some terror incidents. The current government rejects them as allegations but there is no doubt they are going soft on suspects and illegals due to political compulsions.
There is also no doubt that many of the illegal immigrants would have moved out of the shanties and are trying to integrate into the larger society and will eventually claim to be citizens. Here is where the proposed NRC may prove useful. NRC will raise the political heat but is needed given the spread of the Bangladeshi and Rohingya’s into the country.
Legal position –
India has also not been a signatory of the 1951 UN Convention or the 1967 Protocol - both relating to the Status of Refugees and included in the UNHCR statute.
The government has told the SC that Rohingya’s are a security threat and wanted them to be deported. It has in its affidavit to the court said that some Rohingya’s with militant background are active in Delhi, Hyderabad, Jammu, Mewat.
UNHCR, Amnesty International and others are putting pressure on India to not deport the Rohingya’s as they are persecuted and are seeking a humanitarian approach. To its credit the government did not bow to international pressure and maintains a stance that it is going to deport all of them. Government has taken steps to collect biometrics of Rohingya’s so that they can be sent back to Myanmar.
India is facing multiple threats from various sources (Pakistan, NE and Left wing) and cannot afford to face one more front in this war against terror. Hence it is crucial that the Rohingya’s in India are counted, documented, tracked and at the right time deported to their country. India has till now deported all of 7 Rohingya’s with great difficulty and faced International condemnation for doing so. A lot needs to be done and quickly before the government can even track the Rohingyas.
