India: Resentment towards Rohingya refugees from Burma

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) accuses India’s Hindu nationalist government of systematically defaming and criminalizing Muslim Rohingya refugees from Burma, aiming to drive the 40,000 victims of violence out of the country. “India’s Rohingya policy is inhumane and racist – and it is to be seen as a violation of international human rights conventions,” criticized Ulrich Delius, the STP’s director, in Göttingen on Thursday. The Rohingya are on the run from crimes against humanity. The Indian government, however, refuses to grant them refugee status, calling them illegal immigrants and potential terrorists. Many of the Rohingya refugees in India are women and children.

“It is unbearable that the leading Hindu nationalist politician Raja Singh, who is a member of the ruling party BJP, can say that India would only be safe if illegal immigrants were to be shot at the border,” Delius criticized. “Further, there are attempts to fuel resentment against people of different faiths by spreading fake news.” For example, the Industry Minister Giriraj Singh (BJP) accused the opposition party of plans to provide settlements for the Muslim Rohingya in India. In a parliamentary debate on Tuesday, the Congress party had criticized the government’s attitude towards the Rohingya issue.

The government insists that the refugees should be deported to Bangladesh as quickly as possible. Earlier this week, the Ministry of the Interior had come up with an initiative to collect biometric data of all the refugees. Now, the Supreme Court of the country has to decide on various objections against the deportations. The government had told the court that the Rohingya are to be seen as “a threat to the country’s security”.

“Anyone who tries to deliberately exclude or defame an entire ethnic group acts irresponsibly. This will stir up hatred and ethnic tensions. In view of India’s difficult relations with its predominantly Muslim neighbor Pakistan, it is extremely dangerous to declare the traumatized Rohingya refugees as terrorists,” Delius warned. Further, he criticized that India is not prepared to set an example for the south Asian states by demanding fundamental human rights for the Rohingya in neighboring Burma. Instead, India is still a major arms supplier to Burma’s army and an ally of the Burmese armed forces who are responsible for the crimes. India had ignored the mass exodus of the Muslim minority from Burma for months.

Headerpicture: UN Women/Allison Joyce via Flickr