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India’s Response to Rohingya Refugees

Chapter One
Introduction

1. Research Question:
Rohingyas are often known as “the world’s most persecuted ethnic group”. The Myanmar
government systematically driving the entire community out from the country by denying
their right of citizenship and claiming them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. They are
being abused in various different ways, like restriction on freedom of movement, forced
labor, abrupt violence including killing, rape and burning their possessions. Because of their
Muslim status Myanmar government is clearing the Rohingyas out of Rakhine state. This
Rohingya exodus is not a recent issue, these clearing operations took place in 1978, 1991,
1992, 2012, 2015, and 2017.

These Rohingya refugees are seeking shelter in Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand
and India. Because of the geographical proximity of Rakhine state and Bangladesh they are
mostly coming to Bangladesh. That is very alarming considering the limited resources and
area to accommodate the large number of Rohingya refugee. This Rohingya influx can
cripple Bangladesh’s economic system as well as socio cultural security. In this dire situation
India can play an important role to solve the crisis. Because it has great influence over both
Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Many Rohingyas entering India crossing Bangladesh-India borrder seeking shelter. India is
not encouraging Rohingyas to enter or to shelter inside their territory. On the other hand they
are not even addressing the term “Rohingya” during their diplomatic negotiations with
Myanmar. They are trying to push Rohingyas towards Bangladesh and enhancing their
security in Bangladesh border, so that the Rohingyas cannot enter India. On contrast India is
supplying humanitarian aid through “operation Insaniyat”. It seems that they are trying to
contain Rohingyas inside Bangladesh

Moreover, India has history of having a flexible refugee policy although it is not a signatory
to UN convention 1951 related to the status of refugee. India welcomed the refugees without
considering their nationality, political or religious orientation even when that affected their
relation with other countries. According to UNHCR report of 2014, India accommodates
more than 2,00,000 refugees inside their land.1 But in August 2017, Indian government
announced their resolution of banishing all Rohingya refugees from India, which contradicts

1
Desk, Jan-Satyagrah. “Rohingyas Issue: Why should India not be called the refugee capital of the world?”
Jansatyagrah. November 10, 2017. Accessed January 29, 2018. http://jansatyagrah.in/national-integrity/india-is-
so-tolerant-country-that-it-can-be-called-as-the-refugee-capital-of-world/.

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India’s historical stance on any refugee situation. Furthermore, During Prime minister Modi’s
visit in Myanmar in September 2017 he condemned ARSA (Arakan Rohingya Salvation
Army) attack on Myanmar police post but did not uttered a word about the humanitarian
crisis on Rohingyas’.2 All these circumstances leads to the question that,

Why is India currently reluctant to accommodate the Rohingyas?

India is one of the countries with largest refugee population. Previously they were more
flexible with refugees without having any specific refugee policy. But now India is
supporting Myanmar’s policy towards Rohingyas. Moreover, India is trying to drive existing
Rohingya refugees away from their land as they consider Rohingyas as security threat. The
purpose of this study is to find out the reasons behind the acts of India. Whether they are
denying them for security issues or the change of domestic political structure is responsible
behind their act.

2. Literature Review and Rationale of the Study:


In this section some literatures have been surveyed to find out the gap in existing literary
works regarding India’s perspective of Rohingya issue. This study will facilitate to justify the
importance of the study that will be conducted.

The study of Kumari Anupama focuses on Rohingya exodus and the security threat towards
India. She explained India’s silence towards Rohingya issue through India’s Economic and
Security cooperation with Myanmar. She claims if India strongly supports the Rohingya’s
that could lead to unpleasant relation with Myanmar which is not desirable to India. She
supports the idea of deporting Rohingyas from India because they can be related to terrorist
groups and she thinks that India’s liability towards the issue is fulfilled by offering financial
assistance to Rohingya’s in Bangladesh.3 Her study remains very absurd because India is not
allowing Rohingya’s inside their territory in the meantime; they are supporting them inside
Bangladesh without even asking Myanmar to take them back.

In another study about Rohingya’s in India by Suchismita Majumdar, Priyanca Mathur


Velath and others, reflects sympathy and concern towards Rohingya refugees residing in both
Bangladesh and India. Their paper deals with the crisis that forced the Rohingya’s to leave
Myanmar and the current number and living condition of Rohingyas in India and Bangladesh.
Suchimita Majumdar identified some forms of violence that compelled them to flee from
their country they are: forced labor, land confiscation and burning the houses, murder, rape,
2

Chowdhury, Debasish Roy. "Tibetans to Sri Lankans, India welcomed all. Why not Rohingya?" South China
Morning Post. December 02, 2017. Accessed January 29, 2018. http://www.scmp.com/week-
asia/geopolitics/article/2122416/tibetans-sri-lankans-india-welcomed-all-why-not-rohingya.
3

Anupama, Kumari. "A case study of rohingya crisis in Myanmar and India’s concern." International Journal of
Academic Research and Development, September 5, 2017, 477-81. Accessed February 16, 2018.
http://www.academicsjournal.com/download/712/2-5-247-184.pdf.

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arbitrary arrests etc. the study also includes the routs through which Rohingya’s enters inside
India. According to her study Rohingyas enters through the hilly border of South Dinajpur
and Malda and most of their destination is towards Delhi and Jammu. 4 But that study lacks
the concerns of Indian Government relating the issue of Rohingya influx.

The article of Niranjan Sahoo deals with the influx of Rohingya refugees in ‘India’s eastern
neighborhood’ Bangladesh and Myanmar of August 2017. According to the work, the
Rohingya influx is the result of riots between Rakhine Buddhist and Rohingya Muslim
communities. As the state sponsored violence targeting Rohingya community took the form
mass genocide the international community became concerned. In this scenario Indian
government is condemning the Rohingya refugees to leave their country and they are trying
to avoid their liabilities by providing some aid through “Operation Insaniyat”. He believes
that India should play more active role in this issue 5 but did not explain any reasoning behind
India’s anti-Rohingya actions.

The Study of Claudia Astarita reveals India’s security aspects that can be affected by
Rohingya refugee influx in India. She believes that Rohingya insurgents known as “The
Rohingya Solidarity organization” is trying to strengthen their relation with insurgent groups
of Bangladesh and Pakistan to form strong terror network. If they succeed that will be a
major security concern not only for India but also for entire South Asia. 6 Although the study
greatly emphasizes on security of India, it lacks basic insight over Rohingya scenario.
Moreover, her article is about suggesting India to maintain security on refugee situation not
explaining reason behind India’s action.

According to Saurabh Bhattacharjee, India is accommodating a large number of Refugees.


But it does not have any well formulated refugee law. It treats the refugee situation inside
their territory bilaterally. In India the refugees are considered as foreigners. So they fail to
recognize the special circumstances because of which they are forced to leave their
homeland. The absence of specified refugee law has left the refugees at the mercy of Indian
government. So he suggests that India should take immediate stapes to adopt a well defined
refugee law. So that it can ensure the legal safety of refugees inside India. 7 While the article
emphasizes on importance of refugee law, it does not address the current shift in Indian
refugee policy towards Rohingyas.

The study of Shuvro Sarker also deals with India’s Refugee policies and practices that
include Indian Court’s judgment on Refugee related cases. It presents efforts of various
organizations to address the rights and protection of refugees in India. It surveys existing

4
Majumder, Suchismita. "Rohingyas Languishing behind the Bar." Rohingyas in India: Birth of a Stateless
Community. 2015. Accessed February 20, 2018. http://www.mcrg.ac.in/Rohingyas/Rohingyas_Concept.asp.
5
Sahoo, Niranjan. "India's Rohingya Realpolitik." Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. October 31,
2017. Accessed February 20, 2018. http://carnegieendowment.org/2017/10/31/india-s-rohingya-realpolitik-pub-
74590.
6
Astarita, Claudia. "India and the Indian Ocean." Osservatorio Strategico 2017, no. I (2017).

7
Bhattacharjee, Saurabh. "India Needs a Refugee Law." Economic and Political Weekly 43, no. 09 (March 25,
2008). Accessed March 24, 2018. http://www.epw.in/journal/2008/09/notes/india-needs-refugee-law.html.

3
discriminative protection standards for Refugees from different countries, and explains the
needs to pursue a fixed refugee policy towards all refugees as a democratic country. It also
compares India’s refugee legislations with other countries like, Brazil, Canada, and South
Africa.8 This also projects the same literature gap as Saurabh Bhattacharjee. It is completely
occupied with lack of refugee protection and importance of defined refugee policy. But it
does not focus on Indian Government’s actions towards Rohingyas.

The existing literature about India and Rohingya crisis are either statements about what India
is doing in response to the crisis, what is happening on Rohingya camps; or suggestions about
how India should react. But none of them is trying to explain why they are doing these. This
study will explain the reasons behind India’s action. India’s support towards Myanmar can be
explained by their security cooperation and their great economic interest on Myanmar. But
can they explain the anti-Rohingya policies which are preached by BJP government or there
is some political agenda behind their action that will be revealed through the study. By doing
so, the study will bring forth the change in India’s refugee policy. Thus it will include new
perspective in the academia.

3. Methodology:
The study followed qualitative research method while it will explain the India’s actions in
response to the Rohingya situation. The research relies on both primary and secondery
sources of data.

Primary sources:

The primary sources of information are collected from various sources available in public
sphere both in printed and digital format. That includes newspaper articles or news
broadcasted through international channels. News clippings are collected from newspapers
like “The Diplomat”, “The Hindu”, The Daily Star” “The National Interest” and reports from
the Al Jazeera, the BBC etc.

Secondary sources:

The study has included the secondary literatures. Some of the secondary materials have been
in the literature review section. The secondary sources may include books, Journal and
Magazine Articles, Working paper, and conference paper etc.

4. Tentative Structure:
8
Sarker, Shuvro Prosun. "International Standards of Refugee Protection." Refugee Law in India, 2017, 109-34.
Accessed March 25, 2018. doi:10.1007/978-981-10-4807-4_5.

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The study is divided into five chapters consisting some sections. The chapters are followed:

Chapter One: Introduction

Chapter Two: Refugees in India: From 1945-2016

Chapter Three: The Rohingya refugees in India: Shift since 2017

Chapter Four: India’s security and political understanding and Rohingyas

Chapter Five: Conclusion

Chapter Two
5
Rohingya Refugees in India: From 1970-2016

The first chapter dealt with the topic of the research, the methods of collecting and analyzing
data. The information gap in existing literature and the paper’s contribution to bridge the gap
in literature. And this chapter deales with the questions, such as, under what circumstanceses
person becomes a refugee; how the Rohingyas became stateless; how India deals with
refugees; how Rohingyas reached India; and what was India’s response to them prior to 2017.

1. Refugee:

A person becomes a refugee when he no longer feels safe inside his county and thus he leaves
his country and seeks shelter in another country. The reasons behind their escape from their
country can be Socio-economic and political insecurity, human rights violation, civil war,
generalized violence, ethnic conflict or any other circumstances that can lead to the fear of
persecution. According to the United Nations 1951 convention regarding refugees

“A refugee is someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing
to a well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality,
membership to a particular social group, or political opinion.”9

This definition has often been criticized for being too short sighted, because it does not
really recognize the basic causes of mass displacement, such as violence or ethnic conflict or
war. These arguments have given rise to more elaborated legal definitions of refugee,
including under the Cartagena Declaration on Refugees which also includes:

“persons who have fled their country because their lives, safety or freedom have been
threatened by generalized violence, foreign aggression, internal conflicts, massive violation
of human rights or other circumstances which have seriously disturbed public order.”

Moreover, the Convention governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in


Africa arranged by the Organization of African Unity’s elaborated the definition to include:

“every person who, owing to external aggression, occupation, foreign domination or events
seriously disturbing public order in either part or the whole of his country of origin or
nationality, is compelled to leave his place of habitual residence in order to seek refuge in
another place outside his country of origin or nationality.”

So, a refugee has a very vulnerable position as he cannot go to his own country for fear of
persecution on the other hand he is an illegal immigrant to the host country. Their vulnerable
position makes them important from the humanitarian and human rights perspective.10

9
United Nations. "The 1951 Refugee Convention." UNHCR. Accessed April 03, 2018.
http://www.unhcr.org/1951-refugee-convention.html.

10
"Who Is a Refugee under Law?" Refugee Council of Australia. April 06, 2018. Accessed April 23, 2018.
https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/getfacts/international/definitions/who-is-a-refugee/.

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2. The Rohingya crisis historical backgroung:
The Rohingya people are inhabitant of Myanmar for centuries. When the citizenship law was
passed in 1982 the community was not recognized by the parliament. From then Myanmar
government systematically driving them away from Myanmar. Rohingyas were being
subjected to violence, forced labour, persecution, rape. They fled from these violences in
many phases from 1970s till 2017. Most of the Rohingyas has taken shelter in Bangladesh.
But many has taken refuge in India.

During the British rule, there was a great amount of migration of laborers to the area which is
known today as Myanmar from today's India and Bangladesh. Because the British
administered Myanmar as a province of India, such migration was considered internal,
according to Human Rights Watch (HRW), as the countries were governed under the British
Administration and the entire geographical area was considered as one country. The
migration of laborers was not viewed positively by the majority of the native people.After
independence, the government considered the migration that took place during British rule as
illegal, and on that basis, they refuse citizenship to the people of Rohingya community.

In 1948, the Union Citizenship Act was passed, that defined which ethnicities could acquire
citizenship, the Rohingyas were not included in the list of ethnic group that were considered
as indigenous citizen of Myanmar. But the act, however, did accept those whose families had
been living in Myanmar for at least two generations to apply for identity cards. Rohingyas
were initially allowed to have such identification or even citizenship under the generational
provision. During this time, many Rohingyas also served in parliament of Myanmar.

After the 1962 military coup in Myanmar, circumstances changed dramatically for the
Rohingyas. All citizens were required to attain national registration cards. The Rohingyas
were not allowed to have the identity cards, they were only given foreign identity cards,
which limited the jobs and educational opportunities they could pursue.

In 1982, a new citizenship law was passed, putting forward the Rohingyas as stateless. Under
this law, Rohingyas were again not recognised as one of the country's 135 ethnic groups. The
law established three levels of citizenship. In order to obtain the most basic level (naturalized
citizenship), they needed to submit the proof that the person's family lived in Myanmar
before 1948, and they had to have fluency in one of the national languages. Many Rohingyas
did not have such paperwork because it was either unavailable or denied to them.11

In 1977-1978 Myanmar launches Operation Dragon King or Naga Min in Rakhine state. That
begins a growing cycle of forced displacement. From that year Rohingyas fled from
Myanmar in many phases, in 1990s, 2011-12, 2015, 2016 and latest of these phases started in
25 August 2017 after Myanmar government’s allegation that ARSA militants launched
terrorist attacks on more than 30 police posts. With that allegation the armed force along with
general Buddhist people started a massive military crackdown on the Rohingya community in
the Rakhain state.

11
Al Jazeera. "Who Are the Rohingya?" Israeli–Palestinian Conflict | Al Jazeera. April 18, 2018. Accessed May
22, 2018. https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/08/rohingya-muslims-170831065142812.html.

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3. Refugee scenario in India:
Historically India has been a safe haven for refugees for centuries. First flow of refugees in
India can be traced back to 936 century, when almost the entire Zoroastrian community fled
to India from Iran. Because they were being persecuted for their religion by Arab Muslims. 12
From then India provided shelter to various communities not only of neighboring countries
but also from distant countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia and Uganda.
Because of its secular policy, India became home to refugees from almost religious groups.
Whenever, any country in South Asia gone through conflict, a large sum of refugees took
shelter inside India. According to UNHCR India is hosting almost 2,10,000 refugees among
them there are 1,10,000 Tibetans, 65,000 Sri Lankan, 19,000 Rogingyas, 13,000 Afghan,
2,000 from other countries.13

Although India has been very flexible towards refugees, it does not have any defined
legislative structure for refugees. India is not a signatory to 1951 United Nations Convention
on refugees and the 1967 protocol. As a result it does not recognize the status of refugees.
They are considered as illegal migrants and thus they remain only in the mercy of Indian
Government. Still refugees inside India enjoy freedom of movement and practicing their
culture and religion, they are allowed to have employment in informal sectors under
Foreigner act. 14 Even 500 Rohingyas received long term visas from Indian Government.

4. Rohingya refugees in India

Rohingyas has started to enter India since 1970s, from the very first phase of Rohingya
exodus through various routes. They entered by crossing Myanmar-India border, they crossed
over Bangladesh to reach India. But the way to reach India that caught the attention of the
world was crossing the Indian sea with boats. Bangladesh was easier to go to for the
Rohingyas. So the streams of them basically directed towards Bangladesh, although there
were some who went to Malaysia, Thailand etc. Initially, Bangladesh government was lenient
towards them but with rising number of emigrants from Myanmar, Bangladesh reached it’
limit. They realized that they cannot afford the growing Rohingyas anymore. So in August
2012 Bangladesh chose, to stop all humanitarian assistance to Rohingya Muslims.

By this time the Rohingyas were commonly known to the international community as the
boat people, as they crossed the borders in small boats. When they failed to reach Bangladesh
they headed towards Thailand. But, Thailand was keeping an eye on the circumstances of
Myanmar and put its navy on guard. Thailand's navy provided those boat people with food
and medicines but did not allow them to land on its territories.
12
"Zoroastrians in India and Iran." The Pluralism Project. Accessed April 04, 2018.
http://pluralism.org/religions/zoroastrianism/the-zoroastrian-tradition/zoroastrians-in-india-and-iran/.

13
United Nations. "India Fact Sheet." UNHCR. February 2016. Accessed April 05, 2018.
http://www.unhcr.org/protection/operations/50001ec69/india-fact-sheet.html.

14
Ananthachari. "Refugees In India: Legal Framework, Law Enforcement And Security." ISIL Year Book of
International Humanitarian and Refugee Law. 2001. Accessed April 7, 2018.
http://www.worldlii.org/int/journals/ISILYBIHRL/2001/7.html#Footnote_auth.

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Then the Rohingyas turned towards Malaysia and Indonesia assuming that Muslim majority
countries would give them shelter. But, Malaysia as well as Indonesia adopted the same
policy as Thailand. They declared that they will not allow the boat people to set feet on its
land.

Till then, Rohingyas were not entering India into large numbers. When all the countries shut
their doors for them, they turned towards India. By 2013, Bangladesh had closed all the entry
points for Rohingyas into its territory. They tried to enter through entry points in India-
Myanmar border and where India-Myanmar-Bangladesh shares their border. After entering
they avoided staying near the Myanmar's borders. So they have spread over India and have
their camps in Delhi, Jammu, Kerala, Assam, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra
Pradesh.

In August 2017, Minister of State for Home Affairs of India mentioned in Parliament that
there were about 40,000 Muslim Rohingya illegal migrants in the country. According to
Centre's calculations, Rohingya's population in India has increased four times during 2015-
2016. During 2015, their population was reckoned to be 10,500.

The maximum assemblage of Rohingya Muslims is reported to be in Jammu. According to


the government of Jammu and Kashmir, there are about 5,700 Rohingya Muslims living in
and near Jammu. However, the central government thinks that there could be around 10,000-
11,000 Rohingyas in Jammu.15

Although India does not have any government supported Rohingya refugee camps they
allowed them to stay in the camps established by NGOs and their make shift accommodation.
Although they were in a poor and unhygienic condition inside the make-shift camps, they felt
safe in Indian soil. And the government despite their limitations tried to provide as safer
environment for them. They even gave Indian passport to 500 Rohingyas in 2015, so that
they could have easier access to education and employment. The remaining Rohingyas also
enjoyed freedom of movement and livelihood until recent years.

From 2017 Indian government’s stance on Rohingya population have shifted. That was a
major blow for the Rohingya community living in India. The next chapter will discuss the
sudden shift of government’s behavior regarding Rohingya refugees.

Chapter Three
The Rohingya Refugees in India: Shift Since 2017

15
Dutta, Prabhash K. "How Rohingyas Reached India and Why Government Is Not Ready to Let Them Stay."
India Today. September 15, 2017. Accessed May 22, 2018. https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/rohingya-
muslims-myanmar-india-aung-san-suu-kyi-narendra-modi-1039729-2017-09-07.

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In the previous chapter the discussion was about India’s generous refugee policy despite the
absence of any structured refugee legislature. This chapter deals with India’s sudden shift in
their refugee policy towards the Rohingya community living in India. The chapter also
overlooks some questions.
India’s legal framework regarding refugees and Rohingyas
1. Strengthening border security
2. Linking Rohingyas’ ties with terrorist groups.
3. Attempts to deport Rohingyas from India.

1. India’s legal framework regarding refugees and Rohingyas:

India is not a signatory of the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol so their legal
frameworks do not recognize refugees. In India refugees are recognizes under the sphere of
the term ‘alien’. The word alien appears in the Article 22 of Constitution of India, in Section
83 of the Indian Civil Procedure Code, and in Section 3 of the Indian Citizenship Act, 1955,
as well as some other statutes. Under the Foreigners Act, 1946 “the Central Government is
empowered to regulate the entry of aliens into India, their presence and departure there from;
it defines a ‘foreigner’ to mean a person who is not a citizen of India”. The Registration Act,
1939 is about “the registration of foreigners entering, being present in, and departing from
India.” And, the Passport Act, 1920 and the Passport Act, 1967 also deals with “the powers of
the government to impose conditions of passport for entry into India and to issue passport and
travel documents to regulate departure from India of citizens of India.”

Since these legal works do not make any distinction between genuine refugees and other
categories of aliens, refugees run a risk of arrest by the immigration authorities and of their
prosecution if they enter India without a valid passport or travel documents. When a refugee
is detained by custom he is generally handed over to the police and a First Information Report
is lodged against him. According to the provisions of these statutes the refugee may face
forced deportation at the established sea ports, airports or the entry points at the international
border, if he is detected without valid travel documents. He may also be detained and
interrogated pending decision by the administrative authorities regarding his plea for
refugee/asylum. A refugee also faces the prospects of prosecution for violation of the
Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939 and Rules made there under and if he is found guilty of
any offence under this Act he may be punished with imprisonment which may extend to one
year or with a fine up to one thousand rupees or with both.

However, in many cases the courts have taken a lenient view in the matter of punishment for
their illegal entry or illegal activities in India and also, by releasing detainees pending
determination of refugee status.}16 But that is not the case of Rohingyas recently; under the
Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) scheme, Rohingya are not eligible to be cardholders and
enjoy benefits such as the right to travel, work, and study in India. they are being denied to
cross the border knowing that they will face persecution in Myanmar. The government of
India has not set up any refugee camps for the Rohangyas living in India according to the
central government. But, there are 107 camps in Tamil Nadu and one in Odisha for Sri Lanka
16
"REFUGEE LAW: THE INDIAN PERSPECTIVE." Law Teacher. Accessed May 23, 2018.
https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/international-law/refugee-law-the-indian-perspective-law-
essay.php.

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refugees.As for the Tibetan refugees, the government has, in principle, given them political
asylum but they are staying in settlements on their own in the country.17

2. Strengthening Border Security:

India has strengthened its security along its border. In 2017 They have deployed 6000 border
guards long the border of Bangladesh so that the Rohingyas cannot enter India. They are also
using “chilli and stun grenades” to block the entry of Rohingya Muslims fleeing from
violence in their homeland of Myanmar. They are not arresting the Rohingyas so that they
cannot appeal to seek refuge they are just pushing the Rohingyas from the border. India is
being extra cautious of the possible spillover of the estimated one million Rohingyas who
have currently taken refuge in Bangladesh after fleeing persecution in Myanmar.18

3. Establishing Rohingyas ties with global terrorist groups:

The Myanmar Government calls the Rohingyas terrorists because of the militant group
ARSA. It is a small group whose main grievance is persecution of Rohingya Muslims that
can be solved relatively easily by ending widespread discrimination. While meeting ARSA’s
demands of citizenship and political equality will expose Myanmar’s poor governance,
especially in the Rakhine province, it will likely eliminate the main root of violence in the
area. Now the group is not only being linked with the Rohingya, but also they are being used
as embodiment of entire Rohingya Community.19 The Indian government also taking
advantage of it. They are trying to establish their link with Pakistani terrorist groups and
Talibans as well as global terrorists like al Qaeda and ISIS.

As an online newspaper have published,

In India, the government said it had reports from security agencies and other authentic sources
"indicating linkages of some of the unauthorised Rohingya immigrants with Pakistan-based
terror organisations and similar organisations operating in other countries." It also said there
was information on Rohingya involvement in plots by Isis and other "extremist groups" to
ignite communal and sectarian violence in India. Senior home ministry official Mukesh Mittal
said the Indian government would privately show the court material gathered from "sensitive
investigations" to substantiate the claims in its affidavit.They said the 40,000 Rohingya had
arrived in India illegally four or five years ago from Bangladesh after fleeing Burma. In a
separate development, Indian police say they have arrested British national Shauman Haq, 27,
near a bus stop in Delhi on Sunday and allege that he had come to India via Bangladesh
Dutta, Prabhash K., and Dutta. "Who Are Rohingya Muslims and Why Govt Wants to Deport 40,000 of
17

Them?" India Today. Accessed May 23, 2018. https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/rohingy-muslim-india-


myanmar-deportation-1029075-2017-08-10.

18
Sputnik. "India to Deploy Additional 6000 Border Guards to Stop Influx of Rohingyas." Sputnik International.
November 29, 2017. Accessed May 23, 2018. https://sputniknews.com/asia/201711291059545278-india-border-
guard-migrants-influx/.

19
Khan, Sahar. "The Danger of Linking the Rohingya Crisis to Terrorism." The Diplomat. October 13, 2017.
Accessed May 23, 2018. https://thediplomat.com/2017/10/the-danger-of-linking-the-rohingya-crisis-to-
terrorism/.

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specifically to recruit Rohingya to fight for al-Qaeda. Rohingya in India voiced worries that
they were being unfairly tainted by the allegations and sought more understanding for their
plight.20

4. Attempt to Deport the Rohingyas:

The Modi government is trying to deport the Rohingyas considering them as security threat
and having link with terrorism. The Citizenship Act, 1955 regulates who may acquire Indian
citizenship and on what grounds. A person may become an Indian citizen if they are born in
India or have Indian parentage or have resided in the country over a period of time, etc.

An illegal immigrant is a person without a valid passport or other travel documents, or with
valid passport or other travel documents, but stays beyond the permitted time period. They
can be deported under The Passport Act, 1920 and The Foreigners Act, 1946

The citizenship bill has been ignored various times previously due to large-scale movement
of people during partition mainly on religious contours and the recurrent influx of immigrants
and refugees fleeing instability in their home nation.

In 2015 and 2016, the government issued two notifications exempting certain groups of
illegal immigrants from provisions of the 1920 and the 1946 Acts. These groups are Hindus,
Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from three countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh,
and Pakistan.

While the government made it easier for people of the various faiths from the three nations to
reside in India as legal citizens, but it was biased against Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar.
The Indian refugee law not only makes it nearly impossible for them to enter the nation but
the already existing 40,000 also face the threat of being deported. 21

In recent times the role of the government of India towards Rohingyas changed a lot. This
chapter dealt with the changes. The next chapter is about the security and political reasons
that can explain the recent actions of the government of India.

20
Mortimer, Caroline. "India Trying to Deport 40,000 Rohingya Muslim over 'ties to Terrorism'." The
Independent. September 18, 2017. Accessed May 23, 2018.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/india-rohingya-muslims-deport-burma-40000-supreme-court-
terrorists-bangladesh-myanmar-a7953851.html.

21
"What Does The Indian Law & Constitution Say On Allowing Rohingya Immigrants In The Country?" The
Logical Indian. September 22, 2017. Accessed May 23, 2018. https://thelogicalindian.com/awareness/indian-
law-on-rohingya/.

12
Chapter Four
India’s security and political understanding and Rohingyas

The chapter has been divided into seven segments:

1. India’s National Security and refugees


2. Rohingyas as security threat
3. Reconstruction of government structure with BJP

13
4. Creation of BJP on the basis of Hindutva belief
5. The government’s changed identity and Rohingyas

1. India’s National Security and refugees :

Security is very complicated term to define. It raises many questions like whose security is
being talked about, security from whom or what, when complete security can be achieved etc.
From the realist perspective, Security is alleviation of threat and fear of the referent object.
When the referent object is state elimination of the military, economic, cultural threats can be
considered as national security.

Security threats involve not only conventional foes such as other nation-states but also non-
state actors such as violent non-state actors, narcotic cartels, multinational corporations and
non-governmental organizations; even refugees can be considered as threat to national
security, because the refugees share the resources of the state with the citizens. That can
cause a major problem if the resources are scarce. The refugees also can create social unrest.
Terrorism is also often linked with the refugees.22

In case of India, the government is considering Muslim Rohingya population as a threat to


national security. They are establishing Rohingyas linkage with various terrorist groups
without specific proofs. The Rohingya population is basically scattered throughout India. It is
very unlikely that they will form a group to conduct terrorist attack. And there is no evidence
that they have link with Pakistan’s terrorist groups or Talibans. What makes this idea vaguer
that, they did not consider them as a threat to their country until recent times. Moreover they
are not considering the Hindu Rohingyas a threat to their security. They are even trying to
ease their living. So it is difficult to understand Indian government’s action from security
perspective, where the states security is based on threat towards material belonging of state.

2. Rohingyas as security threat:

India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) has their suspicion about the Rohingyas from
the 2014 Burdwan blast, that taken place in West Bengal’s eastern state. During that
investigation a person named Mohammad Khalid, who is also a Rohingya Myanmar national,
was arrested, with other suspects. Khalid confessed that he had been trained by the Tehreek-
e-Taliban, a militant group of Pakistan. The NIA also accused that he also had links with
terror organizations of Bangladesh, such as Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen. From then, the scrutinies
of Rohingya camps in India have been increased. The Indian government is greatly concerned
about the Rohingyas’ link with the terrorist groups of Pakistan that can target India. For
example, the leader of Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), Ataullah Abu Ammar has
grown up in Karachi and returned to Myanmar in 2012. He wanted to have arms and tactical
support from Pakistan’s terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and he offered millions in cash
for that. But he was rejected by these groups; they considered him as irrelevant and did not
provide any assistance.

22
"National Security." ScienceDaily. Accessed May 23, 2018.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/national_security.htm.

14
India is concerned about West Bengal in particular, because the border it shares with
Bangladesh is 2,000 kilometer-long, most of this border is difficult to monitor. Other states
also have their borders with Bangladesh but they are very smaller land areas, most of these
borders India has managed to put fence during the recent years. There has been information
that Rohingya refugees are crossing over the Bangladesh-India border and obtaining fake
identity documents. These circumstances, along with the presence of scattering the
homegrown terrorism in Bangladesh, have been making the suspicion even denser. But, there
is no report of Myanmar national’s arrest since 2014, which implies that there is no imminent
threat of Rohingya terrorism with established links with the terrorist groups of Pakistan and
Bangladesh.

The Rohingyas’ linkages with the international terrorist groups are not very alarming also.
The ISIS has their attention on Rohingya crisis. In 2014 ISIS propagated the Rakhine state as
a “key region for jihad.” They also have long been trying to expand their zone of operation
in India. Despite their efforts since 2014, they only attracted roughly 100 Indian people to be
recruited and traveling to their active territory in the Levant and Afghanistan. This number is
not very significant in comparison with the 50,000-strong militia and guerrilla fighters that
serve the Maoist cause in India.

There are no reports of ISIS recruiting Rohingyas’ except baseless allegations. It is not easy
to recruit Rohingyas by ISIS. As their recruitment and operation highly technology based
their engagement is best executed in educated and urban society. So it is not easy for ISIS to
recruit or engage the Rohingya population inside India. Because they basically reside in
makeshift homes or refugee camps with barely any access to basic necessities. They do not
have any access to technological gadgets or the internet, which is the prominent method of
ISIS recruitment. So the only remaining way for ISIS to recruit these people is through direct
engagement. That is a complicated process as there is a lack of people who sympathizes with
the cause of ISIS in India. Because of these difficulties, it is highly unlikely that an IS-
inspired Rohingya will attack on India in near future.

On the other hand, Al Qaeda has perused a more effective strategy to recruit Rohingyas. In
2014, they conducted the recruitment in Bangladesh via one of their operatives Samiur
Rahman, but he was imprisoned for recruiting Rohingyas. In 2017, he again tried to recruit
refugees from the camps of India with the intention of sending the Rohingyas to Myanmar to
fight. That attempt failed with his arrest. Later the Al Qaeda’s regional affiliate, also known
as Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) in a declaration called upon “all mujahid
fighters in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and the Philippines to set for Burma to help their
Muslim brothers…to resist this oppression.” However, their insignificant presence in India
constrained their ability to take any actual action.

Global terrorist groups are facing other problems too in recruiting the Rohingyas from India,
besides the constant surveillance by Indian intelligence agencies in the refugee camps and the
lack of communication with the Rohingya refugees in India. The larger groups of Rohingyas
do not want to get mixed up with the terrorists of any other problem that can jeopardize their
chances of seeking shelter. Even ARSA has thrown away their jihadist label to minimize their
chances of losing credibility on the world stage. They also rejected the global terrorist groups
like Al Qaeda and ISIS.

The absence of any reports does not imply that there is no threat from Rohingya community.
The Rohingyas are commonly associated with narcotics but the reason behind that was their

15
lack of valid employment in Myanmar. They can engage with terrorist groups but that can be
harmful for their prospect. So it is not very convincing argument. Besides, the hyper active
media and intelligence agencies have not been successful to uncover such ties with
substantial proofs. During the recent five years there have been reports of only fifteen cases
that have Rohingya suspects most of which are petty crimes. 23 So the Indian governments’
allegation and fear of Rohingya terrorism does not have any tangible motive behind them.
But still the Modi government is still trying to deport the Rohingyas with these accusations
the fundamentalist political structure can provide a clear point of view in this subject.

BJP Government and the growth of anti-Muslim Sentiment in India:

Since Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of India, the Indian political structure has
changed. A variant of Hindu nationalism is gradually spreading over the country. That is can
be defined as suppression not only to the basic human rights but also to Indian nationalism.
During the recent governing years of BJP many far-right Hindu groups arranged campaigns
to convert Muslims to Hindus, organized movements to enforce a nationwide beef ban as the
cow is a sacred animal in Hindu belief. That is an extreme violation of the principles of
secularism which India boasted from their independence. 24 Now, as they are violating their
secular ideology, they are re-creating a idea of a nation from a religious point of view. The
BJP government basically represents the Hindu people who inhabit the area since ancient
times and had been plundered and tyrannically ruled by foreign Muslim rulers (as the RSS
represents the history). Their open hatred towards the Muslim community is expressed in
their political propaganda:

During the era of Islamic invasions, what Will Durant called the bloodiest period in the
history of mankind, many Hindus gallantly resisted, knowing full well that defeat would mean
a choice of economic discrimination via the jaziya tax on non- Muslims, forced conversion, or
death. It is no wonder that the residents of Chittor, and countless other people over the length
and breadth of Bharat, from present-day Afghanistan to present-day Bangladesh, thought it
better to die gloriously rather than face cold-blooded slaughter. Hindus never forgot the
repeated destruction of the Somnath Temple, the massacre of Buddhists at Nalanda, or the
pogroms of the Mughals.

Thus, the seeds of today’s Hindu Jagriti, awakening, were created the very instance that an
invader threatened the fabric of Hindu society which was religious tolerance. The vibrancy of
Hindu society was noticeable at all times in that despite such barbarism from the Islamic
hordes of central Asia and Turkey, Hindus never played with the same rules that Muslims did.
The communist and Muslim intelligentsia, led by Nehruvian ideologists who are never short
of distorted history, have been unable to show that any Hindu ruler ever matched the cruelty
of even a moderate Muslim ruler.

It is these characteristics of Hindu society and the Muslim psyche that remain today. Hindus
23
Siyech, Mohammed Sinan. "India's Rohingya Terror Problem: Real or Imagined?" South Asian Voices.
February 09, 2018. Accessed May 23, 2018. https://southasianvoices.org/indias-rohingya-terror-problem-real-
imagined/.
24
Javed, Shafqat. “Hindutva Fascism, The New Normal in India?” Jahangir's World Times, 26 July 2017,
jworldtimes.com/jwt2015/magazine-archives/jwt2017/jun2017/hindutva-fascism-the-new-normal-in-india.

16
never lost their tolerance and willingness to change. However Muslims, led by the Islamic
clergy and Islamic society’s innate unwillingness to change, did not notice the scars that
Hindus felt from the Indian past. It is admirable that Hindus never took advantage of the debt
Muslims owed Hindus for their tolerance and non-vengefulness.

In modern times, Hindu Jagriti gained momentum when Muslims played the greatest abuse of
Hindu tolerance: the demand for a separate state and the partition of India, a nation that had
had a common history and culture for countless millenia. Thus, the Muslim minority voted for
a separate state and the Hindus were forced to sub-divide their own land.

After partition in Pakistan, Muslim superiority was quickly asserted and the non-Muslim
minorities were forced to flee due to the immense discrimination in the political and religious
spheres. Again, Hindus did not respond to such an onslaught. Hindu majority India continued
the Hindu ideals by remaining secular….

When Hindus realized that pseudo-secularism had reduced them to the role of an innocent
bystander in the game of politics, they demanded a true secularism where every religious
group would be treated the same and a government that would not take Hindu sentiments for
granted. Hindutva awakened the Hindus to the new world order where nations represented the
aspirations of people united in history, culture, philosophy, and heroes. Hindutva successfully
took the Indian idol of Israel and made Hindus realize that their India could be just as great
and could do the same for them also....

There have been many changes in the thinking of Hindus, spearheaded over the course of a
century by innumerable groups and leaders who made their own distinct contribution to
Hindu society: Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore, Gandhiji, Rashatriya
Swayamsevak Sangh, Swami Chinmayananda, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, International Society
for Krishna Consciousness, Muni Susheel Kumarji, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bharatiya Janata
Party, and others. Each in their own way increased pride in being a Hindu and simultaneously
showed Hindus their greatest strengths and their worst weaknesses. This slowly shook the
roots of Hindu society and prompted a rear-guard action by the ingrained interests: the old
politicians, the Nehruvian intellectual community, and the appeased Muslim leadership.

The old foundation crumbled in the 1980s and 1990s when Hindus respectfully asked for the
return of their most holy religious site, Ayodhya. This demand promptly put the 40-year old
apparatus to work, and press releases were chunked out that spew the libelous venom which
called those who represented the Hindu aspirations Militants’ and Fundamentalist’s stigmas
which had heretofore found their proper place in the movements to establish Islamic law.
Hindus were humble enough to ask for the restoration of an ancient temple built on the
birthplace of Rama, and destroyed by Babar, a foreign invader. The vested interests were
presented with the most secular of propositions: the creation of a monument to a national
hero, a legend whose fame and respect stretched out of the borders of India into southeast
Asia, and even into Muslim Indonesia. A hero who existed before there was anyone in India
who considered himself separate from Hindu society. The 400-year old structure at one of the
holiest sites of India had been worshipped as a temple by Hindus even though the Muslim
general Mir Baqi had partially built a non-functioning mosque on it. It was very important
that no Muslims, except those who were appeased in Indian politics, had heard of anything
called Babri Masjid before the pseudo-secularist apparatus started the next to last campaign
against the rising Hindu society. It was also important that no Muslim had offered prayers at
the site for over 40 years.

Hindus hid their true anger, that their most important religious site still bore the marks of a
cruel slavery that occurred so very recently in the time span of Hindu history. It was naturally
expected in 1947 that freedom from the political and economic chains of Great Britain would
mean that the systems and symbols that had enslaved India and caused its deterioration and

17
poverty would be obliterated. Forty years after independence, Hindus realized that their
freedom was yet to come.

So long as freedom to Jews meant that symbols of the Holocaust in Europe were condemned,
so long as freedom to African- Americans meant that the symbols of racial discrimination
were wiped out, and so long as freedom from imperialism to all people meant that they would
have control of their own destinies, that they would have their own heros, their own stories,
and their own culture, then freedom to Hindus meant that they would have to condemn the
Holocaust that Muslims reaped on them…25

The anti-Muslim sentiment is not only creating discrimination among religious groups but
also encouraging radical Hindu groups to conduct violent attack on people belonging to
different faith. According to a religious rights group, at least 600 such attacks took place in
2015-2017. Four-hundred-and fifty-one of these assaults were against Muslims; the rest were
targeted at the Christian community in India.

Many claims that the attacks are being directed by radical groups related to Hindu nationalist
and political pressure group the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The prime minister
Narendra Modi is a lifelong member of the organization. The group played a vital role to help
the BJP to win the election. Since then Modi's most extreme nationalist supporters have been
using violence and intimidation to impose their claim for a purely Hindu India. They forced
Muslims to convert to Hinduism. They burnt down their homes for allegedly consuming beef.
The cow is considered a sacred animal in Hinduism and worshipped widely across India.
Many states have legislation to control the balance of cattle slaughter. But more recently,
Hindu nationalists have been demanding the law be more stringently applied and even calling
for a blanket ban on beef. In 2017, the local government in the Indian state of Maharashtra,
introduced a wide-ranging ban on the sale and consumption of beef.

On the other hand, when the violent attacks take place, people demeaned Prime Minister
Narendra Modi to address it and take action. But this matter appears to have fallen on deaf
ears. He has so far remained silent on the issue despite a large public outcry. 26 This radical
view of Hinduism has its impact on the government’s action towards Rohingya Muslims.

Hindu fundamentalists and Rohingya Muslims:

Rohingyas took refuge in India to escape from the violent attack by Buddhist Junta in
Myanmar. Many came from the refugee camps of Bangladesh in search for a better living
condition. But even there they are facing violence from Hindu fundamentalist groups. There
has been a report of attack on a Rohingya camp in New Delhi before Eid ul Adha 2017. The
whole incident was centered on cow. A New Delhi based Islamic NGO gave two buffalo
calves as a gift for Eid ul Adha. But some Hindu men freed the calves misidentifying them as
25
Administrator. "Bharatiya Janata Party." Bharatiya Janata Party - The Party With a Difference. Accessed May
23, 2018. http://www.bjp.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=369:hindutva-the-great-
nationalist-ideology&Itemid=501.
26
Al Jazeera. "India's Hindu Fundamentalists." Israeli–Palestinian Conflict | Al Jazeera. October 08, 2015.
Accessed May 23, 2018. https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/peopleandpower/2015/10/indias-hindu-
fundamentalists-151008073418225.html.

18
cows. Later the aggressive Hindu mob came again and attacked some of the people living in
the camp and abused them by calling the Rohingyas terrorists. When they called the police
with the help of the NGO, the local attackers left. When the police captured a perpetrator, he
claimed that cow slaughter is a sin in their state and the Rohingyas are all petty criminals to
justify his action. To analyse this incident the reporter of The Diplomat took an interview of a
retired professor Partha Ghosh. His findings were such:

Ghosh, a lifelong student of South Asian politics, describes Modi’s neatly divided political strategy:
selling a grand strategy of development while subtly perpetuating Hindutva. Modi may criticize the
Hindu agitators publicly, but he never takes serious steps to stop them, explains Ghosh. The result is a
permissive environment in many cow-belt villages, shored up by Hindu nationalists in power at all
levels. The police, far from objectively enforcing the law, tend to reflect the political temperament of
the society from which they come.

Nonetheless, Ghosh believes the peak of Hindu nationalism has arrived. He thinks India under Modi
has witnessed both the death of decency and the loss of humor — two fixtures of traditional Indian
society. As Indians find themselves at the peak of despair, a backlash at the polls is inevitable, he
believes. Despite widespread anti-Muslim sentiment, he tells me, the majority of India’s voter base is
a vast secular force between extremes. Sen seems to agree: “Despite the veritable flood of religious
practices in India,” he writes, “there is also a resilient undercurrent of conviction across the country
that religious beliefs, while personally significant, are socially unimportant and should be politically
inconsequential. Ignoring the importance — and reach — of this underlying conviction has the effect
of systematically overestimating the role of religion in Indian society.” I thank Ghosh and exit to the
buzzing street.

India may yet recover from its Hindu nationalist phase, but Rashid’s community can scarcely wait
until the 2019 general elections to discover its fate, whether at the hands of seething vigilantes or
deportation officials. It certainly cannot return to either Myanmar or Bangladesh, where only fighting
or squalor awaits. As targets of politicized religion wherever they go, the Rohingya of Mujeri now
believe faith to be their only secure possession. 27

27
Toews, Ann. "From Myanmar to India, Persecution Haunts Rohingya." The Diplomat. November 15, 2017.
Accessed May 23, 2018. https://thediplomat.com/2017/11/from-myanmar-to-india-persecution-haunts-
rohingya/.

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