18/10/2024, 23:13 Dealing with Rohingya crisis in Nepal, Bangladesh and India
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ABOUT US
Dealing with Rohingya
crisis in Nepal,
Bangladesh and India
AUTHOR : HARI BANSH JHA
Expert Speak India Matters
Published on Oct 20, 2017
The exodus of Rohingyas from
Myanmar affected Bangladesh and
India the most. But, there is little
information that they made their
inroads into Nepal.
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18/10/2024, 23:13 Dealing with Rohingya crisis in Nepal, Bangladesh and India
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During last few years, if any minority
community
ABOUT US in the world that has caught
maximum international attention, it is the
Rohingyas of Myanmar. With a population
of nearly 1.1 million, the Rohingyas are
predominantly Muslim ethnic group living in
the Rakhine State of Myanmar. A smaller
community of the Rohingyas also lives in
countries like Bangladesh, Thailand and
Malaysia. As per the estimate of the World
Bank, 78 per cent of the Rohingyas live in
abject poverty and are considered to be a
most oppressed ethnic community in the
world.
The Arakan Rohingya National Organisation
view that Rohingyas have been living in
Arakan, which is now called Rakhine, since
time immemorial. But the Buddhists who
constitute around 80 percent of Myanmar’s
population view them as “illegal
immigrants” from Bangladesh. They feel
that those people came to the Rakhine
state of Myanmar following its annexation
by the British in 1826. <1> So they don’t even
figure in the list of 135 officially recognised
ethnic groups and are denied citizenship
since 1982.
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Reports are that the Myanmarese army and
Buddhist mobs have been massacring the
Rohingyas; while the latter have been
attacking with arms on the Myanmar police
and military posts. Violent attacks on the
हिन्दी मराठी ORF বাংলা
Rohingyas was commonORF during theORF
military SUBSCRIBE
junta rule in Myanmar, but the crackdown
intensified following
RESEARCH CENTRESthe incident in August
2017 in which the Arakan Rohingya
FORUMS EVENTS
Salvation Army (ARSA), which is labelled as
a terrorist group in Myanmar, allegedly
ABOUT US
attacked border checkpoints and killed nine
officers and nearly 400 people. <2> Since
then, clearance operations resumed to
establish the rule of law in Rakhine villages.
Consequently, hundreds of thousands of
Rohingyas had to leave Myanmar for
neighbouring countries by land or boat to
save their life. <3>
The rights groups hold the security
agencies of Myanmar responsible for the
killing of the civilian population in Rakhine.
Echoing this voice, the United Nations
Human Rights office also perceives that the
security forces of Myanmar have brutally
driven out half a million Rohingya from
Rakhine state. Reports are that the homes,
crops and villages of those people have
been torched to prevent any attempt by
them to return to their native land. <4> Even
women are reported to have been raped.
Therefore, the wave of Rohingyas exodus
from their country continues unabated.
Rights groups hold the
security agencies of Myanmar
responsible for the killing of
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18/10/2024, 23:13 Dealing with Rohingya crisis in Nepal, Bangladesh and India
the civilian population in
Rakhine.
Recently, Nikki Haley, US Ambassador to
the United Nations, termed the situation in
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Myanmar as “brutal, sustained campaign to
cleanse the country of an ethnic
minority.” <5> However,
RESEARCH CENTRES Myanmar’s second
Vice President Henry Van Thio has claimed
FORUMS EVENTS
that the internal situation in his country
was improving as there had been no
ABOUT US
noticeable clashes since 5 September. In
the meantime, Min Aung Hlaing, the most
powerful Army General in Myanmar, has
stated that the Rohingyas have not been
the natives of Myanmar, but they are the
local Bengalis who made attacks on the
security forces and the common people
under the leadership of ARSA. <6>
From the media reports, it is known that the
exodus of Rohingyas from Myanmar
affected countries like Bangladesh and
India most. But there is very little
information that they also made their
inroads into Nepal that is at the distance of
1,391 kilometres and they do not have a
common border. Nepal and Myanmar are
separated by India and/or Bangladesh. It is
not yet well known how they have been
coming to Kathmandu, the capital city of
Nepal, since 2012 to escape violence in
Myanmar.
Estimates are that the number of the
Rohingyas in Nepal is 500. They are living in
temporary sheds on private land at Kapan
in Kathmandu and are provided food by the
UN Commission for Refugees. But in
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18/10/2024, 23:13 Dealing with Rohingya crisis in Nepal, Bangladesh and India
certain quarters, it is feared that many of
them might have mixed up with Muslim
communities in different parts of the
country, particularly in the Terai region, to
avoid any attention from the government
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authorities.
The media reports in Nepal confirmed that
RESEARCH CENTRES
until recently, not even the government of
Nepal was informed
FORUMS EVENTS of the influx of
Rohingyas in the country. Therefore, they
have neither
ABOUT US been recognised as refugees
nor are they prosecuted by the law of the
land.
The media reports in Nepal
confirmed that until recently,
not even the government of
Nepal was informed of the
influx of Rohingyas in the
country. Therefore, they have
neither been recognised as
refugees nor are they
prosecuted by the law of the
land.
But of late, the government has started
preventing the entry of the Rohingyas from
entering the country. Some of them have
even been turned back from Birgunj border
point at Nepal-India border when they tried
to enter into Nepal. Recently, Ram Krishna,
spokesperson of the Ministry of Home
Affairs in Nepal, revealed that, “Nepal has
increased surveillance at its border to stop
more Rohingyas from entering the country
after the Rohingyas crisis in Myanmar
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18/10/2024, 23:13 Dealing with Rohingya crisis in Nepal, Bangladesh and India
because we cannot bear any more
crises.” <1>
Experts feel that Nepal should immediately
deport the Rohingyas as they are a
potential threat to the security
ORF हिन्दीof the
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country. Former Home Secretary Govind
Kusum fears that they might have been
RESEARCH CENTRES
influenced by Islamic State and as such
they could be
FORUMS a threat to the security to the
EVENTS
country. So he warned the authorities
concerned
ABOUT US against giving them refugee
status as granted by the Government of
Nepal to the Tibetan and Bhutani refugees.
As the Rohingyas crises deepen, on 11
September 2017, the Muslim community in
the Nepalgunj municipality of the Banke
district, in western part of the Terai region,
took out a rally and submitted a
memorandum to the Chief District Officer
Ramesh K.C. They wanted the Nepal
government to exert pressure on the
Myanmar government to stop the atrocities
against the Rohingyas.
It is not only Nepal that feels potential
security threat from the Rohingyas, but
equally, they are perceived as threats in
Bangladesh and India where they are living
as refugees in far greater number.
Bangladesh is affected most by the
Rohingyas as nearly half a million of those
people have crossed over the Myanmar
border and taken refuge there. Each day the
government of Bangladesh has to spend
the $ 1 million equivalent on their relief and
rehabilitation activities. <7> Therefore, the
opposition parties in Bangladesh, including
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the Awami League, is most critical to the
government.
To deal with the crisis, Bangladesh has
made it mandatory for each Rohingya to
register themselves with ORF
theहिन्दी
government.
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No one from this community is liable to get
any benefit from the government if they
RESEARCH CENTRES
don’t do so. Also, the Bangladeshi nationals
have been asked
FORUMS EVENTS to inform the government
about the activities of those people to the
law enforcement
ABOUT US authorities.
To deal with the crisis,
Bangladesh has made it
mandatory for each Rohingya
to register themselves with
the government.
In her address to the 76th United Nation
General Assembly session, Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh wanted the
UN to set up ‘safe zones’ under
international supervision for the Rohingya
in Myanmar territory itself to address the
refugee problem effectively. She also
wanted Rohingya to return back from
Bangladesh to Rakhine of Myanmar under
secure conditions.
Next to Bangladesh if any country that is
affected most by the Rohingyas is India,
which has 1,643-km long border with
Myanmar. The number of the Rohingyas in
India is estimated at 40,000. Because of
the Free Movement Regime between the
two countries, the people living up to 16 km
on either side of the Indo-Myanmar border
have been allowed to travel visa-free in
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18/10/2024, 23:13 Dealing with Rohingya crisis in Nepal, Bangladesh and India
each other’s territory up to 72 hours. <8>
Taking undue advantage from the porous
border, many of the Rohingyas enter into
India. Besides, there are around 140
vulnerable spots along the Indo-
हिन्दी मराठी ORF বাংলা
Bangladesh border, whichORF are also ORF
used by SUBSCRIBE
the Rohingyas to cross over to India.
RESEARCH CENTRES
India, which is one of the victims of
terrorism, isEVENTS
FORUMS gradually becoming more
sensitive towards the influx of Rohingyas. It
is suspected
ABOUT US that some of them are
influenced by the international terrorist
organizations. This is one of the reasons
why the country is gearing up its efforts to
expel them. The Indian Home Minister
Rajnath Singh does not find any reason
why he should not deport them as they are
living in this country illegally. In one of his
recent statements, he said, “Rohingyas are
not refugees, nor have they taken asylum.
They are illegal immigrants.” Since India is
not a signatory to the UN Refugees
Convention 1951, it is not committed to any
binding for not deporting the Rohingyas. <9>
However, the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid
Ra’ad al-Hussein, apart from the civil rights
activists is highly critical of this intended
move. It is perceived that the deportation
issue is humanitarian in character and as
such the government should think about it
more seriously before initiating any action
towards deportation.
What is, however, a silver lining is that the
Myanmar government has given an
indication that it has no problem in taking
back those Rohingyas who are its
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18/10/2024, 23:13 Dealing with Rohingya crisis in Nepal, Bangladesh and India
nationals. Myanmar Counsellor Aung San
Suu Kyi recently stated that the Rohingyas
could return to their homeland through the
proper verification process. Since Nepal
along with India and Bangladesh are
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affected by the influx of the Rohingyas, they
must adopt common stand to find the
solution to theCENTRES
RESEARCH crisis. In this context,
Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh
FORUMS EVENTS to set up ‘safe zones’
Hasina’s suggestion
in Myanmar itself under UN supervision to
ABOUT US
ensure the safe return of the Rohingyas
seems to be a practical suggestion. But it is
not known as to how the Rohingyas could
be deported to their country where they
fear annihilation as there is the
humanitarian angle. It will be important for
Nepal, India and Bangladesh to strengthen
their border vigilance to see that the
unwanted elements do not enter into their
territories. But more than that they must
use their diplomatic efforts to influence
Myanmar government to take back the
Rohingyas and make them re-settle on their
land peacefully for which it will also be
important to improve their living conditions.
References:
<1>
PressTV, “Fleeing violence at home,
Rohingya Muslims face difficulties in India,
Nepal, Bangladesh,” September 17, 2017, in
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/09/17/535440/Rohingya-
difficulties-India-Nepal-Bangladesh.
<1>
Kelly, Liam, “Myanmar: Who are the
Rohingya,” Newsweek, December 1, 2017.
<2>
Al Jazeera Network, “Myanmar: Who are
the Rohingya?”September 28, 2017.
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18/10/2024, 23:13 Dealing with Rohingya crisis in Nepal, Bangladesh and India
<3>
Ibid.
<4>
Birsel, Robert and Aung, Thu Thu,
“Myanmar army chief says Rohingya
Muslims “not natives,” numbers fleeing
exaggerated,” Reuters, in ORF हिन्दी ORF मराठी ORF বাংলা SUBSCRIBE
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-
myanmar-rohingya/myanmar-army-chief-
RESEARCH CENTRES
says-rohingya-muslims-not-natives-
numbers-fleeing-exaggerated-
FORUMS EVENTS
idUSKBN1CH0I6
ABOUT US
<5>
Ibid.
<6><6> Ibid.
<7>
Sen, Gautam, “Fallout of the Rohingya
Issue on Bangladesh’s Domestic Politics,”
IDSA, October 3, 2017.
<8>
Chauhan, Neeraj, “Rohingya exodus
from Myanmar: Centre reviews Free
Movement Regime at Indo-Myanmar
border,” The Times of India, September 25,
2017.
<9>
Ibid.
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Hari
ABOUT US Bansh
Jha
Hari
Bansh
Jha was
a Visiting
Fellow at
ORF.
Formerly
a
professor
of
economics
at Nepal's
Tribhuvan
University,
Hari
Bansh’s
areas of
interest
include,
Nepal-
China-
India
strategic
...
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