Rohingya - The ‘illegal foreigners’

Context

Recently, the Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs said Rohingyas are “illegal foreigners” and will be kept in a detention centre until their deportation.

About Rohingyas

• Rohingya are an ethnic group, representing the largest percentage of Muslims in Myanmar and predominantly live in the Western Myanmar province of Rakhine.
• They speak a dialect of Bengali, as opposed to the commonly spoken Burmese language.
• An estimated 800,000 Rohingyas lived in Myanmar's western Rakhine State.
• They are described by the United Nations (UN) as one of the most persecuted minorities in the world.

Conflict

• The Rohingya population is denied citizenship under the 1982 Myanmar nationality law. 
• They have also denied the Rohingya the possibility of acquiring a nationality.
• Myanmar’s military launched what it called a clearance campaign in Rakhine state in 2017 in the aftermath of an attack by a Rohingya insurgent group.
• More than 700,000 Rohingya fled into neighbouring Bangladesh.
• Myanmar’s security forces have been accused of mass rapes, killings and torching of thousands of Rohingya homes.

Rohingya immigrants in India

• According to a Home Ministry estimate, around 40,000 Rohingya migrants live in different parts of the country, including Delhi.
• In 2021, the government informed the Rajya Sabha that illegal Rohingya immigrants are staying in 12 states and union territories.
• These States/UTs are – J&K, Telangana, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Karnataka and Kerala.

India’s Refugee Policy

• India’s approach towards refugees is customary and a dynamic one having regard to prevailing socio-political conditions. 
• Though India is not a party to 1951 convention or 1967 protocol it acceded to various Human Rights treaties including the UNHCR and it is obliged to protect the rights of refugees.
• As per Indian law, there is no law to deal with refugees. 
• Both illegal migrants & refugee categories of people are viewed as one and the same and are covered under the Foreigners Act, 1946. 
• The constitution of India protects the refugees’ right to life with dignity includes-
• Right against solitary confinement and custodial violence.
• Right to medical assistance and shelter.