Rohingya refugees: Why is Myanmar's humanitarian crisis a terror concern for India

The Supreme Court is hearing a petition challenging the decision to deport illegal Rohingya Muslims immigrants back to Myanmar,also known as Burma, on various grounds including that it violated international human rights conventions.The plea filed by two Rohingya immigrants that they were facing persecution in Myanmar and that the decision to send them back was in violation of various international conventions.

40,000 Rohingyas staying illegally

The Rohingyas, who fled to India after violence in the Western Rakhine State of Myanmar, have settled in Jammu, Hyderabad, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi-NCR, and Rajasthan. Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju had said in Parliament on August 9 that according to available data, more than 14,000 Rohingyas, registered with the UNHCR, were staying in India. He had said that around 40,000 Rohingyas were staying in India illegally. In a communication to all states, the Union home ministry had said the rise of terrorism in last few decades has become a serious concern for most nations as illegal migrants are prone to get recruited by terrorist organisations. The Centre had directed the state governments to set up a task force at the district level to identify and deport illegally-staying foreign nationals.

Recent turmoil in Myanmar
On August 25, nearly 20 attacks were reportedly carried out on police camps and an army base in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. Around 150 men armed with machetes, bombs and other deadly weapons carried out the attacks that left 71 dead. Now security officials in Myanmar claim that they are reacting to attacks my Muslim Rohingya militants. According to reports, the recent violence has seen some 58,000 refugees fleeing to neighbouring Bangladesh.

Pakistan connection
Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army--the terror outfit behind the recent attack--is led by Ata Ullah. He is a Rohingya man born in Karachi and brought up in Mecca. According to reports Indian, Burmese and Bangladeshi intelligence agencies have found Pakistan's terror groups hiring Rohingyas from Bangladesh's refugee camps. Presence of Rohingya refugees gives Lashkar-e-Taiba a chance to recruit men for terror operations in India. 

International community should play bigger role

This is a major humanitarian disaster and requires the participation of international community to resolve the issue. The government in Myanmar should be made to find a solution rather than letting the violence spread to other countries. The United States is asking Myanmar leader Aung Suu Kyi- she won the Nobel Peace Prize for her political activism in Myanmar--to play a more active role and ensure an end to violence against Rohingyas. 

Background

The Rohingya people are a Muslim minority group residing in the Rakhine state, formerly known as Arakan. Myanmar government has refused to recognise them as one of the 135 official ethnic group of the country. They have been denied citizenship in Myanmar, which makes them virtually stateless entities. Rohingya people are regarded as mere refugees from Bangladesh. They lack legal protection from the government of Myanmar and face strong hostility in the country. 

According to many historians and Rohingya groups, Muslims have lived in the area now known as Myanmar since as early as the 12th century.  During the more than 100 years of British rule (1824-1948), a significant number of Muslims from across the Bay of Bengal (at the time a part of India, now Bangladesh) immigrated to British Burma.