Rohingya Refugees In Jammu: Omar Abdullah Govt Urges Centre To Decide Their Fate

J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said the Centre should decide the fate of the Rohingya population settled in Jammu. He said that they could not be allowed to die of starvation or cold.

"It is a humanitarian issue. The central government should decide about them (Rohingya). If they are to be sent back, do that. If you can, send them back. If you cannot send them back, we cannot starve them to death. They cannot be allowed to die of cold," Abdullah told reporters.

"The government of India should tell us what we have to do with them. As long as they are here, we need to take care of them," the chief minister added.

Abdullah, the National Conference vice-president, also said they did not bring the Rohingya to Jammu or settle them there. "They have been brought and settled here. If there is a change of policy at the Centre, take them back. As long as they are here, we cannot treat them like animals. They are humans and they should be treated as such," he said.

The BJP on Monday called the alleged illegal settlement of Rohingya and Bangladeshi nationals in Jammu and Kashmir a “security concern” and demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation probe to identify those responsible for facilitating the settlement of refugees in the region.

BJP spokesperson Sunil Sethi criticised the National Conference government for its remarks about providing water connections to Rohingya refugees. He said the settlement of Rohingya in Jammu, being only a few kilometres away from Pakistan, posed a security risk.

Sethi urged Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to order an inquiry to “investigate and identify persons involved in bringing in and facilitating the settlement of Rohingyas and Bangladeshi nationals in Jammu.”

“Such persons/elements should be booked for anti-national activities and punished,” Sethi said. “People should know those showing sympathy with the illegally settled foreign nationals and advocating their cases in courts.”

Rohingya Refugees In Jammu

Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir have intensified efforts to address the issue of "illegal" Rohingya immigrants. Measures include cutting off electricity and water supplies to plots and semi-constructed houses where the immigrants reside, aiming to force their relocation and discourage further influx, media reports seem to suggest.

For over 50 years, minority Rohingya Muslims have fled persecution and discrimination in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, seeking refuge in neighbouring countries, including Bangladesh and India. Many of these refugees, believed to be undocumented, have settled in camps and slums in various Indian cities, including New Delhi. 

According to a 2019 UNHCR estimate, over 40,000 Rohingya refugees were in India, with approximately 22,000 registered with the U.N. agency. They predominantly work in menial jobs and live in decrepit shack colonies. In 2017, in Jammu, the Hindu right-wing groups launched a campaign demanding the ouster of Rohingya living in a nearby refugee camp.

Government data indicates that more than 13,700 foreigners, primarily Rohingyas from Myanmar and Bangladeshi nationals, have settled in Jammu and other districts of Jammu and Kashmir. Between 2008 and 2016, their population increased by over 6,000. In March 2021, police found over 270 Rohingyas, including women and children, living illegally in the Jammu city during a verification drive and lodged them at a holding centre inside the Kathua sub-jail, news agency PTI reported.

India, not being a signatory to the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention, views Rohingya refugees as "illegal immigrants." The convention outlines refugee rights and the legal obligations of countries to protect them.