PM Modi Flags Rohingya Problem In Jharkhand: Why Both Government And Society Need To Be Extra Vigilant

On 15 September, 2024, talking at an election rally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pointed out that infiltration of Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshis in Santhal Pargana and Kolhan of Jharkhand were emerging as a threat of serious concern for the tribal population there. He also pointed to the Rohingya take-over of the local bodies of governance like Panchayats.

Beyond being a campaign issue, the Rohingya problem is a broader, pan-Indian challenge that is quietly spreading across regions, including the south.

The current cycle of violence between the Myanmar army and Rohingyas began in 2017-18. While reports of Myanmar army attacks on Rohingyas and the resulting exodus are well known, along with widespread condemnation of military actions, what has been underreported in the media's narrative is the elimination of Hindu communities in Myanmar by the Rohingya.

On 25 and 26 of August 2017, Rohingya terrorist group, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), attacked a Hindu community in northern Rakhine region of Myanmar.

The answer is in what they actually did to the Hindus.

An Amnesty International Report of May 2018 has the following paragraph.

There are other gory details which have not been presented here: 

This was nothing short of what ISIS did to the Yazidis. The methodology is the same because the theology is the same and the political objective is the same.

The attackers then moved into Bangladesh along with those captured and posed as refugees. (The report can be downloaded here).

There was not even a single demonstration in India against such a massacre of the minority Hindu population of Myanmar. Reports do exist, but when it comes to Hindus, their massacre is reduced to mere numbers.

No one speaks up for their basic human rights. Both Hindus and Muslims are minorities in Myanmar, yet those who express outrage for Rohingyas rarely show concern for the Hindus.

And then the Rohingyas moved into India.

Here is an instance from Tamil Nadu.   

‘Freedom and Refugees’ (FAR) is a newsletter run by Jesuit institutions. It is a joint venture of ‘Jesuit Refugee Service’ (JRS) and ‘Loyola Institute of Social Science Training and Research’ (LISSTAR), Chennai.

The former is an international body that works with refugees worldwide. Though they do not overtly display any evangelical agenda, the evangelical intentions become clear whenever the situation arises.

In FAR newsletter of July 2024 (Vol.7 No.7), there is writeup on Rohingyas in southern India, by a student doing her post-graduation in International Relations at Loyola College (Autonomous) Chennai. In this we read the following:

The names have been changed in the story to protect the identity of the persons. The family of the girl had come to Chennai as early as 2012 the essay says. But notice the all positive imagery, ‘love for Tamil language’, the secular vibe of ‘celebrating Diwali and Bakrid’.

But then, who can tell how many of the Rohingyas here would be belonging to the terrorist organisation Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) which systematically eliminates Hindus in Muslim-dominant villages in Myanmar?

But read on. The article goes on to tell the moving story of ‘Ibrahim’, another Rohingya ‘refugee’.

Perhaps special loans should be provided to illegal infiltrators who have no identification documents? If ‘Ibrahim’ is a registered refugee then there should be naturally legal identification papers. Clearly, he lacks them.

But then UNCHR in its Tamil Nadu programme provides employment to such persons with no legal identification papers. What is going on here? Should not the Home Ministry take some serious note of this?

It is not anybody's case that the refugees, particularly children, should not be helped. They should be helped. They have the right to education and a healthy childhood. A Rohingya child is as entitled to good education, happy childhood, safe living quarters and access to medical facilities as any other child. But the problem here is when unseen forces use them to change the demography.

Given the limited resources and the developing nature of Indian economy and society, this is bound to create more serious problems, violent conflicts and human misery.

The Government should take extra-precaution to monitor these refugee-oriented transnational agencies operating in India. Further, the use of educational institutions to disguise activism of this kind, also is a matter of concern.

The problem of Rohingya is a more serious one and is not limited to Jharkhand. It is spreading everywhere in India. Dig under the surface of the propaganda of Rohingyas being refugees, one will find the Islamist design.