Omkar Dattatray
The Rohingya issue is really a matter of grave and serious concern .It is rightly hogging limelight and is the top subject of the newspapers of J&K .The issue of Rohingya settlement and their deportation to the foreign countries like Bangladesh, Myanmar and some other countries has these days become a hot subject in the political circles of Jammu and Kashmir .It has become an intense subject of politics as every big ,small ,national and regional party is politicking on this issue .It is very unfortunate ,disturbing and politically untenable that Rohingya’s had been settled in and around Jammu thanks to the passive and supportive tactics of the then PDP-BJP government which was totally controlled by the regional and Kashmir centered PDP and its chief minister .Both PDP as well as NC allowed and supported their settlement in and around Jammu for the political expediency and vote bank politics .It is really a bane of democracy that the vote politics dictate the working and whole politics of the political parties and thus NC as well as PDP are very soft on the issue of Rohingya’s and they had allowed them to register in the Ration cards ,water connections ,electricity registration and thus these unwanted foreign citizens are allowed all civic amenities in Jammu .At the outset ,it is important to note that Rohingya’s are a virtual threat to peace and security of Jammu and Kashmir particularly when the UT is still in the grip of militancy, radicalism ,extremism and in fact a serious threat to national unity and integrity .The political parties especially the Kashmir centric such as NC,PDP,Apni Party and even CPI[M] should understand and appreciate the fact that India or for that matter J&K is not a dharamshalla that every Tom ,Dick, Harry will come ,stay and settle here notwithstanding the threat to national unity and security of the people .Therefore Rohingya’s are a perpetual threat to unity ,integrity and even to societal cohesion and the political parties and more so the ruling party NC and the government headed by Omar Abdullah should understand the intricacy of the problem of Rohingya’s and not favor their settlement in Jammu otherwise NC and the chief minister are risking the unity and integrity of not only Jammu and Kashmir but also of whole India.The government of India and the ruling BJP which is a nationalist party should take a urgent call and take a broad decision of deporting them to the foreign countries such as Bangladesh ,Mayanmar ,Pakistan and some other countries.NDA government of centre should take a serious view of the issue of illegal settlement of Rohingya’s and deport them to the countries of origin where they belong .Both the centre and UT government should not allow the Rohingya’s to settle permanently in Jammu and risk volatile peace ,normalcy and security .It is true that under a well planned conspiracy the Rohingya’s had been allowed to settle in Jammu to change the demography of the Doggerland .One can vividly see the communal overtones in Rohingya refugee’s settlement in Jammu and elsewhere .Rohingya refugees ,who have found safe haven in Jammu and Kashmir ,pose a threat to security of people in the region and as such should be ‘thrown out” of the UT .Even the terror attack at Nagrota ,Samba and other places can be attributed to Rohingya’s ,however such attacks were not possible without local support and hideouts .The Rohingya’s should not be settled in Jammu .The UT government should throw them out from this region as they are the illegal foreigners and hence need to be send back to Mayanmar ,Bangladesh and other places to which they originally belong .They should not have been allowed to set up clusters on government and private land .It is a security risk to the people and army .But it is very unfortunate that with the support of the J&K government from time to time ,Rohingya’s had been allowed to set up clusters on government and private land perhaps to disturb and change the demography of Jammu .In fact a deep rooted conspiracy is being hatched by the refugees from Myanmar .There number ,according to government figure released was 5,700 .It must have increased by now .Jammu and Kashmir is a sensitive region and Kashmir valley has seen ”forced migration of Hindus ,but the Rohingya refugees were settled in clusters .The height of the matter is that the people in the administration gave them ration ,water and electricity connections and this made their settlement in clusters easy .It is strange how these refugees ,after crossing the Indo-Bangla border and crossing the entire country have come to Jammu .Let us know the genesis of the Rohingya issue .In August 2017,a deadly crackdown by Myanmar’s army on Rohingya Muslims set hundreds of thousands fleeing across the border into Bangladesh .They risked everything ,to escape by sea or on foot a military offensive which United Nations later described as a ”textbook example of ethnic cleansing .”In January 2020,the UN’s top court ordered the Buddhist majority country to take measures to protect members of its Rohingya community from genocide .But the army in Myanmar formerly Bhutan has said it was fighting Rohingya militants and denied targeting civilians .Described by UN Security council Antonio Guterres as ‘one of ,if not the ,most discriminated people in the world” ,the Rohingya are the one of Myanmar’s many ethnic minorities .Myanmar government considers Rohingya’s as the illegal immigrants from Bangladesh .The Rohingay’s have spread not only in and around Jammu ,but these illegal foreign refugees are spread in national capital Delhi and have settled in various parts there and they pose a big security threat and risk both in Jammu and Delhi .It is a matter of serious concern that the centre government headed by Modi has no policy to deport Rohingay’s to Myanmar and Bangladesh .Recently the issue of Rohingaya issue in Jammu is being politicized as different political parties both of the regional ones as well as the national ones are busy in politicking the issue of Rohingay’s .One the one side right wing saffron party as well the VHP ,Shiv Sena–Dogra Front demand the deportation of illegal Rohingay’s to the countries where they belong .But NC and PDP has soft corner for these refugees who are mostly Muslim and both these and other regional political outfits of Kashmir have sympathy with the Rohingay’s .The BJP on Monday termed the settlement of Rohingay’s and Bangladeshis in the Jammu city a major political conspiracy and demanded a CBI probe to identify those involved in facilitating their temporary settlement in Jammu .Hitting out at the NC and chief minister Omar Abdullah and NC president Farooq Abdullah for publicly stating that power connection and water connection will not be disconnected to Rohingya’s habitations .Both further said that their government will not allow their starvation and inconveniences due to cold .They said as long as Rohingay’s are here ,they will have to be provided necessary amenities for their survival .Omar Abdullah has also asked the centre it they can deport them to their countries? The BJP on Monday appealed to LG Manoj Sinha to initiate a CBI probe into the rising number of Rohingya’s and Bangladeshi settlers in Jammu city and surrounding areas .BJP termed their settlement as a major” political conspiracy. ”They said it must be determined who brought and settled the Rohingya’s and Bangladeshis in and around Jammu ,and stringent action ,including prosecution and imprisonment ,should be taken against them.BJP leader Sunil Sethi claimed the BJP has been repeatedly raising questions on their entering Indian territory illegally ,travelling thousands of kilometers ,crossing half a dozen states and settling in Jammu .It is double speak and great anomaly that Indians from various states of India are debarred to purchase land in Jammu and Kashmir and settle here but for Rohingya’s have been made to find safe haven in Jammu.GOI should take a serious note of the Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshis and frame a policy in this connection and deport them to their countries .One is at a loss to understand what is preventing NDA government to order deportation of these foreign nationals living in Jammu and Delhi illegally .No more politics on this issue but solid action to throw them out from India to their countries.
(The author is a columnist, social and KP activist)
