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Write an article in around 1000 words on "India's moral responsibility in

The political exclusion of Rohingya Muslims in postcolonial Burma ,now Myamaar and the
waves of violence against them in the form of a state-sponsored campaign of massacre,
rape and arson is now widely seen as ethnic cleansing and as crimes against humanity. It
has resulted in a million Rohingyas fleeing to other countries, mostly Bangladesh. While
Bangladesh struggles to deal with the crisis, the South Asian power, India, is not allowing
in all those who seek entry, plans to forcibly repatriate those who are already in the
country, and is not providing sufficient relief to them. This report analyses India's policy
response to the Rohingya crisis, juxtaposing its political and humanitarian aspects;
examines different steps taken by the government to project the Rohingyas as a ‘threat to
India’s national security’; and looks at the response, offering an explanation about the
underlying politics of humanitarianism. This is an attempt to provide a theoretically
grounded explanation using a discursive analysis of the speeches, acts by the governing
elite, the parliamentary debates/questions on the issue, circulars and ordinances passed
that call for deportation and other strict measures. The Indian state’s response with the
‘refugee-centric’ desired responses and its own response to other refugee groups in the
country has also been analysed.

Instead of forced repatriation, the Indian government must use its good offices to bring
the Myanmar government to first acknowledge the wrongs that have been done to this
community and then mediate a solution that addresses the root problems of political
exclusion and citizenship. This can pave the way for a voluntary and dignified repatriation,
primarily from Bangladesh and India as well. Politicisation and political insinuations lead
to violence and hostility towards this community. People who make hate speeches against
the Rohingyas should be brought to book. To ensure the accountability of the Myanmar
military, the Indian government should support any resolution that is brought for starting
proceedings in the International Criminal Court against it. As a first POLICY REPORT NO. 24
step, India should follow the European Union, Canada, and the United States which
recently imposed sanctions on Army units and their commanders found involved in
violent campaigns against the Rohingyas. There should also be a concerted effort on
India’s part to extend its ‘Operation Insaniyat’ inside Bangladesh for the development of
affected areas such as Cox’s Bazar, in addition to providing basic services that have been
sent in a couple of tranches. In May 2018, the Supreme Court of India designated nodal
officers to provide the Rohingyas food, health, and education so that their basic human
dignity is restored. The government should ensure that essential services are made
available in the first place, and then assign nodal officers at every camp to honour the
court’s ruling. The use of force at the borders to stop the Rohingya from entering the
country should stop. Extensive surveillance and control is a violation of human dignity, so
the government’s plans to take their biometric details just for this purpose should stop, if
at all they are taken, they should be provided Aadhar cards which, in turn, can help them
avail of many other services. ‘NOBODY'S CHILDREN, OWNERS OF NOTHING’: INDIA’S
POLICY ON ROHINGYA REFUGEES 101
The Political exclusion of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and increasing cases of violence against
them by government backed mass level killing or massacre, rape and putting fire to their belongings
is like an ethnic cleansing of people and cruelty against humans as we have seen in case of Germany,
Russia, Kashmir and in Bangladesh. Myanmar government considers Rohingya Muslims as stateless
entities and does not consider them as ethnic group. Due to violence, killing and exclusion millions of
Rohingya Muslims migrated to neighboring countries including Bnaglasdeh, Malaysia, Indonesia,
Thailand and India known as Rohingya Crisis 2015.

India’ response to this crisis has moved swiftly. In 2012 India allowed relief packages of US$ 1-
million and refugees were allowed and it was not an issue of conflict with domestic
politics or Mayamar relationship.In 2015 when the situation got severe and countries
like Bnaglasdeh, Malaysia, Indonesia closed their doors India acquired the same path. the
Government of India issued notices for their deportation, calling them illegal immigrants and a
threat to national security. There were also reports of Rohingyas being denied entry into India at the
border during the latest wave of persecution in 2017.

In this context it is very important to look at India’s response to refugees in the past. Starting from
independence India has managed to cope with what is termed as the biggest migration after world
war , allowed refuges naturalization and granted them with citizenship of India. In late 1950s the
Chinese crackdown on Tibbet led to mass migration of Tibetian people into India and Nepal, India
not only granted them. In 1983 Srilankan Civil war thousand of Tamils were allowed refuges in India
and even after Srilankan civil war is over many people are stil living in India. These Tamil refugees are
entitled to benefits like subsidised food and free healthcare; they also get employment
opportunities elsewhere outside the camps. In 1971, Pakistan was divided, and East Pakistan
emerged as a new nation state, Bangladesh, with support from India owing to its geostrategic
interests. Some 10 million Hindus who arrived in India were given protection, mainly in camps while
some stayed with their relatives.There are still many cases where India has shown great stances on
the matters of refugee handling.

So what caused India to move from its past .It can be explained in terms of geopolitics, security
and economic interests and humanitarian concerns.Indi supported Myamamar because it
didn’t want Myamaar to be more inclined towards China, also mymaar could help India
in stopping cross border ethnic insurgency, there were economic interests and overall
India took a negative stand as it viwed these illegal immigrants as a threat to na tional
secuty and thus ordered deportation of these immigraents.

Like any nation, India has the right to prioritise its national security. However, the
security concerns need to take into account the comprehensive long-term
consequences. The matter with India’s Rohingya approach is not that it is placing
security over humanitarian viewpoint but that it is doing so in a way that is imprudent
and likely to be self-defeating. Moreover, given its historical bent towards protecting
refugees, India must rise to the occasion and demonstrate that it is not driven solely by
narrow domestic political interests.
Instead of forced repatriation, the Indian government must use its good offices to bring the
Myanmar government to first acknowledge the wrongs that have been done to this community and
then mediate a solution that addresses the root problems of political exclusion and citizenship. This
can pave the way for a voluntary and dignified repatriation, primarily from Bangladesh and India as
well. Politicisation and political insinuations lead to violence and hostility towards this community.
People who make hate speeches against the Rohingyas should be brought to book. To ensure the
accountability of the Myanmar military, the Indian government should support any resolution that is
brought for starting proceedings in the International Criminal Court against it. As a first POLICY
REPORT NO. 24 step, India should follow the European Union, Canada, and the United States which
recently imposed sanctions on Army units and their commanders found involved in violent
campaigns against the Rohingyas. There should also be a concerted effort on India’s part to extend
its ‘Operation Insaniyat’ inside Bangladesh for the development of affected areas such as Cox’s
Bazar, in addition to providing basic services that have been sent in a couple of tranches. In May
2018, the Supreme Court of India designated nodal officers to provide the Rohingyas food, health,
and education so that their basic human dignity is restored. The government should ensure that
essential services are made available in the first place, and then assign nodal officers at every camp
to honour the court’s ruling. The use of force at the borders to stop the Rohingya from entering the
country should stop. Extensive surveillance and control is a violation of human dignity, so the
government’s plans to take their biometric details just for this purpose should stop, if at all they are
taken, they should be provided Aadhar cards which, in turn, can help them avail of many other
services.