See humanitarian angle in Rohingya issue: CPM

Jammu, March 9

Days after the J&K administration detained 168 Rohingyas, the CPM on Tuesday said the Rohingya refugees’ issue was needed to be seen through the humanitarian angle, not the political one. Sham Prasad Kesar, regional secretary, CPM, Jammu, said so far nothing adverse had been found against the refugees in the UT and keeping that in consideration, the administration must deal with the issue on a humanitarian basis.

The administration had on Saturday detained and shifted 168 Rohingyas to a sub-jail in Kathua district after they were found living in Jammu city without valid documents.

The Rohingyas are a Bengali-dialect speaking Muslim minority in Myanmar. Following persecution in their country, many of them entered India illegally through Bangladesh and took shelter in Jammu and other parts of the country.

Many political parties and social organisations in Jammu have urged the Centre to take immediate steps for the deportation of Rohingyas and Bangladeshi nationals, alleging that their presence is a “conspiracy to alter the demographic character” in the region and a “threat to peace”.

More than 13,700 foreigners, including Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshi nationals, are settled in Jammu and Samba districts of Jammu and Kashmir, where their population has increased by over 6,000 between 2008 and 2016, according to government data. — PTI