A nuanced and compassionate understanding of Rohingya’s flight is the need of the hour

The presence of Rohingya community within India is progressively becoming an issue of political blame-game and some political actors are busy pedalling mass anxiety without factoring in the complex multiplicity of vectors related to the issue, including the growing importance of the issue globally. They have accused the ruling National Conference government of protecting the settlers by providing them with power and water connections because they were members of a “particular community.” The J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who assumed office only in October, 2024, urged the central government to formulate a clear policy to determine the fate of the Rohingyas in the Union Territory, terming the condition to be a ‘humanitarian dispute’. But if we cannot send them back, we cannot let them starve or freeze to death.” Stating that the Rohingyas must be treated with “dignity”, the Chief Minister said, “They are human beings and must not be treated like animals.” In the national capital, within the same time-frame as the Delhi Assembly elections approach, the AAP accused the BJP of orchestrating a conspiracy to bring and settle Rohingya refugees in Delhi. In fact, when the then United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres, who is now the UN Secretary-General, met President Thein Sein in July 2012, the President stated that his government was prepared to hand over the Rohingya to the UNHCR and then they can resettle the ethnic group in any third country “that are willing to take them.” Coming to the subcontinent, more than twenty-three-years ago, the author remembers, while reporting for this paper, it was common for the Border Security Force to send press releases about the arrest of “Myanmarese” citizens. The International Court of Justice is hearing the Rohingya genocide case whereas in November 2024 an arrest warrant had been filled by the International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan against Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar’s armed forces and Acting President, alleging his involvement in crimes against humanity targeting the Rohingya population.