Why India should ignore UN Human Rights Commission’s criticism on its plans to deport Rohingya refugees
India has more at stake than listening to the UN or the Indian pseudo-intellectual left who harp on about secularism and how India won’t take in the Rohingya just because they are Muslim.
The parts of India which are chomping at the bit in support of the Rohingya are West Bengal and Kerala which interestingly enough are riven with Muslim organisations who are crying foul of Indian policy purely because they share the same religion as them. Where is their collective voice of dismay when their own countrymen are in Muslim-majority countries and face the kind of persecution that makes the Rohingya plight look like a beach volleyball party?
If India deports these refugees or keeps them it has to put its own national security interests first; for too long under Congress governments has it been willing and able to open its doors to those fleeing persecution in the past. It must now take a more intelligent approach.
Of course India should think about the religious affiliations of the Rohingya, and why not? The populations of Indic religions over centuries has dwindled as Muslims gain significant traction in West Bengal, Kerala and Assam, completely disrupting the religious demographics there, providing means and material for the inflow of Wahhabi money into mosques and madrasas in India as well as laying down the conditions for the kind of jihadhi radicalisation that led to them having to leave Myanmar in the first place.
India is already going through enough unrest with this issue; why then invite it to further regress by opening the door to more Muslim refugees? Once they are in Indian territory, deporting those who come across illegally (which will happen) will be nigh on impossible. Example? Think about those who entered India after 1971 under the Assam Accord signed by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Once they disappear into India it is difficult to find those who came in illegally let alone deport them.
India can’t afford to be neutral on this issue because it is highly possible that militants of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which pushed Myanmar’s Rakhine state into a state of insurgency last month, have infiltrated the refugee ranks and will continue to do so. Not only will this jeopardise peace in the country by heightening the risk of terrorism but will give succour to Hindu fringe groups looking for an excuse to start unrest. If India cannot provide refuge to the persecuted and protect its internal security at the same time, then the issuing of housing these refugees becomes entirely redundant.
It’s amazing to the gigantic pro-Rohingya vote from the liberals, in India and across the metropolitan elite, who will never recognise the persecution of Hindus in Pakistan, Kashmir and Bangladesh. If India wants to even think about providing help to these refugees, their aggressive screening must be based on strict conditions. How many of these are realistic is a moot point.
For instance, can India isolate these refugees to specific zones where security forces can watch them? Can they ensure the refugees absolutely do not partake in political or religious activities that further communalise the regions they are within?
The answer to these questions is likely no because this is exactly what has happened, with Muslims in India finding common ground only with Muslims from Rakhine instead of putting Indian national interest first (they after all claim to be Indian citizens do they not?).
If India wants to allow in any refugees, they must be finger printed, tracked and given ration cards and subject to surveillance. This is not to be cruel or to dehumanise but to ensure ARSA cannot infiltrate and embed itself within their ranks.
Returning these refugees is paramount, they are not Indian citizens nor should become so. To this end, they should sign a declaration that will not seek citizenship in India, but will return to Rakhine once the conditions are relatively peaceful.
If they want to migrate to Pakistan or Saudi Arabia or any Muslim country that is willing to take them, then that is their long term right to do so. Their stay in India must be temporary.
The liberal elite will cry racism and what not but national security comes first, these Rohingya refugees cannot be allowed to be radicalised (assuming they are not already). As such it must be impressed upon the refugees that they must not and cannot take part in any local political activity and should not proselytise their own religion to anybody else, only practice it.
As they are in India they should understand and appreciate Indic religions and their basic conceptions so that they adhere to Indian and Hindu customs. In India, the Indians are not kafirs and infidels and if the refugees are found to espouse such thoughts they should be instantly deported after refugee status is withdrawn.
