In order to express solidarity with Rohingya Muslims and to raise their voice against the silence of the world community and their continuous persecution at the hands of Myanmar, civil society, social and religious organisations, academicians and human rights activists held a massive protest near the Myanmar Embassy amid tight security on 13 September.
Mohammad Salim Engineer, Secretary General of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, while applauding the humanitarian role played by the Sikh brethren for the Rohingya refugees on the border of Bangladesh, said, “The UNO should use all its power to stop prosecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and if necessary use force against Myanmar under the guidelines of the international law the way it has been done against other countries in the past.” The Secretary-General, while condemning complete silence of Prime Minister of India over the Rohingya crisis during his recent visit to Myanmar, asked the Government to treat the refugees in India as per the tradition of India and under the guidance of international norms.
Protesters which also included children and women in large numbers also displayed their concern and anger by holding placards in their hands and shouting slogans asking to break the silence from the world community, UNO, and the Indian Government.
Strongly criticising the present stand of the Indian Government on the refugee issue, All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat President Naved Hamid said, India has a long history of welcoming refugees with open arms either from Sri Lanka or Bangladesh and any other parts of the world but why the government is now looking at the Rohingya Muslims through the prism of religion which is contrary to India’s stand on refugees and asylum seekers in the past.
Addressing the protest under the banner of “Solidarity with Rohingya,” Rashtriya Janata Dal national spokesperson and professor at Delhi University, Prof Manoj Jha said we have gathered here to demand from the Indian Government not to communalise and discriminate against the refugee issue and to put pressure on the Government to follow the age-old position of India on refugees and asylum seekers from many parts of the world.
Most of the speakers asked as to how the followers of Buddhism, a religion which is primarily based on the path of non-violence, deport people to a no man’s land only to die. The protestors strongly condemned the international community including international organisations and the Indian Government for failing to act and for their irresponsible attitude towards the worst humanitarian crisis in Myanmar.
Prof. Apoorvanand, social activist, and Professor of Hindi at Delhi University urged the Government to reconsider its decision to deport Rohingya Muslims from the country. According to him after this stand of the Government, it has become clear that this is not the country of Gandhi. He categorically said that if India deports Rohingya Muslims from its country then India would commit a sin and they have to live with this sin forever on their forehead. The communal forces have always created a phobia in the minds of Hindus and they are doing the same by portraying Rohingya refugees as a threat to them.
Another speaker, Ravi Nair, Executive Director of South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre (SAHRDC) and expert on the subject, said that under the Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution, the Government cannot deport any refugee forcefully from the country. Nair also reminded the audience of earlier judgments of the court on deportation issue and said that there is a clear guideline that refugees cannot be pushed out of the country forcefully. He informed that the issue of deportation is in the Supreme Court and it will be decided very soon.
After the protest, the leaders also submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister of India. “The Rohingya Muslims are being humiliated, persecuted; their children, women, and men are butchered, their homes and villages are torched and burnt. They need full support from the Government of India on humanitarian grounds for protection of their life and dignity. India has a long historical tradition of providing refuge to the persecuted communities of the world and this noble tradition continues even after Independence.”
The memorandum also categorised the breakup of the refugees of the past. 1. Buddhists from Tibet 1,50,000. 2. Muslims from Afghanistan 9,000. 3. Hindus & Christians from Sri Lanka 90,000. 4. Hindus, Muslims & Tribals from Bangladesh 7,000. 5. Christians and Muslims from Somalia 400. 6. Muslims from Palestine 200. 7. Hindus from Pakistan 1,15,000. 8. Rohingya Muslims from Burma 40,000.
The memorandum also demanded: 1. The Government of India must welcome Rohingya Muslims and rehabilitate them till they return safely to their country. 2. They must be well treated as long as they stay in our country and withdraw all orders which may hurt their lives and dignity in India. 3. The Government of India should use its good office in Myanmar to convince the Myanmar leadership to resolve their political issue justly and amicably. This is in the interest of our country because burning borders will certainly affect us.
Dr. SQR Ilyas, Nusrat Ali, Fr. M D Thomas, Kunwar Danish Ali, Shehla Rashid, Mohit Pandey, Abdul Waheed, Syed Azharuddin, Siraj Talib and some student leaders also addressed the gathering.