Activists have decried what they see as an arbitrary crackdown on individuals escaping persecution, as Indian police say they have detained 74 Rohingya refugees for residing “illegally” in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. Police claimed on Monday that members of the mostly Muslim Rohingya population were held in six different places throughout the state, including 10 minors. 55 males, 14 women, and 5 children were caught “after crossing the border illegally” and residing in six districts of Uttar Pradesh, according to a police statement.
According to a story on the Scroll.in website in India, at least one of the jailed ladies is expecting. Detained individuals have reportedly lived in the region for the last decade after escaping persecution in Myanmar, according to the Rohingya Human Rights Initiative. According to Sabber Kyaw Min, head of the Initiative, many of them had been engaging in hard tasks, such as trash collecting. He explained, “They have been only demanding refuge.” The people have spoken, and they want detentions to stop. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled Myanmar into neighboring countries like Bangladesh, which shares a border with India, after the Myanmar military massacred hundreds of members of the minority group, raped and sexually assaulted women, and set fire to dozens of their towns. The United Nations has declared that the military assault against the Rohingya was conducted with “genocidal intent,” and many high-ranking military officials are now being tried for genocide at the International Court of Justice. Neither the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees nor any domestic legislation protecting refugees have been ratified by New Delhi. According to Ali Johar, co-founder of the Rohingya Human Rights Initiative, around 18,000 Rohingya were living in India as of early last year, and there are suits before the Supreme Court to prevent their repatriation.
India’s Rohingya community has mobilized in opposition to the arrests, calling on the government to honor its human rights and democratic promises. The detained must be treated with respect, after all. According to Kyaw Min, the Rohingya are human beings who endured a genocide and so deserve the same rights and respect as to everyone else. Those detainees were only attempting to enter India legally as refugees. They are warranted protection by international law, precedent legal decisions, and the Constitution of India. “Violent inmates include pregnant women, children, and the disabled,” he said.
