155 Illegal Rohingya immigrants detained during a verification drive in Jammu, to be sent to a ‘Holding Center’

In early February this year, the administration in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir had been directed by the Division Bench of Jammu and Kashmir High Court to file its response within a month listing out measures taken so far to identify and deport illegal immigrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh camping in the region.

The directions were passed by the Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal and first Puisne Judge Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey after hearing advocates on behalf of the petitioner Hunar Gupta who had filed a Public Interest Litigation in the matter.

But it was business as usual for nearly a month, with the illegal immigrants setting up shops selling various stuff to make a living. A full-fledged illegal settlement colony was built on the outskirts of Jammu in the Kiryani Talab area where these illegal immigrants without the fear of authority or deportation used to hang around, socialize and carry out businesses.

Kifayatullah, selling different varieties of fish, told The Pioneer, “I am selling fish outsourced from New Delhi. He said I travel on a regular basis to either Ghazipur mandi in New Delhi or Mumbai to book the choicest varieties of fish and sell it here. I earn 3000- 4000 on a daily basis by selling different varieties of fish. Majority of other Rohingyas earn their living by way of selling scrap material, working as laborers and laying cables, cleaning lanes and drains under different contractors engaged by the Jammu Municipal corporation. Women work in local factories where dry fruits are segregated, packed, and cleaned inside godowns.

But the authorities who were care-free and not bothered about it seems to have finally woken up from their deep slumber and taking up the case of the threats posed by these illegal immigrants seriously nearly a month after the high court passed directions for the same.

What prompted the authorities to take such a quick decision may have been the recent seizure of fake Aadhar cards and passports from these illegal immigrants which was the worst fears and a long-time headache of security experts who were constantly warning against the mushrooming growth of illegal immigrants. The illegal immigrants had even managed to acquire sim-cards and voting cards.

In a major crackdown on illegal immigrants staying in Jammu and Kashmir more than 150 Rohingyas have been detained at a holding center in Sub Jail Hiranagar at the end of the verification process of their travel documents.

According to official sources, during the special drive conducted at the Maulana Azad stadium in Jammu on Saturday police authorities verified travel documents and collected biometrics of large numbers of illegal immigrants including Rohingyas from Myanmar.

After completing the daylong exercise Inspector General of Police, Jammu range, Mukesh Singh in a press statement said, “155 illegal immigrant Rohingyas staying in the Union Territory of J&K were sent to the holding center established vide Home department notification dated 5th March 2021 on Saturday. This was done under section 3(2)e of the Foreigners Act. Due process of law was followed in this exercise. These immigrants were not holding valid travel documents required in terms of section (3) of the Passports Act. The exercise of identifying more such immigrants is still in progress, after sending them to the holding center, the process of nationality verification will be done as per the prescribed process. After completion of the Nationality verification, the process of deportation of these illegal immigrants will be initiated.”

According to police, “sub-jail Hiranagar in Kathua district has been converted into a holding center to accommodate these illegal immigrants”. Also, a database of such illegal immigrants will be recorded for future use.

Human rights & Humanity Versus National Security

Though human rights and humanity must be upheld but not at the cost of national security, one must be accommodating to refugees being persecuted in their homeland but not so much that one should comprise one’s accommodation and security for it.

The UNHRC data shows that 16,500 Rohingya Muslims have settled in India as refugees with 5,700 settled in Jammu and the rest in New Delhi, Jaipur, and Hyderabad. Whereas, according to the Jammu and Kashmir government, there 5,700 Rohingyas in Jammu and 7,664 in Ladakh. Other estimates point out that nearly 40,000 Rohingyas are living illegally in India.

Humanity must come first but without national security being comprised, according to the central government there is enough evidence to prove that the illegal Rohingya Muslims have links with terror groups in Kashmir and they pose a very serious security threat.

Rohingya Muslims settling in strategically important Doda and Samba sectors of Jammu region and Ladakh far away from Northeast states or West Bengal which is closer to their native Rakhine region is a good enough reason for the government to act in the national interest.

People of Jammu have earlier raised suspicions and doubts of how these persecuted people ended up traveling so far away without much financial backbone and suspected a larger conspiracy of a demographic change backed by Pakistan and to create unrest in the relatively stable but strategic area of Jammu and Ladakh. Also, most of these settlements are in volatile regions near military camps like one in Sinjawan.

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah who is a known Sympathizer of separatists and stone-pelters had even too acknowledged that Rohingyas had become a security threat.

The presence of Rohingyas, especially their growing concentration in Jammu and Ladakh regions, had raised fear among intelligence agencies and security bodies over their involvement in terror activities.

Such fear is justified and here’s why:

• Chota Burmi of Rohingya origin was killed along with Pakistani mercenaries in Kashmir in 2015. He is said to have received the patronage of Hafiz Saeed in Pakistan.
• In October 2016, reports emerged that the Rohingya terror group, known as Aqa Mul Mujahideen (AMM), was in touch with terrorist outfits active in the state including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), and men belonging to AMM got trained in Pakistan.
• Zakir Musa, the Head of Al-Qaeda’s offshoot in Kashmir, Ansar Gazawat-ul-Hind, has expressed solidarity with Rohingyas living in Jammu. In a 10-minute-long audio clip, Zakir Musa warned the Modi government against deporting Rohingyas from India and called for liberating Kashmir from the leadership of ‘cow worshiping Hindus.
• In early September, the Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulma (MMU), headed by separatist Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and other religious organizations also observed a Solidarity Day in the Valley for Rohingya settlers.

The presence of Rohingyas in Jammu and Ladakh gives Islamabad direct access to further infuriate terrorism and communal tensions in Kashmir, particularly in the relatively calmer areas of Jammu and Ladakh. Instead of cross-border infiltration, these illegal immigrants could be locally radicalized to launch terror attacks. A fragile state like Jammu and Kashmir which is divided into religious lines can potentially flare up — invoking fear in the minds of Hindus in Jammu and Buddhists in Ladakh.

Keeping such sensitive interests in mind, New Delhi will have to tread carefully on a thin line. Immigrants with dubious radicalized links need to be deported as soon as possible, but the innocent ones with no bad background after stringent security background checks could be provided a temporary status.

Political and intellectual slugfest regarding the same:

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP), the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and other social organizations have been demanding the deportation of the Rohingyas from a very long time now.

They fear it as a part of hybrid warfare by Pakistan to change the demographics of the Hindu-dominated Jammu region and the Buddhist-dominated Ladakh region. They have questioned why shelter to Rohingyas is not being provided in the Muslim-majority Kashmir but in Jammu.

These organizations have repeatedly questioned how without any financial aid Rohingyas reached and settled down in the northern-most belt of Jammu after passing through several states from West Bengal. They suspect a political conspiracy.

Meanwhile, certain intellectual lobbies from the left have been trying to create a pro-Rohingya perception claiming the deportations, detentions, and discriminations are deliberately being done by the BJP to further their anti-Muslim propaganda. They have asked the government to be more considerate and look into the human aspect of the refugee crisis too.
Also, groups linked to Hurriyat Conference have supported the idea of
Rohingyas being accommodated and have condemned the discrimination.

One must refrain from politicizing such issues and look into both the aspects of it, national security and humanity.