Bangladesh’s Rohingya Problem

What is the issue?

The population of Rohingyas in Bangladesh as of now is 8,85,000 and the refugee population is increasing rapidly by 35,000 every year, which is a serious security implication for countries mainly in South Asia.

What is the Rohingya issue?

• Rohingya are an ethnic Muslim group who live predominantly in the Rakhine state of Myanmar and speak the Bengali dialect.
• The Rohingya are not recognized by the Myanmar government as an official ethnic group and are therefore not given citizenship under the 1982 Citizenship Law.
• It is claimed that there were no Rohingyas in Myanmar before the British brought ‘Bengalis’ to Burma.
• But there is sufficient proof to show that the Rohingyas pre-existed before the British-engineered migration, during the British occupation of the Myanmar State in 1823.
• Even those who arrived in Burma post -1823 could not go back to Bangladesh, now they have no citizenship claims there.
• This makes them stateless people.

What about the involvement of Bangladesh in this issue??

• Bangladesh has been providing food and shelter for the refugees and trying to create the condition in Myanmar for their safe return.
• Till now from 2017 more than 700,000 Rohingya fled as the country’s military launched a massive campaign of terror against the community, including torture, mass executions, and gang rape.
• The forcibly displaced ROHINGYA from Myanmar get settled in the Cox Bazar district in Bangladesh and underwent dramatic expansion.

STATUS OF REPATRIATING OF REFUGEES IN BANGLADESH

• According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, there were 926,486registered Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh as of May 31, 2022.
• A sharp increase in their population is witnessed in the camp due to peace, absence of violent persecution, assurance of food and medical care
• Bangladesh and Myanmar signed a repatriation agreement in 2017 but both had not agreed on a concrete process or a deadline for completion of the repatriation.
• In 2021 a tripartite virtual meeting was mediated by China, but the Myanmar military staged a coup and put the repatriation process on ice.

CURRENT ISSUE WITH MYANMAR

• The rate of growth of the population is 1% in Bangladesh while the population of the Rohingya is growing at 6 to 7%.
• The massive Rohingya population is putting a high burden on resources and the environment, besides creating conditions for criminal activity and friction in local society.
• It carries a serious social and security implication for sensitive northeast India.
• It also leads to an increase in crime such as kidnapping for ransom, petty theft, etc.
• It also leads to an increase in organized crime and can increase extremist activity too.

Both Bangladesh and Myanmar have to sensitively handle this issue with a focus more on finding a long-term solution that will strengthen the security of both the nation and the entire region.