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Genocide Of Rohingyas In Myanmar: The Hindutva Imprints
in South Asia — by Shamsul Islam — September 18, 2017
Currently, one of the worst post-World War II genocides is underway in India’s neighbourhood. In Rakhine Province of Myanmar (Burma) cleansing of people belonging to the Rohingya Tribe (mostly Muslims and few Hindus and Buddhists), has been going on for last two decades. But this cleansing project of Rohingyas is in full steam now by the Myanmar army and foot-soldiers of the Fascist Buddhist organizations with coming to power of Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Prize recipient for fighting against military rulers of the country. Ironically, this Nobel laureate now supervises genocide of Rohingyas in collaboration with the country’s army and fascist Buddhist cadres.
The rampaging killer/raping/maiming/burning gangs sponsored by the Burmese State, Army and Fascist Buddhist organizations have evoked worldwide condemnation including severe repudiation from world forums including UN. However, Indian PM Modi who visited Myanmar recently instead of expressing concern on the cleansing of Rohingyas expressed solidarity with the Killer State. He and Myanmar’s State Counsellor and de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a joint statement said, “It is important to maintain security and stability along the long land and maritime borders of India and Myanmar…India stands with Myanmar over the issue of violence in the Rakhine state which has led to loss of innocent lives.” This statement remained silent on the mass cleansing of the Rohingyas but expressed grave concern on the ‘terrorist’ activities of a section of Rohingyas in self-defence. In a more shocking development the RSS/BJP Indian Government has issued instructions to deport nearly 40,000 Rohingyas who escaped to India while under attack for being security threat.
The inimical attitude of the Indian rulers towards Rohingyas is neither accidental nor sudden. It does not seem to be the fall-out of some grave security threat which might have cropped up in the recent past. We need to investigate whether this cleansing got impetus with the political ascendancy of fascist Buddhist organizations in Myanmar and Hindutva fascist organizations in India.
The world obsessed with Islamist terrorism has not bothered to take any notice of a new terrorism network developing fast in India and its neighbourhood between Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and two ultra nationalist Buddhist groups of Myanmar and Sri Lanka against minorities in the area. In a startling and focussed disclosure The International New York Times(October 16, 2014) in an editorial titled ‘DEADLY ALLIANCES AGAINST MUSLIMS’ disclosed how fascist Buddhist groups in the region; Sri Lankan Buddhist group Bodu Bala Sena, Myanmar’s Wirathu Group 969′ [run by Ashin Wirathu a so-called monk from Myanmar who has preaching hatred toward Muslims and is the spiritual leader of a movement to boycott Muslim businesses] were in contact “at a high level” with the right-wing Indian Hindu group Rashtriya Swayam Sevak to form what he called a “Hindu-Buddhist peace zone” in South Asia which meant a Muslim-Christian free zone in the area. The editorial was concluded with the following alarming words:
“It is folly for the governments of Mr. Rajapaksa in Sri Lanka, President Thein Sein of Myanmar [both headed their respective countries in 2014] and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India, or their political allies, to give even the appearance of tolerating these Islamophobic groups in a region that has too often been convulsed by religious sectarian violence. They should condemn this mad alliance before it can spread further.”
This network though prioritizes Islamic/Muslim threat as the main concern but also treats Christians and other ethnic minorities as dangers and wants to control them. They refused to accept that this region was multi-religious area. Ashin Wirathu is committed to get rid of Muslims and other minorities of the area. They have killed hundreds of Muslims, raped Muslim women, burned hundreds of mosques and destroyed large number of Muslim properties and businesses.
For public consumption RSS has denied the claim of Gnanasara that they were in discussions “at a high level” with the right-wing Indian Hindu group Rashtriya. Rashtriya Swayam Sevak spokesman, Ram Madhav, promptly denied that there were any such discussions. But according to NYT Madhav, a senior RSS/BJP ideologue of India’s ruling oligarchy, “has written comments sympathetic to Bodu Bala Sena and Mr. Wirathu’s group 969 in Myanmar on his Facebook and Twitter accounts”. He lauded the plan of “Hindu-Buddhist peace zone” in South Asia which means an area free of minorities specially Muslims. In his posting [March 28, 2013 on Facebook] agreed with the propaganda that
“The Muslim population in Sri Lanka is growing fast…There are mosques and madrassas sprouting everywhere in the country. A rough estimate suggests that of the 1.2 million Muslim populations every 50 households have a mosque. In Colombo itself a new magnificent mosque is coming up, so are in many other places. Increasing number of burqa-clad women and skull cap-wearing men can be sited on the streets of Sri Lankan cities and towns now.”
Ram Madhav also noted that Muslims in Sri Lanka have been insisting on halal products. He noted approvingly that “the Bodu Bala Sena essentially talks about protecting the Buddhist culture of the country from foreign religions. By this it also means the Christian missionaries who are trying to convert people”.
He was happy to note that “the Bodu Bala Sena has maintained that Hindus and Buddhists of the country should work together on these issues.” He ended by commending, “So far, the issues raked up by the BBS are worthy of active and sympathetic consideration. Bodu Bala Sena is able to capture the attention of the Buddhist population of Sri Lanka.”It was atrocious on the part of Ram Madhav, a leader of the ‘largest Hindu organization in the world’ to overlook the fact that the Sri Lankan State in connivance with such Buddhist fascist organizations of Sri Lanka killed, raped and maimed lakhs of Hindu Tamils in the area. In one of the Tweets he wrote: “BODU BALA SENA – A NEW BUDDHIST MOVEMENT IN SRI LANKA Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) – a Buddhist organisation many wish”.
It is to be noted that RSS historically has been close to the ruling military dictators in Myanmar who have encouraged characters like Ashin Wirathu to propagate hatred for minorities in the country. How close RSS was to the military junta which now shares power with Aung San Suu Kyi can be known by the following report which appeared in the official organ of the RSS, Organizer dated February 28March 5, 2000:
“The 50th anniversary of the Sanatan Dharma Swayamsevak Sangh (SDSS-The RSS counterpart in Burma) was held at the National Theatre on Mayoma Kyaung Street, Yagnon, recently. Secretary-2 of the State Peace and Development Council, Lt. Gen. Tin Oo attended the meeting. The programme was attended by ministers and senior military officers. Minister for Commerce, Brig. Gen. Pyi Sone; Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, Maj. Gen. Sein Htwa; Minister for Health, Maj. Gen. Ket Sein were among the prominent persons who attended the function…The Secretary-2 delivered speech at the function.”
This report appeared with two photographs. In one photograph five military Generals including second in command of the military junta, Lt. Gen. Tin Oo, were seen standing on the stage in the midst of SDSS leadership wearing khaki shorts. In the other photograph leading lights of the Burmese military junta were seen sitting in the front row of the auditorium.
This terrorist network exposed by New York Times may have many other layers as was made clear by neo-Nazi mass murderer of Norway, Breivik who glorified Indian ‘Hindu Nationalists.[ii]He opened Pandora’s box when declared ‘Hindu Nationalist’ movement as a key ally in a global struggle to bring down democratic regimes across the world. Just before he went to massacre a large number of people in Norway he released a ‘manifesto’ of 1,518 pages, of which 102 pages dealt with the glorification of Hindutva movement of India. It declared support to “Sanatana Dharma movements and Indian nationalists in general.” This manifesto also laid down a plan of co-operation between neo-Nazi movements of Europe and ‘Hindu Nationalist’ organizations of India. This neo-Nazi document emphasised that it was essential that these two “learn from each other and cooperate as much as possible” as “Our goals are more or less identical’. This manifesto specially mentioned the name of the fountain head of the Hindutva politics like RSS and its subsidiaries like BJP, ABVP and VHP in this regard.[iii]
Importantly, the manifesto pledged military support “to the nationalists in the Indian civil war and in the deportation of all Muslims from India’ as part of a larger campaign to ‘overthrow of all western European multiculturalist governments.”
Imagine if these revelations had made some references to Muslim/Christian/Sikh individuals or organizations, the Indian intelligence agencies would have dug the areas inhabited by them to find out the linkages. Unfortunately, these startling disclosures about RSS’ linkages with a developing terror nexus internationally, are no cause of worry for the Indian State. This silence gives the conspirators legitimacy to play havoc with the region.
The International Court of Justice at The Hague must immediately constitute a team to unearth the nefarious role of fascist religious and cultural organization behind genocide of Rohingyas in Myanmar. Apart from looking into the role of such organizations in this genocide, this UN organ must also find out whether this cleansing is taking place to facilitate the capture of oil resources in this region and land grab by the Chines and Indian corporate giants. [iv]
Shamsul Islam is a retired Professor of University of Delhi.Email: notoinjustice@gmail.com
For some of S. Islam’s writings in English, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Punjabi, Urdu & Gujarati see the following link:
http://du-in.academia.edu/ShamsulIslam
Facebook: shams shamsul
Twitter: @shamsforjustice
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/16/opinion/deadly-alliances-against-muslims.html?_r=0
[ii] http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/norwegian-mass-killers-manifesto-hailshindutva/article2293829.ece
[iii][ http://ibnlive.in.com/news/norwegia...iks-manifesto-supports-hindutva/170496-3.html ]
[iv] https://qz.com/1074906/rohingya-the...grab-politics-behind-myanmars-refugee-crisis/
======================================================
India is complicit in the Rohingya suffering
India, as a member of the international community, must do its bit to safeguard the fundamental rights of the Rohingya.
by Bela Bhatia
7 Oct 2017
Rohingya refugees stand inside their slum on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, in a photo from 2015 [Tsering Topgyal/AP]
MORE ON ROHINGYA
On August 8, the central government issued an order to all state governments to identify and deport illegal immigrants, including Rohingya. Despite the escalation of the crisis after 25 August in Burma when counterinsurgency operations in the Rakhine State have led to large-scale killings, human rights violations, and an exodus of more than a half-million people to Bangladesh, the response of the government has remained obdurate. It has authorised border security forces to use "rude and crude methods" to block infiltrators. A Border Security Force officer recently admitted to media that they had started using chilli sprays and stun grenades. In some states, forcible removal of Rohingya refugees has begun.
OPINION: Is India contributing to the Rohingya catastrophe?
How legitimate are such actions on the ground when the matter is under judicial consideration in the Supreme Court of India? The preliminary arguments on a writ petition filed by two Rohingya Muslims on 29 August against their proposed deportation was heard on October 3. The petitioners are among the around 16,500 Rohingya refugees who are registered with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and given identity cards. They have been in India since 2011-12 when they came mostly on foot to escape the violence and persecution by the Burmese military and Buddhist majority vigilante groups.
It is one thing to be concerned about national security and quite another to criminalise an entire community.
The writ petition, issued under Article 32 of the Constitution of India, that allows all persons - citizens and foreigners - to move the Supreme Court in case of violation of their fundamental rights, argues for protection. It affirms that two fundamental rights and one principle of international law would be violated if the Rohingya refugees were deported back to Burma. The fundamental rights in question are Article 14 ("equality before law and equal protection of laws") of the fundamental right to equality and Article 21("life and personal liberty") of the fundamental right to freedom. The fundamental principle of international law that is at risk is non-refoulement that prohibits any country from returning refugees or asylum seekers to another country where there was a likelihood of persecution based on "race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion". The petition also draws upon case law highlighting previous examples where Indian courts have upheld the rights of refugees.
The government's counter-affidavit, however, maintains that the subject matter was not justiciable since the court had jurisdiction only regarding "fundamental rights of Indian citizens". It was a matter for the executive, and government policy could vary from case to case "in larger national interest". Moreover, India was not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol, therefore, it was not bound to the principle of non-refoulement. Further, that the Rohingya were illegal immigrants and Indian security agencies had information that some of them had links with terrorist organisations in Pakistan and other countries, were involved in illegal and anti-national activities, and figured in the sinister designs of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) and other extremist groups. India was primarily responsible to its own citizens and national resources were scarce. Admitting the Rohingya could also change the "demography and social structure" of the Indian society.
READ MORE: The Rohingya crisis through the eyes of a refugee
The right-wing BJP government's decision is in contrast to that of previous governments vis-a-vis other people in similar predicament. As of end-2014, there were nearly 300,000 refugees from 28 countries in India. Those who sought refuge had faced persecution or were "genuinely at risk" in their home states and were forced to flee.
WATCH: Aung San Suu Kyi remains popular in Myanmar despite international condemnation (2:35)
India's record as far as the principle of non-refoulement is concerned has been fairly good so far. Contrary to what has been stated in the government affidavit, as a principle of customary international law, it applies also to states that are not parties to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol. Moreover, India is a signatory to several International Conventions which include, inter alia, the principle of non-refoulement; India is also signatory to the recent "New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants" (dated October 3, 2016) that recognised the rights of refugees to asylum and also affirmed the principle of non-refoulement.
The government largesse to minority communities of Pakistan and Bangladesh is of note. By notification in gazette on September 7, 2015, the government made amendments to the Passport (entry into India) Rules, 1950, and the Foreigners Order, 1948, exempting a "… certain class of foreigners - persons belonging to minority communities in Bangladesh and Pakistan, namely, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who were compelled to seek shelter in India due to religious persecution or fear of religious persecution and had entered into India on or before the 31 December 2014 without valid documents ... or when the validity of any such document has expired"; this "class of foreigners" were eligible for long-term visas.
The government's response to the Rohingya refugees is striking in contrast. Why? Are they not a minority or have they not faced religious persecution? On the contrary, the Rohingya are acknowledged as the most persecuted minority in the world. It so happens, that a large majority of them are Muslims. Burma refuses to recognise their distinct ethnic identity or history and insists that they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. It has denied them citizenship making them the largest stateless population in the world; they are impoverished and have almost no rights within Burma (the Hindu Rohingya who have accepted the second-class green citizenship cards, which Muslim Rohingya have not, have some rights).
READ MORE: Jammu - Right-wing groups try to evict Rohingya refugees
They have been targets of the majority Buddhist community who along with the Burmese police and military (all Buddhists) enjoy impunity. The Rohingya have suffered wave upon wave of mass violence that has led to massive displacement within Burma as well as forced them to cross international borders. It is this state of unresolved political conflict in the face of continuous persecution that no doubt is behind the birth of Rohingya insurgency. The world has been witness to the Rohingya reality. The United Nations and other international organisations have found their claims to be credible and advised the Burmese government to end their persecution and grant them citizenship. Is the Indian government not aware of all this?
Increasingly, within India as in some other parts of the world, there is an easy equation being drawn between Islam and terrorism. The accusation of cross-border terrorism and fear for national security are often invoked by the right-wing BJP government and their ideologues vis-a-vis Muslim citizens of India, and now, by extension, to Rohingya Muslims.
The allegations of terror links, as mentioned in the government affidavit, do not hold water. Of the six states in India in which Rohingya have taken refuge, Jammu has the largest number of Rohingya, who have been living there for last five years. Demand for deportation of Rohingya surfaced early this year when some BJP leaders of Jammu initiated a campaign to remove them and threatened dire action if their demand was not met. A public interest litigation (PIL) seeking their identification and deportation was also filed in J&K High Court by a BJP-linked advocate.
OPINION: Locating the Rohingya in time and space
The NDTV recently conducted a detailed survey and found the allegations to be baseless. According to its report, in reply to a question raised in the budget session of the State Assembly in January, the Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti, said that "no Rohingya in Jammu and Kashmir has been found involved in militancy-related incidents. No instance of radicalising [of] these foreigners has been reported so far. Seventeen First Information Reports (FIR) have been registered against Rohingya for various offences, including those relating to illegal border crossing".
NDTV's survey found that only 14 FIRs implicated Rohingya. "We tracked down every single one of the 14 FIRs or first information reports to find the following: eight cases for lack of visa, two cases of rape, one case of cow slaughter, one case for causing injury, one case for selling goods in the black market and one for stealing railway property." The Inspector General of Police in Jammu has also confirmed that offences that they are found guilty of are petty, similar to those committed by "other groups of that social-economic situation". Senior advocate, Colin Gonsalves, who is representing the Jammu Rohingya in the Supreme Court has also maintained that there was not a single terror case.
WATCH: Fleeing Rohingya refugees recall Myanmar attacks (2:32)
In any case, as Senior Advocate Fali Nariman, who appeared for the Rohingya petitioners on October 3, pointed out: "... If the government had any specific information about any Rohingya persons being terrorists, those persons could be excluded from the applicability of the Refugee convention and dealt with separately by the agencies concerned."
One need not be a Muslim to feel that the present stand of the government is biased and discriminatory. It is one thing to be concerned about national security and quite another to criminalise an entire community. The modus operandi to ensure national security cannot be to ostracise all the Rohingya who have already taken refuge in India or others who may be at our borders and need our help. This anti-Muslim and anti-Rohingya attitude is causing insecurity within this community and polarisation in society.
The Indian government has been reticent on the Rohingya crisis. Prime Minister Modi in his visit to Burma in early September was quick to condemn "extremist violence" but remained silent on the exodus. It was only after international criticism mounted that he expressed concern and subsequently "Operation Insaniyat', that includes aiding Bangladesh with food and relief material, was initiated.
One has also heard another argument that is popular in some quarters - that Rohingya were an internal problem of Burma. However, due respect to sovereignty of a nation cannot extend to turning a blind eye to human rights excesses within its boundaries. Moreover, the Directive Principles of State Policy of the Constitution of India require the State to "promote international peace and security" (Article 51a) and "foster respect for international law and treaty obligations ..." (Article 51c). Ignoring this would represent an abdication of moral and political responsibility towards the persecution of an ethnic minority the scale of which had been deemed as "ethnic cleansing" and "genocidal" by UN observers.
The Rohingya's is a long history of unresolved political conflict for recognition of ethnic identity and citizenship in the wake of colonialism's retreat from Southeast Asia. India, as a member of the international community, must do its bit to ensure that the roots of the conflict are addressed and the rights of the Rohingya safeguarded. Only a peaceful neighbourhood can ensure India's national security.
Bela Bhatia is an Indian academic and human rights worker. She holds a PhD in social and political sciences from the University of Cambridge and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the Gujarat University. She works on an independent basis and lives in Bastar, south Chhattisgarh.
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bela Bhatia
Bela Bhatia is an Indian academic and human rights worker.
in South Asia — by Shamsul Islam — September 18, 2017
Currently, one of the worst post-World War II genocides is underway in India’s neighbourhood. In Rakhine Province of Myanmar (Burma) cleansing of people belonging to the Rohingya Tribe (mostly Muslims and few Hindus and Buddhists), has been going on for last two decades. But this cleansing project of Rohingyas is in full steam now by the Myanmar army and foot-soldiers of the Fascist Buddhist organizations with coming to power of Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Prize recipient for fighting against military rulers of the country. Ironically, this Nobel laureate now supervises genocide of Rohingyas in collaboration with the country’s army and fascist Buddhist cadres.
The rampaging killer/raping/maiming/burning gangs sponsored by the Burmese State, Army and Fascist Buddhist organizations have evoked worldwide condemnation including severe repudiation from world forums including UN. However, Indian PM Modi who visited Myanmar recently instead of expressing concern on the cleansing of Rohingyas expressed solidarity with the Killer State. He and Myanmar’s State Counsellor and de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a joint statement said, “It is important to maintain security and stability along the long land and maritime borders of India and Myanmar…India stands with Myanmar over the issue of violence in the Rakhine state which has led to loss of innocent lives.” This statement remained silent on the mass cleansing of the Rohingyas but expressed grave concern on the ‘terrorist’ activities of a section of Rohingyas in self-defence. In a more shocking development the RSS/BJP Indian Government has issued instructions to deport nearly 40,000 Rohingyas who escaped to India while under attack for being security threat.
The inimical attitude of the Indian rulers towards Rohingyas is neither accidental nor sudden. It does not seem to be the fall-out of some grave security threat which might have cropped up in the recent past. We need to investigate whether this cleansing got impetus with the political ascendancy of fascist Buddhist organizations in Myanmar and Hindutva fascist organizations in India.
The world obsessed with Islamist terrorism has not bothered to take any notice of a new terrorism network developing fast in India and its neighbourhood between Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and two ultra nationalist Buddhist groups of Myanmar and Sri Lanka against minorities in the area. In a startling and focussed disclosure The International New York Times(October 16, 2014) in an editorial titled ‘DEADLY ALLIANCES AGAINST MUSLIMS’ disclosed how fascist Buddhist groups in the region; Sri Lankan Buddhist group Bodu Bala Sena, Myanmar’s Wirathu Group 969′ [run by Ashin Wirathu a so-called monk from Myanmar who has preaching hatred toward Muslims and is the spiritual leader of a movement to boycott Muslim businesses] were in contact “at a high level” with the right-wing Indian Hindu group Rashtriya Swayam Sevak to form what he called a “Hindu-Buddhist peace zone” in South Asia which meant a Muslim-Christian free zone in the area. The editorial was concluded with the following alarming words:
“It is folly for the governments of Mr. Rajapaksa in Sri Lanka, President Thein Sein of Myanmar [both headed their respective countries in 2014] and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India, or their political allies, to give even the appearance of tolerating these Islamophobic groups in a region that has too often been convulsed by religious sectarian violence. They should condemn this mad alliance before it can spread further.”
This network though prioritizes Islamic/Muslim threat as the main concern but also treats Christians and other ethnic minorities as dangers and wants to control them. They refused to accept that this region was multi-religious area. Ashin Wirathu is committed to get rid of Muslims and other minorities of the area. They have killed hundreds of Muslims, raped Muslim women, burned hundreds of mosques and destroyed large number of Muslim properties and businesses.
For public consumption RSS has denied the claim of Gnanasara that they were in discussions “at a high level” with the right-wing Indian Hindu group Rashtriya. Rashtriya Swayam Sevak spokesman, Ram Madhav, promptly denied that there were any such discussions. But according to NYT Madhav, a senior RSS/BJP ideologue of India’s ruling oligarchy, “has written comments sympathetic to Bodu Bala Sena and Mr. Wirathu’s group 969 in Myanmar on his Facebook and Twitter accounts”. He lauded the plan of “Hindu-Buddhist peace zone” in South Asia which means an area free of minorities specially Muslims. In his posting [March 28, 2013 on Facebook] agreed with the propaganda that
“The Muslim population in Sri Lanka is growing fast…There are mosques and madrassas sprouting everywhere in the country. A rough estimate suggests that of the 1.2 million Muslim populations every 50 households have a mosque. In Colombo itself a new magnificent mosque is coming up, so are in many other places. Increasing number of burqa-clad women and skull cap-wearing men can be sited on the streets of Sri Lankan cities and towns now.”
Ram Madhav also noted that Muslims in Sri Lanka have been insisting on halal products. He noted approvingly that “the Bodu Bala Sena essentially talks about protecting the Buddhist culture of the country from foreign religions. By this it also means the Christian missionaries who are trying to convert people”.
He was happy to note that “the Bodu Bala Sena has maintained that Hindus and Buddhists of the country should work together on these issues.” He ended by commending, “So far, the issues raked up by the BBS are worthy of active and sympathetic consideration. Bodu Bala Sena is able to capture the attention of the Buddhist population of Sri Lanka.”It was atrocious on the part of Ram Madhav, a leader of the ‘largest Hindu organization in the world’ to overlook the fact that the Sri Lankan State in connivance with such Buddhist fascist organizations of Sri Lanka killed, raped and maimed lakhs of Hindu Tamils in the area. In one of the Tweets he wrote: “BODU BALA SENA – A NEW BUDDHIST MOVEMENT IN SRI LANKA Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) – a Buddhist organisation many wish”.
It is to be noted that RSS historically has been close to the ruling military dictators in Myanmar who have encouraged characters like Ashin Wirathu to propagate hatred for minorities in the country. How close RSS was to the military junta which now shares power with Aung San Suu Kyi can be known by the following report which appeared in the official organ of the RSS, Organizer dated February 28March 5, 2000:
“The 50th anniversary of the Sanatan Dharma Swayamsevak Sangh (SDSS-The RSS counterpart in Burma) was held at the National Theatre on Mayoma Kyaung Street, Yagnon, recently. Secretary-2 of the State Peace and Development Council, Lt. Gen. Tin Oo attended the meeting. The programme was attended by ministers and senior military officers. Minister for Commerce, Brig. Gen. Pyi Sone; Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, Maj. Gen. Sein Htwa; Minister for Health, Maj. Gen. Ket Sein were among the prominent persons who attended the function…The Secretary-2 delivered speech at the function.”
This report appeared with two photographs. In one photograph five military Generals including second in command of the military junta, Lt. Gen. Tin Oo, were seen standing on the stage in the midst of SDSS leadership wearing khaki shorts. In the other photograph leading lights of the Burmese military junta were seen sitting in the front row of the auditorium.
This terrorist network exposed by New York Times may have many other layers as was made clear by neo-Nazi mass murderer of Norway, Breivik who glorified Indian ‘Hindu Nationalists.[ii]He opened Pandora’s box when declared ‘Hindu Nationalist’ movement as a key ally in a global struggle to bring down democratic regimes across the world. Just before he went to massacre a large number of people in Norway he released a ‘manifesto’ of 1,518 pages, of which 102 pages dealt with the glorification of Hindutva movement of India. It declared support to “Sanatana Dharma movements and Indian nationalists in general.” This manifesto also laid down a plan of co-operation between neo-Nazi movements of Europe and ‘Hindu Nationalist’ organizations of India. This neo-Nazi document emphasised that it was essential that these two “learn from each other and cooperate as much as possible” as “Our goals are more or less identical’. This manifesto specially mentioned the name of the fountain head of the Hindutva politics like RSS and its subsidiaries like BJP, ABVP and VHP in this regard.[iii]
Importantly, the manifesto pledged military support “to the nationalists in the Indian civil war and in the deportation of all Muslims from India’ as part of a larger campaign to ‘overthrow of all western European multiculturalist governments.”
Imagine if these revelations had made some references to Muslim/Christian/Sikh individuals or organizations, the Indian intelligence agencies would have dug the areas inhabited by them to find out the linkages. Unfortunately, these startling disclosures about RSS’ linkages with a developing terror nexus internationally, are no cause of worry for the Indian State. This silence gives the conspirators legitimacy to play havoc with the region.
The International Court of Justice at The Hague must immediately constitute a team to unearth the nefarious role of fascist religious and cultural organization behind genocide of Rohingyas in Myanmar. Apart from looking into the role of such organizations in this genocide, this UN organ must also find out whether this cleansing is taking place to facilitate the capture of oil resources in this region and land grab by the Chines and Indian corporate giants. [iv]
Shamsul Islam is a retired Professor of University of Delhi.Email: notoinjustice@gmail.com
For some of S. Islam’s writings in English, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Punjabi, Urdu & Gujarati see the following link:
http://du-in.academia.edu/ShamsulIslam
Facebook: shams shamsul
Twitter: @shamsforjustice
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/16/opinion/deadly-alliances-against-muslims.html?_r=0
[ii] http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/norwegian-mass-killers-manifesto-hailshindutva/article2293829.ece
[iii][ http://ibnlive.in.com/news/norwegia...iks-manifesto-supports-hindutva/170496-3.html ]
[iv] https://qz.com/1074906/rohingya-the...grab-politics-behind-myanmars-refugee-crisis/
======================================================
India is complicit in the Rohingya suffering
India, as a member of the international community, must do its bit to safeguard the fundamental rights of the Rohingya.
by Bela Bhatia7 Oct 2017
Rohingya refugees stand inside their slum on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, in a photo from 2015 [Tsering Topgyal/AP]
MORE ON ROHINGYA
- Undercover for RVision: Reporting Myanmar's Rohingya storyyesterday
- Rohingya demand justice as UN delegation visits Bangladesh campstoday
- Democrats vs WikiLeaks and the implications for US media2 days ago
- Leeds United slammed for Myanmar post-season tour5 days ago
On August 8, the central government issued an order to all state governments to identify and deport illegal immigrants, including Rohingya. Despite the escalation of the crisis after 25 August in Burma when counterinsurgency operations in the Rakhine State have led to large-scale killings, human rights violations, and an exodus of more than a half-million people to Bangladesh, the response of the government has remained obdurate. It has authorised border security forces to use "rude and crude methods" to block infiltrators. A Border Security Force officer recently admitted to media that they had started using chilli sprays and stun grenades. In some states, forcible removal of Rohingya refugees has begun.
OPINION: Is India contributing to the Rohingya catastrophe?
How legitimate are such actions on the ground when the matter is under judicial consideration in the Supreme Court of India? The preliminary arguments on a writ petition filed by two Rohingya Muslims on 29 August against their proposed deportation was heard on October 3. The petitioners are among the around 16,500 Rohingya refugees who are registered with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and given identity cards. They have been in India since 2011-12 when they came mostly on foot to escape the violence and persecution by the Burmese military and Buddhist majority vigilante groups.
It is one thing to be concerned about national security and quite another to criminalise an entire community.
The writ petition, issued under Article 32 of the Constitution of India, that allows all persons - citizens and foreigners - to move the Supreme Court in case of violation of their fundamental rights, argues for protection. It affirms that two fundamental rights and one principle of international law would be violated if the Rohingya refugees were deported back to Burma. The fundamental rights in question are Article 14 ("equality before law and equal protection of laws") of the fundamental right to equality and Article 21("life and personal liberty") of the fundamental right to freedom. The fundamental principle of international law that is at risk is non-refoulement that prohibits any country from returning refugees or asylum seekers to another country where there was a likelihood of persecution based on "race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion". The petition also draws upon case law highlighting previous examples where Indian courts have upheld the rights of refugees.
The government's counter-affidavit, however, maintains that the subject matter was not justiciable since the court had jurisdiction only regarding "fundamental rights of Indian citizens". It was a matter for the executive, and government policy could vary from case to case "in larger national interest". Moreover, India was not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol, therefore, it was not bound to the principle of non-refoulement. Further, that the Rohingya were illegal immigrants and Indian security agencies had information that some of them had links with terrorist organisations in Pakistan and other countries, were involved in illegal and anti-national activities, and figured in the sinister designs of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) and other extremist groups. India was primarily responsible to its own citizens and national resources were scarce. Admitting the Rohingya could also change the "demography and social structure" of the Indian society.
READ MORE: The Rohingya crisis through the eyes of a refugee
The right-wing BJP government's decision is in contrast to that of previous governments vis-a-vis other people in similar predicament. As of end-2014, there were nearly 300,000 refugees from 28 countries in India. Those who sought refuge had faced persecution or were "genuinely at risk" in their home states and were forced to flee.
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India's record as far as the principle of non-refoulement is concerned has been fairly good so far. Contrary to what has been stated in the government affidavit, as a principle of customary international law, it applies also to states that are not parties to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol. Moreover, India is a signatory to several International Conventions which include, inter alia, the principle of non-refoulement; India is also signatory to the recent "New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants" (dated October 3, 2016) that recognised the rights of refugees to asylum and also affirmed the principle of non-refoulement.
The government largesse to minority communities of Pakistan and Bangladesh is of note. By notification in gazette on September 7, 2015, the government made amendments to the Passport (entry into India) Rules, 1950, and the Foreigners Order, 1948, exempting a "… certain class of foreigners - persons belonging to minority communities in Bangladesh and Pakistan, namely, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who were compelled to seek shelter in India due to religious persecution or fear of religious persecution and had entered into India on or before the 31 December 2014 without valid documents ... or when the validity of any such document has expired"; this "class of foreigners" were eligible for long-term visas.
The government's response to the Rohingya refugees is striking in contrast. Why? Are they not a minority or have they not faced religious persecution? On the contrary, the Rohingya are acknowledged as the most persecuted minority in the world. It so happens, that a large majority of them are Muslims. Burma refuses to recognise their distinct ethnic identity or history and insists that they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. It has denied them citizenship making them the largest stateless population in the world; they are impoverished and have almost no rights within Burma (the Hindu Rohingya who have accepted the second-class green citizenship cards, which Muslim Rohingya have not, have some rights).
READ MORE: Jammu - Right-wing groups try to evict Rohingya refugees
They have been targets of the majority Buddhist community who along with the Burmese police and military (all Buddhists) enjoy impunity. The Rohingya have suffered wave upon wave of mass violence that has led to massive displacement within Burma as well as forced them to cross international borders. It is this state of unresolved political conflict in the face of continuous persecution that no doubt is behind the birth of Rohingya insurgency. The world has been witness to the Rohingya reality. The United Nations and other international organisations have found their claims to be credible and advised the Burmese government to end their persecution and grant them citizenship. Is the Indian government not aware of all this?
Increasingly, within India as in some other parts of the world, there is an easy equation being drawn between Islam and terrorism. The accusation of cross-border terrorism and fear for national security are often invoked by the right-wing BJP government and their ideologues vis-a-vis Muslim citizens of India, and now, by extension, to Rohingya Muslims.
The allegations of terror links, as mentioned in the government affidavit, do not hold water. Of the six states in India in which Rohingya have taken refuge, Jammu has the largest number of Rohingya, who have been living there for last five years. Demand for deportation of Rohingya surfaced early this year when some BJP leaders of Jammu initiated a campaign to remove them and threatened dire action if their demand was not met. A public interest litigation (PIL) seeking their identification and deportation was also filed in J&K High Court by a BJP-linked advocate.
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The NDTV recently conducted a detailed survey and found the allegations to be baseless. According to its report, in reply to a question raised in the budget session of the State Assembly in January, the Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti, said that "no Rohingya in Jammu and Kashmir has been found involved in militancy-related incidents. No instance of radicalising [of] these foreigners has been reported so far. Seventeen First Information Reports (FIR) have been registered against Rohingya for various offences, including those relating to illegal border crossing".
NDTV's survey found that only 14 FIRs implicated Rohingya. "We tracked down every single one of the 14 FIRs or first information reports to find the following: eight cases for lack of visa, two cases of rape, one case of cow slaughter, one case for causing injury, one case for selling goods in the black market and one for stealing railway property." The Inspector General of Police in Jammu has also confirmed that offences that they are found guilty of are petty, similar to those committed by "other groups of that social-economic situation". Senior advocate, Colin Gonsalves, who is representing the Jammu Rohingya in the Supreme Court has also maintained that there was not a single terror case.
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In any case, as Senior Advocate Fali Nariman, who appeared for the Rohingya petitioners on October 3, pointed out: "... If the government had any specific information about any Rohingya persons being terrorists, those persons could be excluded from the applicability of the Refugee convention and dealt with separately by the agencies concerned."
One need not be a Muslim to feel that the present stand of the government is biased and discriminatory. It is one thing to be concerned about national security and quite another to criminalise an entire community. The modus operandi to ensure national security cannot be to ostracise all the Rohingya who have already taken refuge in India or others who may be at our borders and need our help. This anti-Muslim and anti-Rohingya attitude is causing insecurity within this community and polarisation in society.
The Indian government has been reticent on the Rohingya crisis. Prime Minister Modi in his visit to Burma in early September was quick to condemn "extremist violence" but remained silent on the exodus. It was only after international criticism mounted that he expressed concern and subsequently "Operation Insaniyat', that includes aiding Bangladesh with food and relief material, was initiated.
One has also heard another argument that is popular in some quarters - that Rohingya were an internal problem of Burma. However, due respect to sovereignty of a nation cannot extend to turning a blind eye to human rights excesses within its boundaries. Moreover, the Directive Principles of State Policy of the Constitution of India require the State to "promote international peace and security" (Article 51a) and "foster respect for international law and treaty obligations ..." (Article 51c). Ignoring this would represent an abdication of moral and political responsibility towards the persecution of an ethnic minority the scale of which had been deemed as "ethnic cleansing" and "genocidal" by UN observers.
The Rohingya's is a long history of unresolved political conflict for recognition of ethnic identity and citizenship in the wake of colonialism's retreat from Southeast Asia. India, as a member of the international community, must do its bit to ensure that the roots of the conflict are addressed and the rights of the Rohingya safeguarded. Only a peaceful neighbourhood can ensure India's national security.
Bela Bhatia is an Indian academic and human rights worker. She holds a PhD in social and political sciences from the University of Cambridge and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the Gujarat University. She works on an independent basis and lives in Bastar, south Chhattisgarh.
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bela Bhatia
Bela Bhatia is an Indian academic and human rights worker.
