Jammu’s Rohingyas, who once defeated death, struggle for dignity, rights I Ground Report

In 2021, Arif Muhammad’s father was whisked away by police and lodged in a detention camp in Jammu’s Hira Nagar on charges of living illegally in Jammu. It’s been four years now and Arif’s father along with 269 other Rohingya refugees including women and children, continue to remain in detention at the sub-jail turned ‘holding centre’.

Questioning the indefinite confinement of the detainees, Arif, 33, says multiple attempts by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Rohingya community to secure their release, have gone in vain.

‘Genocide’ and loss of homeland

Arif’s family is one of the thousands of Rohingya Muslims who escaped ethnic cleansing in Myanmar and crossed borders to take refuge in India. Bathandi Narwal in Jammu is home to 2,000 such Rohingya Muslim families who arrived in India in 2008.

Their numbers surged in 2017, as ethnic cleansing in Myanmar forced many to seek refuge in neighbouring countries, including India. According to data, over 700,000 people, mainly Muslim Rohingyas, were forced to flee their homes in Myanmar in 2017 to escape a brutal military crackdown, which many including the then UN human rights chief had called a "genocide".

Around one million members of the ethnic minority are living in crowded refugee camps in Bangladesh, which has the largest concentration of the community in the world, while 40,000 Rohingyas live in various slums across different cities of India. As per the testimonies of Rohingyas from Jammu, before 2017, many incidents of mass killings happened, but were not reported in mainstream media, and it was the reason that people started fleeing Myanmar in 2008.

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No escape from discrimination

Families who fled to India are trying to rebuild their lives in search of peace.

But their struggle has worsened in the past few years with refugees complaining of not just facing the threat of detention, but also facing discrimination, denial of basic rights and of being accused of being criminals and ‘stooges of enemy countries’.

“When we came in 2011, things were very calm and smooth. We had no restrictions and pressure from the government, but after a few years we felt pressured, and things escalated. In 2021, 270 Rohingya refugees were taken into the Hira Nagar Detention centre,” says Arif.

“I sometimes fear that just like our relatives, I also may end up in detention. What will happen to my family after that?” he asks, while urging the central and state governments to release Rohingyas detained in Hira Nagar holding centre.

Difficult life of a refugee

Despite being an activist and a Good Samaritan for his community, Arif, a father of five children, has been struggling to get admission for his six-year-old daughter Noor Habiba for the last two years.

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Like hundreds of other Rohingyas, Arif after doing years of laborious work, managed to open a vegetable and grocery shop at Burma Market in Karyani Talab two years back to make ends meet and educate his children.

In December 2024, water and electricity supply was snapped for Rohingyas settled in different camps of Jammu following an intense debate among political parties about the fate of foreigners including Bangladeshis and Rohingyas living in the Jammu region.

Odd jobs to make ends meet

Government data shows that over 13,700 foreigners, mostly Rohingyas and Bangladeshis, have settled in Jammu and other parts of Jammu and Kashmir, with their numbers rising by 6,000 between 2008 and 2016. Across India, around 40,000 Rohingyas live in slums and detention camps in cities like Jammu, Hyderabad, Nuh, and Delhi.

Noor Alam, 35, like millions of Rohingya refugees, also fled his home in 2013, fearing genocide, only to find safe refuge in India. He found a home at Karyani Talab. “Our homes and mosques were burnt. I saw my friends and relatives killed and women raped. Fearing for my family's safety, I had no choice but to come with my mother, sisters and other family members to India,” he recalled.

Noor quickly realised the challenges of living in a new country. He made a temporary shed for his family and started working as a labourer. He would sometimes work as a house help and would do other odd jobs too. He still continues to work as a house help. For Noor, there is no time to live a full-fledged youth, for he has brothers, sisters and an ailing mother to take care of.

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Families die waiting for loved ones

In 2017, after the genocide, Noor’s father had to leave Myanmar only to get trapped in a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh. Noor says he hasn't seen his father since 2013. A few years ago, his mother passed away while waiting for a reunion with her husband.

“Those who have lost their parents can only understand the pain and grief of losing them. I can’t explain this dual pain that I carry within,” says Noor.

“We left Myanmar only due to the fear of the genocide. We also had homes and fields but had to leave them due to the atrocities done to us," Noor says in an answer intended for those who constantly question their existence in Jammu.

A teen’s tale of resilience, hope

Eighteen-year-old Mohamad Javid’s family is among the 2,000 families who fled Myanmar in 2009. Recounting experiences of the ethnic cleansing that he heard from the elders in his family, he says that his family was tortured a lot, cattle was looted and out of angst and fear of death, his father managed to bring them to India.

“I was five years old when I came to India. My father passed away 11 years ago here in Jammu and since then, my mother has been taking care of my education by breaking walnuts as a labourer,” he says.

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Javid proudly claims how due to his mother's selfless efforts, he passed Class 12 from a government school in Jammu last year. “I am fortunate and proud to say that I never faced any discrimination from the teachers and students in the school, rather I was the most loved and my teachers encouraged me to stress on my education,” he said.

School for ‘outcastes’

Javid wants to pursue a law degree, but he has been denied admissions from various Indian universities. He hopes of getting a foreign scholarship under the refugee quota but also admits that the competition is tough.

“I tried a lot to get admission in Indian colleges but for a refugee, the documentation is very tough, and I am not able to fulfil it,” he says.

Javid, undeterred by challenges, takes assistance from online learning to remain updated and seek more knowledge.

Five years back, Javid founded the first Rohingya community school at Kiryani Talab while he was studying in Class 8. Once the school started gaining support from the community, the students who once studied under him, after passing their 10th grade, joined Javid in teaching the Rohingya students.

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Those students who have been denied admissions in other schools, study in this community school. However, against all odds, many students still manage to study in various government schools.

Amidst the restrictions of education on his community, young Javid is determined to study law. “Completing 12th for me was once a dream. Similarly, I am determined to complete my law degree as well in future,” he says.

'Why are we hated if India can't send us back?'

Speaking to The Federal, Dil Muhammad, 63, says the community, however, is worried about the fate of the younger generation of Rohingyas. “I lived a peaceful life as a child and youth in Arakan in Myanmar, and it breaks my heart to see the struggle the children and younger generation of my community have to put up with at their age," he says.

Dil Muhammad says when he came to Jammu in 2008, life was easy as there were no major restrictions on Rohingyas. “We ate one meal a day when there was no work in our initial days here, but we were at peace. Today, I am living with my five children here. As we don’t have ID cards, we are only reliant on manual labour. Our children cannot find good jobs in India. We face many issues with water and electricity. We bear all these problems only in one hope that we will return to our homes one day,” he says.

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'Send us home or give us some dignity'

“We have asked the UNHCR many a time why are we still here if the Indian government is reluctant to keep us. Public opposition, protests, and hostility make us fear for our lives. We want to leave, but UNHCR says the government won’t approve it. If we can’t return yet, why is there so much hate against us,” he adds.

Conveying the gratitude of his community to the Indian government for allowing Rohingyas to work without identity cards, Muhammad says the least the Centre could do is to give the refugees some dignity and basic human rights.

“If not for India, we wouldn’t be alive, and we thank the government for that. They allowed us to search for work. Our only demand is that till we go back home, we should be allowed to stay here with dignity and provided basic amenities to live like a human.”

Contentious issue

The presence of Rohingyas in Jammu has for long been a hot potato in political circles, with the BJP unit in the region consistently opposing their stay. Party leaders allege that these refugees are involved in illegal activities, raising concerns over security and demographic changes. Demanding their deportation, the BJP has repeatedly urged the government to take strict action, citing national interest and law enforcement priorities.

Also read: Hyderabad: Rohingyas wait to find an anchor after years adrift

BJP's charges against Rohingyas

Advocate Sunil Sethi, BJP’s chief spokesperson in Jammu and Kashmir, told The Federal that the party is concerned about Rohingyas' settlement in Jammu. He questioned who paved the way for their settlement, because they come from a very far place on the eastern border and the way they have settled in another region adjacent to an international border is alarming.

“Their involvement in serious crimes like narcotics and other crimes is a serious concern. We want to know about those Rohingyas who have been settled here in Jammu, through which channels they have been facilitated to make homes, and have been given jobs by NGOs,” Sethi questioned.

'Security threat, ISI tool'

He alleged that certain NGOs work for them, and financing of those NGOs comes from Pakistan, and other countries which are India’s enemies. “Such an environment has been created where a community, whose background is unknown to us, are being settled here,” he claimed.

He cautioned that “Rohingyas are a potential tool for ISI and Jammu Kashmir’s security has a threat from them.”

When asked why the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre has not been able to resolve the issue, he argued, “Whenever attempts were made to push them back, these NGOs protest, they make a hue and cry on social media and even go to the Supreme Court.”

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'It's not about Muslims, but law of land'

Sethi reiterated that unless and until Rohingyas are expelled, the security concerns of Jammu and Kashmir cannot be addressed. “The issue of Rohingyas should not be seen as a communal issue. The BJP is not against them because they are Muslims, but only because they are on Indian soil against the law of the country. Therefore, those who are defending them are definitely inspired by communal politics,” Sethi said.

He further shared that if political parties or NGOs talk about them deliberately, they do it to appease the Muslim voters. “If any community is a threat to national security, then the BJP will speak against them. We also want to know who were those power groups which made the Rohingyas settle in Jammu and Kashmir,” he asked.

Can't betray State that gave us refuge: Rohingyas

Responding to the allegations levelled by the BJP against them, Muhammad said, “We can’t say much against the allegations that BJP or any other individual or association is charging us with. This is their country; we can’t shut their mouths.”

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“If we were big criminals, then they would have taken action against us in Myanmar itself. We can’t say that we have not come here to reside permanently. If we are innocent and abide by Indian law, no one can harm us. Let them speak what they want,” he added.

Muhammad says the Rohingyas are merely struggling to survive in a country that is not their own, asserting that going against the State that granted them refuge is against their morals.

'Treat them like humans': Omar's message to Centre

In December 2024, Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah through a press conference asked the Union government to resolve the issue of Rohingyas on humanitarian grounds.

“The central government should take a decision and have clarity on whether to keep the Rohingyas here or deport them to their country. If it cannot send them, they have to be treated with dignity and they can’t be left to die due to weather and other issues,” he had said.

Omar had asserted that as long as the refugees are on Indian soil, it is the government's responsibility to take care of them. “We are not the ones who brought them and settled them here, they were called and settled here under the supervision of the Government of India,” Abdullah had said.

The chief minister said if the central government’s policy on Rohingyas has changed, then, it should “pick them and take them wherever you want, but as long as they are here, they cannot be treated like animals, they should be treated as human beings.”

Also read: Centre strongly opposes plea in SC to allow Rohingya refugees to stay on in India

'BJP playing petty politics'

Speaking to The Federal, senior journalist and political analyst Sohail Kazmi refuted the BJP’s allegations against the Rohingyas living in Jammu. He said the issue is the Union Home Ministry’s prerogative, and as per an accord between the United Nations (UN) and the Centre, Rohingyas were given free access across India.

Kazmi, also a member of the Muslim Waqf Board, Jammu and Kashmir, said, “Thousands of families have settled in Jammu and Kashmir as well, specifically in Jammu. But there have been no incidents of crimes committed by these migrants. However, in society if crime surfaces, it spreads generally. Rohingyas are living here on humanitarian grounds are earning their livelihood.”

He said the state government cannot push them back as they are living with the consent of the Centre. “The decision on whether they will stay here or leave India will be decided by the Centre. These leaders of the BJP unit of Jammu and Kashmir without knowing the facts and workings of the Centre, are saying baseless things and indulging in petty politics. They are playing politics which doesn’t suit their stature. This is not good for them and for the Rohingyas too,” Kazmi said.

“As a citizen of Jammu, I would say that the commoners of Jammu have many other big issues rather than thinking about Rohingyas, this doesn’t bother the people of Jammu,” he added.