Settled in Jammu & Kashmir out of compulsion, and not out of choice: Rohingya Muslims
Amid calls for their deportation from India, Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar say they have settled in Jammu and Kashmir because of compulsions, and not out of choice, and that they will return to their country once the situation becomes favourable.
More than 13,700 foreigners, including Rohingya Muslims and Bangladesh nationals, are settled in Jammu and Samba districts, where their population has increased by over 6,000 between 2008 and 2016, according to data available with the state government.
“We are in India because of some compulsions, and not out of choice. We know this is not our land. We will leave on our own once those compulsions are addressed by the global community and we get justice,” 35-year-old Mohammad Yusuf, the head of a camp for Rohingya refugees, told PTI.
The Rohingyas are a Bengali-dialect speaking Muslim minority in Myanmar. Following persecution in their country, many of them entered India illegally through Bangladesh and took shelter here.
“We were boarded into a train and asked to embark at the last station when the whole train gets empty. We were not aware that it is Jammu. We came to know at the railway station that some Rohingyas were living here and met them. This is how …read more
