Allow Rohingya refugees to stay, Muslim outfit appeals to Indian govt

Allow Rohingya Muslims till their constitutional and citizenship rights are restored in Myanmar: JIH

Muslim organisation Jamat-e- Islami Hind (JIH) on Saturday appealed the government to allow Rohingyas to stay in the country till their "constitutional and citizenship rights" are restored in Myanmar.

The Rohingyas Muslim minority from the Rakhine state of Myanmar have been fleeing to Bangladesh and India amid reports of alleged persecution.

"We appeal to the Indian government to continue allowing the Rohingya Muslims who have taken refuge in India to stay as refugees till the time their constitutional and citizenship rights are restored in Myanmar," the JIH president Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umari said in a statement.

Some 16,500 Rohingyas from Myanmar are registered with the United Nations Human Rights Commission(UNHRC) in India. About 40,000 are said to be staying illegally.
 
Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju had recently said the Rohingyas, whether they are registered under the UNHCR or not, are "illegal immigrants in India and hence they stand to be deported".

Umri also urged the government to talk to Myanmar and "pressurise" it for restoration of the constitutional and citizenship rights of the Rohingyas.

The organisation also appealed to the international community to supply food and other necessities to those who are living as refugees in India and Bangladesh.

The JIH vice president, while asking for intervention of India to stop violence against Rohingyas, alleged that the government was maintaining "silence" over the humanitarian "catastrophe".

"We feel that India should use its influence over Myanmar to stop the violence. India's silence on such a humanitarian catastrophe is quite puzzling," he said in the statement.