Escalation of anti-Muslim sentiments in India pushes Rohingya Muslims towards Bangladesh

Thousands of Rohingya Muslims have begun an arduous journey to cross the Indian-Bangladeshi border for safe shelter on the southeast coast of Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh where more than 1 million Rohingya have been provided shelter.

There are about 40,000 Rohingya in India with 20,000 registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), according to Daily Sabah.

Experts and activists on the eve of World Refugee Day, observed on June 20, expressed concerns about the influx of refugees to Bangladesh and they are asking for a diplomatic push to stop the flow from India and resume the longstanding repatriation of Rohingya to Myanmar as the ultimate solution.

Ansar Ali, a Rohingya leader at one of the largest refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that Rohingya Muslims who had taken shelter in India in a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing” in Myanmar, are now fleeing India.

Recent anti-Muslim sentiment in India has stoked the situation for Rohingya taking shelter, he said, citing refugees who joined them from India.

Muslims in India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been experiencing mounting pressure and humiliation, including right-wing Hindu organizations’ demands that Muslims leave India, restrictions on wearing the hijab, not having halal food and the use of loudspeakers to call for prayers.

More than 300 people were arrested in Uttar Pradesh and those who took to the streets to demonstrate against official comments regarding Prophet Muhammad and his wife, Aisha, had their houses damaged. Human rights groups asked India to immediately end the vicious crackdown on Muslims.

India shares its longest border with Bangladesh. The neighbours share a 4,096-kilometre-long (2,545-mile) international border, the fifth-longest land border in the world.

"Being a big country, India should extend its support to Rohingya refugees and play a greater role in Rohingya repatriation to Myanmar. Instead, they force refugees to leave. Thousands are gathering near border areas to leave India,” said Ali.

The commanding officer of the Armed Police Battalion, Naimul Haque, in Cox’s Bazar told AA that authorities have detained more than 1,000 Rohingya from India since last May and provided shelter in refugee camps.

"Bangladesh ensures good food and shelter for refugees under the UN arrangement. Meanwhile, there are a small group of refugees currently living in India and most of their relatives in Cox’s Bazar. So, many of them live in India and want to live with their family and friends in Cox’s Bazar.”

There have been reports of hostile treatment of refugees coming from India, he said, adding that Rohingya mostly come from Jammu and Kashmir.

Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Abdul Momen expressed unhappiness about the influx from India.