Worryingly for India, at least 1,500 Rohingya Muslims, escaping from the violence-prone Rakhine province, West Myanmar, are believed to have entered the country illegally during the last few weeks. Observers estimate their number in Delhi alone at 3,000 around at present. At least 20,000 'stateless' Rohingyas unclaimed either by Myanmar or Bangladesh, have escaped in the aftermath of one-sided riots and other outbreaks of ethnic violence that left about 150,000 people displaced. A few hundreds are feared to have died according to HR groups, mostly drowned as they tried to escape by sea.

A recent move by the Myanmar authorities has replenished the cauldron of ethnic hatred between Muslims and Buddhists. Following the major Muslim retaliation in Bangladesh against Buddhists settled in the Chittagong – Cox’s Bazar areas last year, Myanmar authorities announced plans to rehabilitate the victims on its own territory. The offer came after 17 Buddhist temples and 43 houses were burnt or vandalised in Bangladesh.

To the credit of the ruling Awami league in Bangladesh, it needs stressing that the Government took a firm line to stop the violence against the Buddhist community, which includes tribals settled in the Chittagong hill tracts area. This prevented a bigger Buddhist exodus, creating a division within the community whether to quit Bangladesh or stay on.

Spokesmen of Bengali-speaking Buddhists in Bangladesh do not feel threatened and or want to 'leave'. But non-Bengali speaking tribal Buddhists feel otherwise. They constitute the bulk of the people crossing over to Myanmar. The number of Burmese Buddhists was also considerable among the 'quitters', as they felt threatened by majority Muslim attackers.

As it is, a general uneasiness prevails between Chakma Buddhist tribals, who supported the call for freedom from Pakistan in 1970-71 and Bengali Muslims in Bangladesh. Addressing a rally in independent Bangladesh, Shiekh Mujibur Rahman had generously thanked the Chakmas for their support. But he also made them wary, appealing to them to join the mainstream by adopting and adapting to, the prevailing culture of Bangladesh.

Later, the worst fears of the tribals came true as successive administrations in the country followed a systematic plan to settle Bengali Muslims in Chakma-dominated areas. This led to ethnic tensions and unrest, with the Chakmas launching an armed struggle to press for a regional autonomy. A section of the tribespeople fled to Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura in India for shelter. Later, the Bangladesh administration worked out an accord with the Chakmas.

The present situation has deteriorated after the decision of Myanmar authorities to rehabilitate Buddhists from Bangladesh in the Rakhine province itself, right on the territory where the Rohingya Muslims live! Already, in several places at Sittwe and Maungdaw, around 4000 new arrivals have settled down. Some 40 villages were prepared to receive them and special accommodation built to handle the traffic.

The preferential treatment given to the new settlers, in sharp contrast to the total isolation and neglect of majority Rohingya Muslims in the area, if not addressed immediately, will almost certainly lead to a fresh explosion of ethnic violence, as tempers get frayed. As it is, the 600,000 or so Muslims in the Rakhine province, ('illegal Bengalis' to the Myanmar administration,) outnumber the Buddhists, who number in Muslim-majority pockets only around 20,000 or so.

The latter, however, are backed totally by the police and the army, who have a policy of 'shooting first and asking questions later,' as far as the Muslims are concerned, according to Civil rights groups. The population of the Rakhine province as a whole is around 31,00,000.

India is an unwitting victim of a conflict between Myanmar, where the Rohingyas are settled and unwanted, and Bangladesh, the supposed country of their origin, which also does not want them! Bangladesh had earlier helped resettle some 400,000 Rohingyas driven out of Myanmar, as international refugees, but balks at accepting any more. Except from Muslim organisations in Indonesia and Malaysia, and distant support from Saudi Arabia and Islamist organisations, there has not been much help for the Rohingyas.

On the other hand, the recruitment and training of some Rohingyas by organisations like the Bangladesh terror outfit HUJI and other groups, makes most countries wary of them. The Rohingyas have been suspected of involvement in India for the recent serial bomb explosions at Bodh Gaya some months ago. This has been seen as an act of Muslim retaliation against Buddhist 'excesses' in Myanmar. Such action had been threatened by Indonesian and Pakistani groups earlier.

In India, Border Security Force personnel have so far arrested 107 Rohingyas from North 24 Parganas border areas, while the police have arrested 20 more. Most arrests have been made from Swarupnagar, Gaighata and Basirhat areas. From North Dinajpur, another 7 persons have been held. Almost all have severe problems in communicating with local police, speaking a dialect not understood in West Bengal.

In Delhi, the cause of the Rohingyas has been championed by the former Vice Chancellor of Jamia Millia, Nawab Zapak Jung. Muslim student and youth organisations in India have called for the settlement of the community right here. Interestingly, they have not demanded the same of Pakistan or Bangladesh.

While Pakistan, UAE and other Islamic countries have expressed moral support and offered financial help to the Rohingyas, there have been no offers from them for settlement of the displaced Rohingyas.

Against this backdrop, the possibility of an increase in illegal infiltration of Rohingyas on India’s Eastern flank, where the international border runs through difficult terrain and territory, cannot be ruled out, say Security analysts — especially after what happened in Bodh Gaya. As it is, recent developments in Bangladesh have set off an unofficial exodus of Hindus and Muslims towards neighbouring Indian States.(IPA Service)