DNA Edit: Tackling Rohingya issue

The Rohingya are a people who have been through more than their fair share of adversities. Over 6 lakh Rohingya Muslims have till now fled to Bangladesh seeking to escape the crackdown against terrorists in Myanmar. Since August 25 this year, the Myanmar army has unleashed a wave of attacks on the Rohingya population, which ominously enough, has now assumed the proportions of a pogrom. This unpardonable violence against Rohingya has attracted the attention of the world and India has chosen to tow a diplomatic line by taking a circumspect and restrained role in the entire episode. On the other hand, Bangladesh has emerged as a safe haven for the Rohingya.

However, this support has been short of unstinting. Quite understandably, earlier this month, Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called on Myanmar to allow the fleeing Rohingya to return to their homeland. The Myanmar government, especially its de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, have sorely disappointed the Rohingya as well as the world by turning a cold shoulder. Naturally, the reverence with which Suu Kyi was almost invariably greeted has taken a drubbing.

Meanwhile, as India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj sets off on a two-day tour of Bangladesh, the issue of rehabilitation of Rohingya will take front and centre space. Swaraj has pointed out that accepting the displaced refugees into the fold of Myanmar society alone wouldn’t suffice, and that the only long-term solution to such a complex problem lies in improving socio-economic conditions and expediting infrastructure development. Bangladesh, for its part, is hoping that it will be able to exert pressure on Myanmar to take back its people. If that does not work out, then the Rohingya will continue to be a people shorn of their rightful homes.