Rohingya Muslim refugee Mohammad Younis, 42, is a worried man. For eight years, Jammu has been a home-away-from-home for Younis who fled Myanmar in 2009 to escape persecution. Living in a shanty with his five children, Younis shudders at reports that Rohingyas will be deported. From courts to streets, the talk of eviction has become a rallying point in Jammu.
"If we are sent back, they (Myanmar's Army) will kill us. We did not come to settle here permanently. We are here because of the circumstances back home. People of Jammu have been very good to us all through," said Younis, who has a UN refugee card. Younis entered India to start his life afresh. After staying in Delhi for some time, he came to Jammu for a living. "I have been working as a labourer. My contractor is Hindu, and he has been very kind to me," he said.
There are 1,219 Rohingya families with 5,107 members in Jammu district. As many as 14 Rohingyas have married locals. Imam Kifayatullah Aziz Arkani, 35, fled Myanmar in 2012 after the Army issued a diktat against namaz. Arkani, who was the head priest of Jamia Masjid at Arakan, decided to flee and reached Bangladesh. He could not get work there and decided to come to India.
"I had heard that there is amity and brotherhood in India. From Kolkata, I boarded a train to Jammu. In between I also lived in Hyderabad for two years. But for the last seven months, I have been in Jammu, teaching at a madrasa," he said.
"They are potential militant recruits. There is no reason for them to travel 5,000 km and stay closer to the border with Pakistan. They could have stayed near Odisha or West Bengal," said Sunil Sethi, spokesman for BJP in Jammu and Kashmir. Lawyer Hunar Gupta has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, demanding shifting of all illegal immigrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh from Jammu.
"We are a border state and our conflict with China and Pakistan is known all over the world. They (Rohingyas) are poor people and can be misused. Even the Home Ministry has expressed apprehensions that they might have links with militant organisations," said Gupta.
The Jammu and Kashmir government has said no instance of radicalisation has been reported. "However, if such a complaint is received, appropriate action will be taken," J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti told the Assembly in January this year.
She said no Rohingya has been found involved in militancy-related incidents. However, 17 FIRs have been registered against 38 Rohingyas for various offences including those related to illegal border crossing.
"They are poor people and have no links with terror as is being projected. They do not even know who Syed Ali Shah Geelani is. Few in Jammu want them evicted. Most people have no problem with them because they know that they are very poor," said Waqar H Bhatti, a prominent social activist.
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