Future of the Stateless Rohingyas in Hyderabad is Uncertain

Telangana :Hyderabad: 11 Dec(HS):: As Lok Sabha passed the Citizenship Amendment Bill and its passage in Rajyasabha is a near certainty the future of the Rohingyas relocated in Hyderabad is uncertain.
During the debate Union Home Minister Amit Shah made it clear that Rohingyas would not be granted citizenship. The moot question is will they be deported back or resettled elsewhere?

Hyderabad was home to the second-largest population of Rohingya asylum seekers from Myanmar after Jammu & Kashmir said Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy in a chat with Hindusthan Samachar recently.
All of them had reportedly crossed over into India from Bangladesh and obtained United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHRC) cards. The Rohingyas, an ethnic minority group from Myanmar, are concentrated mostly in the Balapur camp in Hyderabad. Some others are scattered across the old city of Hyderabad like Chandrayangutta, Salala and Barkas areas where Muslims have largely settled.

Telangana State government had sent a report to the Centre informing that 6,000 Rohingyas were currently living in Hyderabad. Union Minister of state for home Kishan Reddy has stated that it was understandable if the asylum seekers live close to the border with India but living in as far as Hyderabad raises some questions and the imminent being who is sheltering them. Some of those seeking shelter here were given identity cards by some NGOs and not by the UN. Some of them also managed to get Aadhaar cards. Asaduddin Owaisi, the President of AIMIM party and MP calling it religious discrimination questioned BJP’s stand. He said, “When Tibetan refugees, Tamil refugees can stay in India, why can’t Rohingya? Why does the BJP government want to send them back?

Rohingya Refugee camps are being supported by a collaboration of many NGOs, along with the Confederation of Voluntary Organizations (COVA), an implementation partner of UNHCR in Hyderabad. UNHCR issues refugee cards to these migrants and COVA collects the details of Rohingyas and helps the local police station to register their names for verification

Police recently arrested Mynammar refugees for impersonating as Indians to secure Aadhaar and other identity cards. The refugees, known as Rohingyas, also obtained voter card, ration card and applied for Indian passport. Police said they were availing benefits under welfare schemes meant for Indian citizens. Needless to say many remain undetected by authorities and many agree the number of refugees is far more than officially declared.

Most of them plead with the government not to deport them as the situation hasn’t improved in Myanmar. Many fled Myanmar when the violence in the Rakhine state of the country was at its peak and reached West Bengal after crossing two international borders and reached Hyderabad. Some who spoke said they would rather die than go back to Myanmar.

With the introduction of the Citizenship Amendment, Bill Hyderabad police are keeping a close watch on the Rohingyas in their settlements. Intelligence Sources said they are being constantly monitored to prevent any untoward incident.