NHRC issues notice to MHA on deportation of Rohingyas

NEW DELHI: Intervening in the matter of Rohingya Muslims, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Friday issued a notice to the government over its advisory to all the states asking them to identify and deport Rohingyas back to their country.

The apex human rights body has asked union home secretary to send a detailed report in the matter in four weeks. The ministry of home affairs, in a communication sent to all the states on August 8, had asked them to identify illegal immigrants including Rohingyas as they "pose a security threat." The government has expressed its fear that illegal immigrants are more vulnerable to getting recruited by terrorist organisations besides the fact that they are "burden on the limited resources of India." Currently, there are around 40,000 Rohingya Muslims living illegally in India.

The NHRC has observed that even though the refugees are foreign nationals, they "are human beings" and before taking a big step, the government of India has to look into every aspect of the situation, keeping the fact in focus that the members of the Rohingya community, who have crossed the Indian borders and are residing here for long, have a fear of persecution once they are pushed back to their native country.