Myanmar, home to over 100 different ethnic groups, has always faced tensions between Buddhists and Rohingyas. The Rohingya population makes up a very small portion of Myanmar, consisting of 1.1 million people, out of the total population of 56 million. Being the minority, Rohingya has faced discrimination for centuries. This includes many cases of rape and torture that go unreported day after day. Recently, seven Rohingya Muslims have been deported from India back to their home country. Myanmar’s government continues to view the Rohingya population as illegal immigrants, refusing to grant them citizenship. This being said, the deportation of the seven Rohingyas has caused major disputes. With the men already facing immigration violations, the Supreme Court refused to take precautions in order to stop them from being deported. The individuals were previously being held in a detention center in India before being deported Thursday. With this decision, India risks violating their international legal obligations by potentially placing the men in a more dangerous position then they were previously. Not only has India put these men at risk for more discrimination and violence, but announced last year they plan on deporting the entire Rohingya population. India’s reasoning behind the plan is to become better affiliated with the Buddhist majority. If what India says is true, 40,000 Rohingyas including 16,000 of which have been registered as refugees under the United Nations, would all be sent back to Myanmar. Not only is the act inhumane but only makes tensions rise in between the two ethnic groups if Rohingyas were to be sent back. The reason Rohingyas fled Myanmar in the first place was to escape Myanmar’s military. Looking at the Rohingyas population as a form of terrorism has forced them to flee in an attempt to escape oppression they would face if they were to stay. The source of the problem is being ignored by India and in an attempt to solve the problem, they only continue to make things worse.
