Last week, Myanmar authorities reported they would not accept a 14 year old refugee who India deported to repatriate her. She will be instead sent to a region of Bangladesh where her family lives.
Human rights groups and UN activists strongly criticized India’s decision to deport the girl as inhumane, stating it would put her in “immediate risk of serious harm,” as a UNHCR spokesperson said. However, this is consistent with the policy India has exercised for months; since Myanmar began committing acts of genocide against their Rohingya population, India has treated refugees as security threats when they seek asylum in Jammu and Kashmir.
Modi, President of India, walks a tightrope in his country’s relationship with Myanmar. India has emphasized a “neighborhood-first” foreign policy where they seek primarily to stabilize and expand their South Asian states. Still, it’s difficult for them to simultaneously support the Burmese junta, whose leadership is only questionably stable and legitimate while alienating and genociding a large ethnoreligious group, and Bangladesh, who offers refuge to massive amounts of asylum seekers. India has expressed already that they support a return to democratic normalcy in Myanmar despite their apparent support for the junta, with their chief desire continuing to be a stable South Asia emphasizing solidarity with one another.
India’s intentions to maintain apathy towards Myanmar are falling short to the expectations of their people: there’s been civil unrest in parts of India such as the northeast, where Muslim populations are prevalent, and decisions like deporting a 14 year old girl only exacerbate harsh emotions toward their own government.
I think that if international action isn’t taken against Myanmar soon, and they don’t restore accountability and democracy, India will need to cut them off from their plans for solidarity lest they risk even further alienating massive populations not just in India, but also among their neighbors who they’re trying to buffer and develop. China expressly supports the coup actors in Myanmar, so it’s possible that India losing their grasp is inevitable in the face of a far more homogeneous ally.