Shadows of Statelessness

As South Asian states head toward crucial elections, the Rohingya crisis resurfaces as a warning against bureaucratic overreach, political polarisation and the quiet erosion of democratic rights

- DIPANKAR DEY

One of the world’s most important and pressing refugee crises is currently occurring in Southeast Asia. At least 1.2 million Rohingya have been displaced and declared ‘stateless’ during violent and targeted campaigns led by the Myanmar military. Those who fled targeted persecution have sought refuge in countries such as Bangladesh, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, and India. Around 900,000 people live in camps in Cox’s Bazaar. The Rohingyas have been described by the United Nations as one of the most persecuted minorities in the world who lack access to basic rights and services, including freedom of movement, healthcare, state education, and jobs.

As Bangladesh, Myanmar, and two major Indian states - West Bengal and Assam, with extensive borders with Bangladesh, are expected to hold elections in the next couple of months, the Rohingya crisis is bound to cast a long shadow in all these elections. In West Bengal, the Hindutva outfits have already whipped up the Rohingya refugee issue during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list. The NRC creation was mandated by the 2003 amendment of the Citizenship Act, 1955. Its purpose is to document all the legal citizens of India so that the illegal immigrants can be identified and deported. NRC has been implemented for the state of Assam since 2013-2014. In 2021, the Government of India announced plans to implement it for the rest of the country.