Sir,
This letter serves as a message for all those, particularly Kashmir based, ‘humanitarians’ who find similarities between Rohingyas and the West Pak Refugees settled in Jammu and surrounding areas. West Pak Refugees differ from Rohingyas/ Bangladeshi on a number of grounds.
WPRs were part of undivided India unlike the Rohingyas. While the WPRs have successfully merged with the local population of our state because of similar language and culture, the same can not be expected of the Rohingyas. Most importantly, the WPRs have been a part of J&K since Independence and have been serving this nation ever since. On the contrary the Rohingyas have been attempting to secede from Myanmar, their native land, since 1946; while forming a number of militant organisations to meet their demands while no such body has been formed by the WPRs.
Also, the number of kids per family in a Rohingyan family is enough to alarm anybody. In a state with consistent security threats, high potential of religious extremism and no refugee-settlement policy in place, it is a sin to let such people spawn! It is absurd to claim rights for a second refugee group while the first is yet to get any, even after seven decades of struggle.
While it is easy to differentiate a WPR from a Rohingya, it is almost impossible to tell a Rohingya from a Bangladeshi. A number of Bangladeshis have infiltrated our state and our country claiming to be a refugee. Hence, the more they stay here, the more difficult it will be to identify them.
Rohingya sympathisers should not forget that apart from Rohingyas, there are Uyghurs and Tibetan refugees also living in our state. As long as there is no protest against those refugees, the sympathisers are requested to stop comparing Rohingyas with the WPRs. It would be better to let Jammuites decide Jammu’s affairs.
Yours etc….
Abhishek Khajuria
IIMC
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