How did Rohingya Muslims reach India

By this time, Bangladesh and other countries had blocked access to the Rohingyas.

The Rohingya Muslims have been described as one of the most ethic groups in the world. Today the crisis looms large and India and Bangladesh the two nations which has seen a large influx of Rohingya Muslims is trying to find a way to deal with the crisis.

The question is how did they land in India, in the first place. While the Myanmar government had de-recognised them in 1982 itself, thousands of them started leaving the country only in 2012.

The same year they were being evicted from their homes and their land was being confiscated by the military. Tensions escalated following a gang rape of a Buddhist woman. Soon riots erupted in the entire Arakan region.

The response by the Myanmar government was a strong. It drove the Rohingyas into concentration camps. While food was supplied, it always fell short and many died of starvation. On the other hand, Rohingyas started fleeing from the country.

As they speak Bengali, they headed in large numbers to Bangladesh. While at first they were given humanitarian aid, later on Dhaka decided to stop the same.

The Rohingyas who were called as the boat people by the international press then headed to Thailand. While Thailand offered food and other aid, it did not allow them to land on its territory. This then turned them towards Malaysia. But despite being a Muslim majority country, Malaysia did not allow to enter the country.

They then turned towards Indonesia. Out there they were rescued by the fishermen. However the government did not welcome them and ordered fishermen to stop rescuing the Rohingyas.

By this time, Bangladesh and other countries had blocked access to the Rohingyas. This is when in 2013 they turned towards India. They found entry points along the Indo-Myanmar border and also the India-Bangladesh tri-junction. While they avoided staying in areas close to the Myanmar border, they found other places to stay. They have their camps in Assam, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.

OneIndia News