India's changed stance on Rohingya Muslims: The role played by Bangladesh

Meanwhile in Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said in parliament that Myanmar must take back every Rohingya who has entered Bangladesh.

There has been a slight change in stance by India where the Rohingya Muslims issue is concerned. Officials from Bangladesh at the highest level have been in touch with India over the issue and want India to exert pressure on Myanmar to tackle the issue.

Bangladesh expressed disappointment that the joint statement at Myanmar during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit did not refer to the refugee situation. Bangladesh felt that India must take up the issue with Myanmar and convince it to act on the crisis.

Bangladesh also felt that India's support to Myanmar had given its security agencies an upper hand and hence it was dealing with the Rohingyas in the most brutal fashion.

A week back, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar had met with his Bangaldesh counterpart, Shahidul Haque on the sidelines of the Indian Ocean Region conference at Colombo. Haque is said to have raised the issue and also spoke about the immense pressure his country is under in dealing with the situation.

Following these meetings, India issued its first statement on the issue. The statement read, " India is deeply concerned about the situation in Rakhine and the outflow of refugees from that region." This was in fact the first such reference India has made to the violence.

Meanwhile in Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said in parliament that Myanmar must take back every Rohingya who has entered Bangladesh. As a neighbour, we can cooperate with Myanmar to rehabilitate the Rohingya Muslims in their country, she also said.

The house also passed a resolution and urged the United Nations and the international community to exert strong pressure on Myanmar to take back the Rohingyas and ensure their safety, accommodation and also give them citizen rights.

Bangladesh is facing a severe crisis following a fresh refugee inflow from Myanmar, triggered by what the UN refers to as ethnic cleansing being carried out by the Myanmar military in the Rakhine state following insurgent attacks on police posts and an army base on August 25.

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