Dozens of Rohingya, a Muslim minority population, are now in a makeshift detention center at Hira Nagar Prison in Jammu. They were identified after local authorities conducted biometric and other tests on hundreds of people to verify their identities.
“The leadership is part of an exercise to track down foreigners living in Jammu without valid documents,” said one of the two officials, who refused to be named because they are not allowed to speak to the media.
“We have begun the process of deporting these refugees,” the official added.
In 2019, the Indian government divided the former state of Jammu and Kashmir into two territories of the union, revoking its former limited autonomy and increasing New Delhi’s control over the Muslim-majority region.
The Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi considers the Rohingya to be illegal immigrants and a security risk and has ordered the identification and deportation of thousands of those living in scattered settlements.
The Myanmar army has been accused of committing atrocities, including mass murder and rape of the Muslim minority, forcing nearly a million people to flee. Most now live in refugee camps on the border with Bangladesh. The UN has recommended that senior military officials face charges of genocide.
Myanmar denies allegations of genocide and says the military is fighting a legitimate counterinsurgency campaign.
But India has rejected the United Nations position that the Rohingya deportation violates the international legal principle of rejection – sending refugees back to a place where they face danger.
The Government of India also argued that India is not a signatory to the specific UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or the Protocol on the Status of Refugees. A total of 148 countries are signatories to one of these two legal agreements that describe the rights of refugees and are meant to protect them.
Rohingya living in Jammu have expressed concern over weekend detentions and the threat of deportation.
“We will return when peace returns to our country,” said Sufeera, 28. She said her uncle and brother were sent to the detention center, leaving her alone with her children.
Another refugee, Sadiq, 48, said members of his family were also detained. “We were told we would be deported,” he said. “They took their mother and father … Who will take care of them?”