Islamist vultures swoop on Rohingya prey
With Pakistan-based terrorist group lashkar-e-Tayyeba's role in training disaffected Rohingya Muslims, some of whom possibly carried out the recent Bodh Gaya attack, coming to the fore, two things have become clear: First, the militant group is already exploiting this marginalised community to further its vicious agenda, particularly against India, and second, Islamist terror in South Asia is a well-organised network that has not just spread its tentacles far and wide but also pierced deep into the body politic of the region. Thanks to intelligence gathered by American, Bangladeshi, Singaporean and Indian agencies, we now know that in May last year, when Muslims and Buddhists clashed in Myanmar's Rakhine State, lashkar-e-Tayyeba was already training Rohingya youths in its terror camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
In fact, as India’s Research and Analysis Wing pointed out in January this year, the terrorist group along with its parent organisation, the Jamaat-ud-Dawa'ah, has already set up the Difa-e-Musalman Arakan (Burma) — a forum which aims to mobilise Rohingyas against the Myanmar Government and will also help the Islamists establish a toe-hold in that country. The Pakistan-based extremists have also expectedly reached out to their brethren in Bangladesh, as they seek easier access to the Rohingyas. And so it comes as no surprise that groups such the Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami and the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh have been roped in to brew trouble in Myanmar. These groups have floated their own outfit, the Jamaat-ul-Arakan, which has been running training camps in the remote areas of Bangladesh's Bandarban district that border Myanmar.
However, while there is no denying that jihadi interest and activity in Myanmar has risen sharply in this past year, the fact is that radical elements have existed within the Rohingya community for decades now. In 1948, when Myanmar (then still known as Burma) gained independence, mujahideens fought a bloody insurgency to separate the Rohingya-majority Mayu frontier region of Arakan from the western part of that country and join the newly-formed East Pakistan. They were suppressed by the Burmese military over the years but never entirely eradicated. In recent times, militant Rohingya groups have also been known to maintain links with Al Qaeda.
So what does all of this mean for IndiaIJ Given the country's geo-strategic location, it means that even though the ‘Rohingya Muslim issue' is not technically India's problem, it will probably become a major security concern for New Delhi. If violence spills across the India-Myanmar border, the North-East is sure to see a rise in militancy again. Other parts of the country might also be affected, as the Bodh Gaya blasts stand proof. Also, let us not forget that the rally at Mumbai's Azad Maidan that turned violent last year, leading to the death of two people, had been organised to protest against the ill-treatment of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar (as well as the Assam riots).
Finally, the 1,500 Rohingya Muslims who have found shelter in India, mostly in Hyderabad but also in Delhi and Pune, form a particularly vulnerable lot. Impoverished, marginalised and mostly without any legal status, they are easy prey for terrorists.However, while there is no denying that jihadi interest and activity in Myanmar has risen sharply in this past year, the fact is that radical elements have existed within the Rohingya community for decades now. In 1948, when Myanmar (then still known as Burma) gained independence, mujahideens fought a bloody insurgency to separate the Rohingya-majority Mayu frontier region of Arakan from the western part of that country and join the newly-formed East Pakistan. They were suppressed by the Burmese military over the years but never entirely eradicated. In recent times, militant Rohingya groups have also been known to maintain links with Al Qaeda.
So what does all of this mean for IndiaIJ Given the country's geo-strategic location, it means that even though the ‘Rohingya Muslim issue' is not technically India's problem, it will probably become a major security concern for New Delhi. If violence spills across the India-Myanmar border, the North-East is sure to see a rise in militancy again. Other parts of the country might also be affected, as the Bodh Gaya blasts stand proof. Also, let us not forget that the rally at Mumbai's Azad Maidan that turned violent last year, leading to the death of two people, had been organised to protest against the ill-treatment of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar (as well as the Assam riots). Finally, the 1,500 Rohingya Muslims who have found shelter in India, mostly in Hyderabad but also in Delhi and Pune, form a particularly vulnerable lot. Impoverished, marginalised and mostly without any legal status, they are easy prey for terrorists.