Sir — This refers to the article, “Rohingya refugees:A threat” (September 20) by Anil Gupta. The refugee crisis is an intractable problem of our time, and no matter how urgent our need of a quick solution is, there are no easy answers to this complex quandary. Myanmar’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, with whom India had hitched its Rohingya policy, has made a volte-face. She is now willing to accept the return of her fellow citizens who had fled to Bangladesh and India because of a severe Army crackdown.
Unfortunately, the National Democratic Alliance Government in India is being labeled as anti-Muslim for it is turning its back on the Rohingyas, at least when it comes to providing them a safe haven from the violent persecution they were facing in Myanmar. All armchair writers, including editorials, are upset with the Center. Time and again, India had the honour of being home to those who were wrongly and forcefully deprived of their own.
However, this has not been without its attendant costs. Even as politicians from the Congress and the left deride the Government for its stand on the crisis, do they not recall the time when they permitted an unfettered influx of refugees from Bangladesh, consequently engineering a communal divide in AssamIJ Even, economically it is undesirable to burden State Governments with the new batch of immigrations.
For decades, India’s administration has been waging a botched war against population rise. By willingly letting in more immigrants, the Government will allow for more pressure to be piled on existing jobs and force whatever limited resources we have to be split into even smaller bits. Even if it is with a heavy heart, the Indian Government must stick to its guns and prevent, as much as possible, the crossing over of the Rohingyas into India.