Rohingya shelters demolished in Jammu, displaced families rendered homeless
Jammu: In yet another violation of rights of displaced people, Indian authorities demolished nearly a dozen shelters, mostly occupied by Rohingya Muslim refugees, on forest land in Jammu, rendering several families homeless.
In the name of anti-encroachment drive, police carried out the operation with the help of the forest department and revenue department at Rahim Nagar on the outskirts of Jammu.
This is the second major eviction drive targeting the Rohingya community in the winter capital of occupied Jammu and Kashmir within a month. The displaced families said the demolition team arrived early in the morning and gave little time to remove belongings.
One of the affected residents, said he was not served any prior notice and had been living in the area for the past 10-12 years and now has nowhere to go with his children.
Rohingya refugees said they have been living in the area for nearly two decades after fleeing persecution in Myanmar. “We escaped oppression in our country and took shelter here out of compulsion. We are not here to stay permanently. We hold identity cards issued by the United Nations,” said Abdul Khaliq, appealing to authorities to consider the plight of affected families.
“We have nowhere to go and are uncertain about the future of our children,” he said.
Last month, a Rohingya settlement in Karyani Talab area of Jammu was demolished and had rented out land to outsiders.
The action came after a New Delhi’s committee on demographic changes visited Jammu from August 10 to 12 to gather information on displaced people. The committee was constituted on May 26 under Justice Prakash Prabhakar Navalkar (retired) to examine demographic changes and suggest administrative measures.
Government data presented to the committee showed 7,656 Rohingyas identified across occupied Jammu and Kashmir, including 6,737 in Jammu region and 919 in Kashmir Valley.The demolition of shelters of a persecuted community holding UNHCR cards has raised serious humanitarian concerns and is being seen as part of a systematic targeting of Muslim refugees in IIOJK, in violation of international norms regarding rights and protection of displaced people.
