No amenities, no jobs: Rohingya suffer amid AAP-BJP slugfest

Rohingya refugees in Delhi face political blame games, poor living conditions, and struggle for basic rights and survival.

Deen Md., a 65-year-old immigrant living in Madanpur Khadar colony of south Delhi, says he often hears the name of his ethnic group — Rohingya — in the political discourse, but it is never for anything good.

“We were persecuted in Myanmar, and now our name gets dragged into political debates here [Delhi] too. We have not done anything wrong. Survival is our only priority,” says Mr. Deen, who has been in India for as long as he can remember.

He was among the first to settle in the colony, which houses 66 families and approximately 300 people from the community. However, most of them had left Myanmar in 2012.

Hundreds of Rohingya, a persecuted minority in Myanmar, are living in India after having fled their country. For refugees, India is officially not a signatory to the United Nations refugee framework and doesn’t have a policy for them.

The BJP, the main Opposition party in Delhi, has been accusing the ruling AAP of “helping to settle illegal Rohingya immigrants” in the capital to cultivate a vote bank.

Hitting back, AAP highlighted a social media post of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri in 2022, who was then holding the Housing and Urban Affairs portfolio, stating that Rohingya refugees will be shifted to EWS flats in Bakkarwala in Delhi and provided basic amenities. Soon after the post, the Centre clarified that the Ministry of Home Affairs had not given such directions.

Mr. Deen said whatever the issue, his community members stay away from political activities. “Even when someone told us about the protests at Shaheen Bagh (anti-CAA agitation), we advised youngsters not to join it. We keep away from political activities. It can be detrimental to us. Still, our community name keeps cropping up in politics.”