Jammu: Rohingya baby dies in holding centre, parents brought to the funeral in handcuffs

The 43-day-old baby died following clashes between jail staff and refugees. The latter have been on a hunger strike for months, demanding to be released after two years in prison. The case emerged after activists posted two videos online. Even though the UN granted Rohingya refugee status, India continues to treat them as illegal migrants.

Jammu (AsiaNews) – A Rohingya couple was brought in handcuffs to the funeral of their newborn child, who died recently in a holding centre for refugees in Hirangar, a city in the northern part of India-administered Jammu.

The case came to light after two videos, ostensibly made by Rohingya held at the centre and sent to human rights advocates, were posted social media.

Footage shows the baby’s body handed over to relatives for burial. The 43-day-old baby died following clashes between police and Rohingya, refugees say, a claim the authorities reject.

According to Koushal Kumar, superintendent of the Kathua district jail in charge of the holding centre, the baby suffered from some ailment and died two days after the clashes.

For several months, Rohingya refugees – many of whom fled persecution by the Myanmar military in 2017 and the civil war that broke out in 2021 – have been on a hunger strike against their illegal detention, demanding they be released.

Indian security forces used tear gas against refugees saying that they were forced to do so after three Rohingya took three prison guards hostage.

At least one five-month-old girl died in the clashes and several people were injured.

"Refugees need better treatment. It is just that circumstances forced them to flee. Does stripping people of their dignity give us sadistic pleasure?” asks Sister Dorothy Fernandes speaking to AsiaNews.

“It saddens me to hear this. Is humanity lost? Why are we behaving like extremists? Is revenge the only response we have?” added the nun who has worked with marginalised communities in Patna since 2017.

In her view, “No religion preaches violence.  We believe in one Earth, one God,  so let us not build boundaries that keep people apart. Let us build bridges of love, inclusiveness, embracing all.”

Since spring 2021, about 270 Rohingya have been held at a holding centre in Hiranagar, including 144 women and children. India accuses of entering the country illegally, even though they have been granted refugee status by the UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency.

According to minority rights activists, Rohingya have been jailed without warning after being summoned to police stations to sign some paperwork.

About 40,000 Rohingya live in India. Some are Christian but most are Muslim. In preparation for next year’s election, the ruling ultranationalist Hindu Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) plans to deport them back to Myanmar even though the latter is in the grip of a civil war.

What is more, those who want to leave India to move to a third country where they may have relatives, have been denied exit visas, activists say.

“India proudly claims to practise its rich legacy of ATITHI DEVO BHAVA (Guest is God). It is shocking that at present, guests from other countries are cruelly treated as criminals,” laments Father Anand Mathew.

"In the name of promoting Hindutva we have moved far away from good Hindu traditions," he explains. Indeed, the “100-year-old Hindutva [tradition] is also contrary to ancient Hindu traditions. I wish we Indians were a little more humane.”

Hindutva (Hindu-ness) is a political ideology that seeks to justify Hindu-centred nationalism on cultural grounds.

• india
• jammu
• rohingya
• refugees
• detention
• protest
• child
• death
• funeral
• handcuffed parents
• united nations
• hindutva
• expulsion