Ethnicity and Geopolitics of Rohingya Crisis

Abstract

Rohingya crisis is a long-standing festering issue where human rights should have been the focus. But that is not happening. It is being dwarfed by geopolitics, ethnicity, and religion. Here Buddhism—along with ethnicity—is coming at odds with Islam. There are reports of state-sponsored genocide against the Rohingya Muslims, aided by ultra-nationalist Buddhists monks. As a sequel, thousands of Rohingya refugees have taken shelter in a neighboring country such as Bangladesh. Even Malaysia and Saudi Arabia are sheltering them. The worst atrocities that befell on the Rohingyas—resulting in one million moved out of the country—were in August 2017 that started in 1977–1978. The exodus of refugees started from then onwards. The world conscience is stirred by this traumatic event, but no concrete and concerted efforts are being undertaken—even at the UN level—to stop this carnage. It is felt it is the geopolitical interests of China, India, and Russia that are dwarfing this disconcerting human tragedy. The paper attempts to address the issue mostly highlighting genocide, geopolitics, and ethnicity part of the crisis.