“Go back Rohingya” slogans have appeared on several walls in posh localities of Jammu such as of Gandhi Nagar and Trikuta Nagar. The demand for deporting Rohingyas was earlier confined to rural areas.
There is a feeling among the local residents that the Rohingyas have entrenched themselves in the outskirts of the town and have been provided all basic facilities in the illegal colonies where they have settled.
Hindus in Jammu are objecting to the PDP-BJP government’s “open heartedness” for the Rohingyas which they say is in total contrast to the “step-motherly treatment” being given to the Hindu refugees from West Pakistan who took shelter in the Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts 71 years ago during Partition.
They claim that the refugees from West Pakistan, who migrated elsewhere in the country are well settled as they were given evacuee properties in exchange for what they left behind in Pakistan, but those who chose to settle in Jammu were denied basic rights. Their wards are not entitled to higher studies in the state and they do not have voting rights for the Assembly elections. They are also denied government jobs as they are considered aliens by the J&K government, they said.
According to official figures, the number of Rohingya settlers here in 2016 was 5743 but during the past two years their number has more than doubled. Official documents confirm that the Rohingyas have made the districts of Jammu and Samba their abode. Several Rohingyas were also recently found to be possessing Adhaar and voter ID cards.
There have been reports of some Rohingyas attempting to cross over to Pakistan through the International Border in the Jammu and Samba districts. As many as 17 FIRs were registered against 38 Rohingyas till 2016 for various offences, including rape, slaughter of cattle and those related to illegal border crossing.