Left Of Centre

Mamata puts a spanner in New Delhi’s plan to deport the Rohingya ‘sensitively’

- Romita Datta

When Shamima, a Rohingya refugee imprisoned at Dum Dum Central Jail in Kolkata, gave birth to a child in August 2016, she named him ‘Azad’ (free). As a refugee and prison inmate facing trial under the Foreigners Act, this note of hope was about all she could offer her baby boy. Just two months earlier, the young mother had been arrested while crossing into India to join her husband and in-laws, believed to be employed as wage workers in Hyderabad.

Azad, born in Kolkata, could claim to be Indian. But Shamima, like scores of others, is in legal limbo—Myanmar doesn’t acknowledge the Rohingya as citizens, while India is looking to deport 40,000 refugees like her. Strictly applied, the rules say Shamima would have to leave Azad behind if she were deported as Delhi desires.