ASSAM, India: Over 100 Rohingya refugees detained at the Matia Transit Camp in Assam, India, have initiated a hunger strike, demanding that they be handed over to the UN refugee agency in New Delhi and resettled in a third country. Among the detainees are 30 Christian Chin refugees from Myanmar, who are striking in solidarity. The Rohingyas, many of whom hold UNHCR refugee cards, have been detained for years under poor living conditions, facing what rights activists describe as inhumane treatment.
India, which has not signed the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, treats the Rohingyas as illegal immigrants. Since Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2014, Rohingyas have faced increasing persecution, with many detained under charges of illegal entry. Though Indian officials have stated they would deport Rohingyas to Myanmar, only 18 have been deported since 2021.
The hunger strike reflects growing frustrations over indefinite detention, poor health care, inadequate food and water, and general neglect. Rights groups have urged the Indian government to address these conditions immediately and to end the prolonged detention of refugees.
