Buying bride for Rs 20,000! How dangerous is the ‘spiderweb’ of Rohingya spreading in Jammu and Kashmir?

The family of 52 year old Afzal (fictitious name) was trying to find a girl for marriage for a long time, but could not find a bride. The reason…his/her being mentally weak. he/she can’t even get up and drink water on his/her own. Suddenly one day the locality came to know that he/she got married. When things opened up, it turned out that the girl was a Rohingya. Someone sold it here for Rs 20,000. Many such cases are being seen in Jammu and Kashmir.

A day earlier, the Railway Police in Kolkata arrested a person named Abdul Rahman. he/she is a Rohingya Muslim from Bangladesh and has been working as a laborer in Kashmir for many years. he/she was accompanied by two girls of about 12-12 years, whom he/she was taking with him/her to Kashmir. These girls were lucky that the police came to know about it. But every day, many such Rohingya girls are being brought illegally to many states of the country including Jammu and Kashmir and are forcibly made ‘brides’ without their consent.

Brides being sold for Rs 20,000 to Rs 1 lakh

This racket has been running in Jammu and Kashmir for a long time. First from Bangladesh and now from Myanmar also, Rohingya girls are brought here with false promises and dreams. Later she is married to a person twice her age. Not only this, disabled or mentally disabled people, who are unable to get married in Jammu and Kashmir, are also buying brides in this illegal manner. Only last month, Jammu and Kashmir Police had identified several networks which were doing this work under the guise of NGOs. According to the administration, by December 2024, at least 24 Rohingya girls have become ‘brides’ in Jammu and 124 in Kashmir. According to experts, this could be a dangerous situation for Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan can take advantage of this.

Why is this situation dangerous?

• There were 200 Rohingya Muslims in Jammu 15 years ago.
• There are now estimated to be more than 11,000 Rohingyas.
• Their settlements are also near sensitive areas like army camp, railway station, police line.
• Allegations of Rohingya involvement in human trafficking, drugs smuggling and many other crimes
• Pakistan can take advantage of the increasing number of Rohingya in Jammu and Kashmir

How does a racket work?

Many girls have made their lives hell forever in search of a good life. Under the guise of NGOs, traffickers identify girls in Rohingya settlements in Bangladesh and Myanmar. They keep more attention on young girls. They are deceived that they will get work in cities like Kolkata, Guwahati. Then they are secretly taken to Jammu and Kashmir or other states through bus-train. Then these girls are sold.

being sent to many states

People engaged in human trafficking are spread everywhere. Especially where there are settlements of Rohingya Muslims. Traffickers bring girls to India illegally through West Bengal, Assam and Tripura. Then from here they are sent to different states of the country. Assam Police had recently expressed concern about this. According to the police, Rohingyas especially go to Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kerala.

From ration card to aadhar card

Rohingya Muslims are getting everything from ration cards to Aadhar cards made illegally. Rohingyas keep trying to acquire citizenship of Jammu and Kashmir by getting their daughters married. Last December itself, police found more than 61 Aadhar cards in Jammu and 97 Aadhar cards in Kashmir. All these Aadhaar cards were made illegally. According to former Jammu and Kashmir DGP S.P. Vaid, marriages of Rohingya girls with local people have been happening for a long time. This is being seen more in Jammu than in Kashmir.

UNHRC’s interference should stop: Former DGP

Former DGP of Jammu and Kashmir S.P. Vaidya says that this situation is not right. We should send them back. he/she says that India is not a dharamshala. The number of Rohingya has increased rapidly in Jammu and Kashmir. This is not correct. We should also take strict steps like America and Europe. Especially the interference of UNHRC should be completely stopped.

Rohingya women are facing atrocities

The situation of Rohingya Muslims in Bangladesh and Myanmar is already not good. After the recent political developments, the situation has become even worse. In such a situation, in search of a good life, Rohingya women are getting trapped in a web from which it becomes difficult for them to get out. Al-Jazeera heard the ordeal of some such women in one of its reports.

his/her ordeal is hair-raising. A woman says, she was told that she would get a job in Bengal. Then they took a long journey by bus and train and brought them to Kashmir. She got married to a person three times her age. If you talk about going back, your husband beats you a lot. Another such woman trapped in the clutches of smugglers told that she was kept hostage by the smugglers. Not allowed even to washroom. he/she was beaten severely and made to walk a lot.

Who was the first Rohingya

For the first time in the year 2009, Rohingyas started coming to Jammu and Kashmir. The number in the country which was once 200, has now crossed 50,000. There are more than 11,000 Rohingya in Jammu and Kashmir alone. The first Rohingya to settle in Jammu and Kashmir was Syed Hussain, who was settled here by the state government in 2009. The number of Rohingyas is increasing in many states including Delhi, Haryana, Assam, Maharashtra.