South Asia: Murderous majorities

http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article43249
Date Written:  2017-12-20
Publisher:  Europe Solidaire Sans Frontieres
Year Published:  2017
Resource Type:  Article
Cx Number:  CX22605

Drawing from essays and recent literature the author discusses the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya in Burma/Myanmar, and the broader historical context of majoritarian nationalism in South Asia where majoritarian violence has been a shortcut to power.

Abstract: 
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Excerpt:

In late August 2017, Rohingya militants attacked police stations in northern Rakhine using knives and homemade bombs. Twelve members of the security forces were killed. The Myanmar military retaliated by burning Rohingya villages, killing and raping civilians, and forcing more than half a million Rohingyas to flee to Bangladesh.

The scale of this ethnic cleansing represents the most extreme triumph of majoritarian politics in South Asia. The persecution of the Rohingya has made Myanmar something of an inspiration to majoritarian parties in neighboring states. The Indian government, led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, announced in mid-August that the 40,000 Rohingyas in India (refugees from an earlier exodus) would be deported because they were illegal immigrants. Even in early September, after the ferocity of the Myanmar army's "clearances" was known and the extent of the exodus became apparent, no one in Narendra Modi's administration voiced even the pro forma expressions of concern by which governments often acknowledge widespread human suffering.