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Monday, October 19, 2026
A message from Justice for All
They Fled Myanmar With Nothing. In India, They Built A Life. Now, They Are Losing It Again
Monday 19 Oct, 2026
A Rohingya refugee, with his children, looks at the remains of his makeshift home in the shanty town of Kiryani Talab in Jammu, one of 350 Rohingya families evicted from their homes after the local administration claimed that the landlords did not have the right to rent out the land for ‘non-agricultural use’/ BASHARAT AMIN
For 350 Rohingya families evicted from their shanty town in Jammu’s Narwal, after the local administration asserted that the landowners could not rent out their land for ‘non-agricultural use’, the demolition of their makeshift homes is also the undoing of, in some cases, 14 to 18 years of rebuilding lives after fleeing ethnic cleansing in Myanmar.
Jammu City, Jammu & Kashmir: “What we have achieved here is the long-lasting trauma of being scrutinised at police stations, being treated as alleged criminals. Sometimes, our drinking water supply has been halted, our electricity has been disconnected, and now we have been completely thrown away. It seems there is nowhere to go.”
His hairline receding and his face grim, shopkeeper Mohammad Arif, 29, spoke with pained resignation.
He was in class 8 when his family fled Myanmar in 2012, on a day he calls “doomsday”. The violence between Buddhists and Muslims, which displaced 145,000 people, had reached villages about 10 km from his home in Rakhine State, in eastern Myanmar on the Bangladesh border. His family feared theirs was next.
They sold their ancestral land, cattle, and goats, and left behind their home and shops.
“When the military came to our village, five people were shot dead in front of us, including my cousin,” Arif recalled. “We ran from our village.”
The family of 11, including Arif's parents, travelled by bus for almost a day to the Naf River that marks the Bangladesh border. After three days in Bangladesh, they found a facilitator who charged Rs 22,000 per person to take them across the India-Bangladesh border by bus.
“We told him that we wanted to go to India because some of our relatives had already settled there,” said Arif. “We chose India because we had heard that Indians were good people.”
From the border, they went to Kolkata, then to a shanty town called Narwal in south Jammu city, where they painstakingly began creating a new life.
Fourteen years later, Arif is married to another refugee from Myanmar, and they have three children. For most of the last decade, he has run a small shop selling vegetables and provisions.
In September 2026, on a cool morning, his landlord handed him an eviction notice. A month later, over five days, he dismantled his shop and his home.
Fourteen years after Arif left home as a child and made a circuitous journey of about 3,500 km to build a life in India, he could barely fathom it was all ending again.
Rohingya refugees dismantling their makeshift homes and shops in Narwal’s Kiryani Talab in Jammu after they were served an eviction notice. The refugees said this reminded them of when they were forced to flee from Myanmar/ BASHARAT AMIN
This was one of around 350 Rohingya families evicted from shelters spread across five plots rented to them by local landowners.
A Rohingya refugee loading up the wooden planks that his shop and temporary house were built of after they were evicted from Narwal in Jammu/ BASHARAT AMIN
“When we try to leave and shift to another place, we are told that every state has been instructed not to allow us to settle there,” he said. “Wherever we go, we fear that we will be found and evicted again.”
“For the last 30 years, the enemies have been trying to change the demography, and we will not allow that to happen,” he said.
Rohingya refugees dismantling their makeshift homes and shops in Narwal’s Kiryani Talab in Jammu after they were served an eviction notice. The refugees said this reminded them of when they were forced to flee from Myanmar/ BASHARAT AMIN This was one of around 350 Rohingya families evicted from shelters spread across five plots rented to them by local landowners.
The landlords had no choice but to clear the land. On 11 August 2026, the Court of the district collector, Jammu, issued a notice under section 133-A of the Jammu and Kashmir Land Revenue Act, 1996.
The notice cited the alleged unauthorised conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural use. It rested on a report by the revenue officer of Bahu Tehsil, which alleged that the land was being used for “raising/constructing juggis and other structures” without permission from the competent authority.
For the second time in his life, Arif has lost his home and his livelihood. He and the other families do not know whether they will find another place to live in India.
A Once-Bustling Market
Until 13 September 2026, the main road in Narwal’s Kiryani Talab, another slum, was crowded with activity. Rohingya refugees sold fish, vegetables and other commodities from makeshift stalls outside their shelters.
On 18 September, when Article 14 visited the area, the market was largely deserted.For the past five days, Rohingya families had been dismantling their shops and shelters after being told to vacate the land.
A Rohingya refugee loading up the wooden planks that his shop and temporary house were built of after they were evicted from Narwal in Jammu/ BASHARAT AMIN In the humid September heat, men, women and children moved from one shelter to another, salvaging whatever they could. They pulled down tarpaulin sheets, removed wooden planks, and dismantled tin sheets piece by piece. Some families carried their belongings away; others had nowhere to take them.
Inside the tin shed that once served as a madrasa, yet to be dismantled, five men sat on the bare floor eating biryani distributed by local residents. No proper mats lay beneath them.
Among them was Molvi Younus, a 63-year-old man with a long white beard, wearing a kurta and dhoti. He appeared exhausted. His own house had already been demolished.
For Younus, a daily-wage labourer and priest at the community mosque, a cooler, a gas cylinder, a bed, and a refrigerator are not ordinary household possessions. They are what remains of 18 years of trying to rebuild a life.
Younus understands what it means to lose a home without knowing what comes next.
He was 45 when he left his home in Shahabazar, Myanmar, in 2008, along with his wife and three children. He said the Myanmar military had raided his village, killed 20 people and set 13 houses on fire.
He and his family fled Myanmar and travelled to India via Bangladesh. They eventually made their way to Jammu, which already had a growing community of Rohingya refugees.
According to an estimate made in March 2021 by the advocacy group Human Rights Watch, there are 40,000 Rohingya refugees in India, most of whom live in slums in Jammu, Hyderabad, and New Delhi. About 7,000 refugees live in shanty towns in Jammu.
In Jammu, Younus began working as a daily-wage labourer, taking whatever work he could find to feed his family. Over the years, his family grew. He and his wife had four more children, one of whom is now married.
Younus said families like his feared that even if they found another home, they could face eviction again.
“When we try to leave and shift to another place, we are told that every state has been instructed not to allow us to settle there,” he said. “Wherever we go, we fear that we will be found and evicted again.”
‘Go To Pakistan Or Bangladesh’
Younus said Vikram Randhawa, the local BJP member of legislative assembly (MLA), visited the area during the eviction. According to Younus, Randhawa told the refugees that the Rohingya would not be allowed to live there and that they should “go to Pakistan or Bangladesh.”
When Article 14 spoke to Randhawa by phone on 21 September, he said the action against the Rohingya refugees was part of the policy of the government of India and was led by union home minister Amit Shah.
In September 2018, before he became home minister in 2019, Shah, then the BJP national president, described the Rohingya as “illegal infiltrators” and said the government “will not allow India to be a safe haven” for them.
In December 2025, Article 14 reported that Chief Justice Surya Kant had likened them to “intruders”, echoing language used by the Prime Ministerand the home minister.
Elderly Rohingya refugees watching the homes being dismantled. They were evicted from the shanty town they lived in after the government claimed their landlords did not have the right to rent the land to them/ BASHARAT AMIN
“Overall, in Jammu, the main constituency that has been affected and where a mess has been created by these Rohingyas and Bangladeshis is my constituency,” Randhawa told Article 14. “We will not allow anyone—whether from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh or even England—to reside here or take shelter through illegal means.”
He also spoke of what he described as attempts to alter Jammu’s demographic composition.
“For the last 30 years, the enemies have been trying to change the demography, and we will not allow that to happen,” he said.
Randhawa claimed that a delegation sent by the Centre had visited different parts of the Jammu region and assessed what he described as demographic and security concerns, and that this was why it was “necessary to evacuate these Rohingyas from here.”
Article 14 reported that on 22 September 2022, the union government told the Delhi High Court that Rohingya refugees in India “were seriously undermining the country’s national security”.
In 2018, claiming the Rohingya had links to “terror organisations”, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the Supreme Court that the court had “no business to interfere” in matters of “illegal migrants”.
Randhawa further claimed that there were “police stations filled with reports of crimes committed by these Rohingyas”.
“We already have 350 Rohingyas in Hiranagar Jail. We will not fill our jails by providing them food and other facilities,” said Randhawa. “They should go back to where they came from.”
To people who fled ethnic cleansing, going back has never been an option, despite the increasing persecution the Rohingya have faced after fleeing their homeland.
Article 14 has previously reported on the condition of Rohingya refugees in jails and detention centres in India (here, here and here).
Despite Refugee Status
Younus said the Rohingya were not seeking to settle permanently in India.
“We are not here to live on a permanent basis. We are refugees, and the situation in our country is not safe,” he said. “We have UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) cards, which were issued after due consultation with the Indian government.”
Younus acknowledged that India is not a signatory to the United Nations' Refugee Convention. “That does not mean refugees should be denied their basic right to live with dignity. We are here only to save our lives.”
A Rohingya refugee showing his refugee card from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on his mobile phone while sitting in front of the debris of his makeshift tent in a shanty town in Jammu city/ BASHARAT AMIN
Article 14 has previously reported that India's refugee protection obligations are limited, since it is not a party to the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951) or its 1967 Protocol. Even so, deportation would violate the international legal principle of non-refoulement, under which countries may not return refugees to places where they face harm or persecution.
“Possibly, that is the fear that if they go back to Myanmar, they will be slaughtered,” said then Chief Justice S A Bobde in April 2021. “But we cannot control all that… we are not called upon to condemn or condone genocide.”
Non-refoulement is regarded as established global law, binding on all countries. The UNHCR recognises the Rohingya as asylum seekers and refugees, and in 2017 the Supreme Court ruled that Rohingya in India, too, were covered by the principle. Even so, we reported on claims that the Indian government had forced Rohingya refugees into the Andaman Sea.
John Quinley, director at Fortify Rights, a Bangkok-based human rights organisation, said Rohingya refugees should be protected from forced displacement and provided humanitarian assistance.
“Reports from Jammu indicate that Rohingya refugees are being evicted from shelters and land. The authorities should ensure that those being displaced have access to shelter and basic support, and should work proactively with UNHCR, civil society organisations and humanitarian groups to assist them,” Quinley told Article 14.
India's treatment of refugees, including its engagement with UNHCR, raised concerns, he said. He alleged that India had detained refugees and returned some to Myanmar despite the continuing risk of persecution there.
The UNHCR has documented about 17,000 Rohingya refugees in India. Many more are unregistered because of official hostility and the prospect of deportation.
Article 14 emailed UNHCR's legal cell seeking comment on the treatment of Rohingya refugees, particularly those holding UNHCR cards. We will update this story if they respond.
Arif echoed Younus's view that Rohingya refugees were not looking to stay in India permanently.
“We are thankful to the Indian government for allowing us to live here since 2012,” Arif said. “I request the government to allow us to stay for some more time. Our families are now living in the open, in jungles and under the open sky.”
‘Different Treatment’
Quinley also said the treatment of Rohingya refugees should be viewed in the broader context of concerns over discrimination against Muslims in India.
Younus, too, questioned what he described as different treatment of refugee communities in India.“According to us, there are around 22,000 Rohingya in India, while other refugee communities, including Chin refugees from Myanmar, are present in large numbers,” he said. “In Mizoram, they have been facilitated and provided various forms of assistance. Why are we treated differently? Is it because we are Muslims?”
This differing treatment of refugees based on religion (reported by Article 14here and here) was put into law by Narendra Modi’s government in the form of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act that claimed to fast-track Indian citizenship for minorities in neighbouring countries, yet only aided Hindu minorities while excluding Muslim minorities such as the Rohingya.
“I believe, if we were to write an application-cum-affidavit stating that we, Rohingya refugees, are going to convert to Hinduism, we would be given all the facilities and rights to stay here within no time,” Younus said.
Lives & Livelihoods Lost—Again
The eviction has also cost people their livelihoods.
For Mohammad Alam, 43, the small fish stall he ran outside his tent is gone. He moved to Jammu after fleeing Myanmar in 2008.
“We used to earn enough to arrange food and feed our families,” he said. “But now it seems we have no option left except to die.”
Mohammad Alam with his younger son sitting on a small wooden tool outside the house he has been living in since he moved to India in 2008/ BASHARAT AMIN
Sadam Hussain, 29, another shopkeeper, is busy collecting the remaining goods from his shop. Hussain had moved to Jammu seeking refuge after fleeing the ethnic violence in 2012.
“What forced us to leave was what happened to our families. Our sisters and mothers were raped. A mother was raped in front of her son; a son was killed in front of his father,” said Hussain. “How can anyone bear such pain? We had no choice but to save our lives. We left everything behind.”
A Rohingya refugee dismantles his roadside stall in Jammu’s Kiryani Talab, on what was once a bustling market road/ BASHARAT AMIN
For Arif, the present situation has brought back the experience of losing everything in Myanmar.
In Jammu, he acquired a refrigerator, a shop and a family life. Now, he is selling those things too.
“I bought a refrigerator last year for Rs 16,000. Now I am selling it for half the price. Almost all the shopkeepers have been forced to sell their goods at very low prices just to survive for a few more days,” said Arif.
Pointing out that they had homes, shops and land in Myanmar before being forced to flee, Hussain said, “No one willingly leaves behind their home, livelihood and comfort to live a life that is worse than that of animals.”
Left Without Food Or Education
Hussain said the uncertainty has also affected the community’s children.
“They have never had access to proper schooling or formal education in government schools. Still, a few among us who had received some education were trying to teach the younger generation and give them some hope,” said Hussain. “Now, even that has collapsed.”
In August 2023, Article 14 reported on how Rohingya children in Jammu’s slums were growing up without education or family, as India held their parents in detention centres.
Children of Rohingya refugees in the Kiryani Talab shanty town in Jammu with their UNHCR cards. They have been denied education and have now been evicted from their homes/ BASHARAT AMIN
Rabiul Alam, 28, walked from one plot to another with his five family members, including three children.
Alam, a daily-wage labourer who fled Myanmar in 2012, said he had been unable to work for the past several days. His family had been sleeping outdoors.
“We are unable to do anything. We neither have a shelter to live in nor anything to eat. For the past three days, we have been busy dismantling our temporary homes,” Alam said through tears. “Our children will die of hunger now.”
Alam said his family was already living in harsh conditions—summer heat and bitter winter cold—with only a makeshift shelter of tarpaulin and tin before the demolition.
“Now, we don’t even have that. Last night, it rained and we had to spend the night under the open sky,” said Alam. “I broke down when I saw my children struggling to protect themselves from the rain.”
Arif is also worried about how the eviction will affect his children.
“We have already lost everything,” he said. “I got married, I have three children, and I am struggling every day to feed them.”
This story is a part of the Reporters Collective GAP 2026 fellowship.
(Basharat Amin is a freelance journalist from Jammu and Kashmir who covers human rights, politics, gender, religion and the environment.)
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