Should India grant asylum to Baloch nationalists?
Tibetians, Pakistanis, Afghans, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankan Tamils are among many others who have always been seeking asylum from India. Some have been accepted to make India their home and others denied. The latest one to add to the list is Baloch leader Brahumdagh Bugti.
Though India has taken in the largest number of refugees in South Asia, we have yet to enact a uniform law that addresses the issue of asylum. All we have is an informal refugee regime that is in line with international protocols. Our ad hoc and case-to-case basis selection of refugees could need serious laws and recognition if we are to take more asylum seekers.
Yes:1. Because we helped Bangladesh: Balochistan is facing is the worst ever human rights violation and genocide by the Pakistani army and ISI. We did help Bangladesh when it was facing similar problems back in 1971. Innocents are being killed and we can not only liberate them but also strengthen our bonds with the nation that could come to our rescue in the fight against terror harboring in Pakistan.
2. Because we talked about it: Our PM mentioned helping Balochistan in the Independence day speech and ever since then our ministers and people are talking about ways to help the downtrodden nation in the fight to get liberation from the atrocities of our enemy nation. When Pakistan talks about human rights violation in Kashmir, we quickly respond with examples of Balochistan.
3. Because we need more allies: If we are to go for a global isolation of the terrorism mothering nation Pakistan, we have to ensure that we have the maximum number of allies on our side. And who could be a better support at this moment than the nation who has been suffering the atrocities of Pakistani army and terror groups for generations?
4. Because we helped Tibetans: Our hospitality was open to Dalai Lama and we allowed the Tibetans to run a government in exile for more than six decades as of now. We helped save the Buddhist culture from extinction. We earned the respect that we carry in the hearts of their people. We took in Karmapa Lama when he ran from the custody of the Chinese. We went all the way to agitate Beijing and yet took in asylum seekers. It shouldn’t be much difficult to do the same to Baloch nationalists.
5. Because they entertain our prisoners: Pakistan has always been under scrutiny for entertaining and providing asylum to those that plotted terror against India and later fled to Pakistan for help. Our much hated terrorist Dawood Ibrahim is Pakistan’s favorite when it comes to sheltering those bearing evil intentions against the peace of our nation. I do wish we could return the favor by taking in Bugti and other nationalists of Balochistan.
No:1. Because it might go wrong: Pakistan and their ISIS allies are well known for breeding terrorism in the minds of people. It was recently seen that with a little mind game of Pakistan a small Baloch group in London protested against India-Iran cooperation in developing Chabahar port. Their jidahist groups are bad news for any nation and god forbid we should welcome one such rotten apple in mask along with the genuine asylum seekers. They might come with evil plans of their own, the kind that we would rather avoid.
2. Because the Swiss won’t have him: Bugti has been running his independent party from Switzerland for some time now when the nation declined his application for an official ID. His group has been on terror watch list. Pakistan is building pressure on Switzerland. Are we really eager to embrace the political conflict of some other nation only to compromise the safety of our people?
3. Because we don’t need refugee crisis: Taking in people with a difference in culture and thinking and perhaps loyalty too doesn’t come easy. They live reside in India with a temporary ID and refuse to follow our rules. The refugee crisis did not work well for any nation. We took in Bangladeshis and what did that give us?
India is all up to support Balochistan in its freedom movement against Pakistani atrocities. Granting asylum to Bugti and other nationlists, which we can assume are going to be many, is another thing. We must make formal refugee policies beforehand and then take any such step for there are always complications following such events. We also need to make sure that only highly selective people of the group are granted asylum after doing a complete background check on them. The last thing we need are those jihadists in disguise to create trouble in our land.
