National
Practical approach, not condemnation, needed to tackle Rohingya crisis: Jaishankar (Lead)
New Delhi, Oct 26 (IANS) Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar on Thursday said a practical approach was needed to tackle the Rohingya refugee crisis arising out of Myanmar’s Rakhine state, rather than strong condemnation.
“The fact that here is an exodus of a large number of people from Rakhine state is clearly a matter of concern,” Jaishankar said in response to a question at a seminar on “Connecting the Bay of Bengal: India, Japan and Regional Cooperation” organised by the Carnegie India think tank in association with the India Development Foundation.
“Our objective would be to see how they can go back to their place of origin,” he said, adding, however, that this was not easy.
He said that India has been “talking to Bangladesh and we have separately engaged with Myanmar”.
“There have been high-level conversations with both countries. We feel that this is a situation which is better addressed through practical measures and constructive conversations rather than doing strong condemnations and then having checked the condemnation box and move on to the next issue.”
The Foreign Secretary’s remarks come even as the UN put the total number of Rohingya refugees that have arrived in Bangladesh from Myanmar since August 25 at 604,000.
Jaishankar said that such a situation needed “a much more sober, realistic, locally sensitive approach than we have seen in some quarters”.
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Myanmar in early September, India had avoided talking about the military crackdown in Rakhine state and the refugee situation and had condemned the attack on the Myanmar security forces by the Rohingya militants.
Later, on September 9, India modified its position, apparently after the Bangladesh High Commissioner Syed Muazzem Ali called on Jaishankar to discuss the issue. New Delhi voiced “deep concern” over the Rohingya refugee issue and asked Myanmar to handle the situation in the Rakhine state with “maturity and restraint”, in the statement.
The Rohingyas do not have citizenship in Myanmar and are sparingly given refugee status in Bangladesh.
Myanmar State Counsellor and Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has come under criticism from various international quarters for the manner in which the situation was being handled in Rakhine.
On Sunday, during her visit to Bangladesh, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said India was “deeply concerned” over the violence in Rakhine state.
India has also come to Bangladesh’s aid in handling the crisis by sending relief material for the current influx of Rohingya refugees under Operation Insaniyat.
India is also seeking to deport around 40,000 Rohingyas living in the country.
Jaishankar said that one of the areas which the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) should collaborate is one the humanitarian assistance disaster relief.
The Bimstec regional bloc comprises Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
“I think, partcularly in the last three years, from the Nepal earthquake or the Yemen civil war or the Sri Lankan mudslide or the Maldives water crisis or even this Operation Insaniyat we did for the displaced persons who came out from the Rakhine state, we have been very active in pushing that,” Jaishankar said.
“We certainly think this is an important part of regional cooperation,” he added.
–IANS
ab/vd
Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.
The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.
Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.
For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.
During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.
Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.
Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .
Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.
In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.
In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.
He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.
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