Human Rights Watch (HRW) has issued a condemnation of India's recent actions towards Rohingya refugees, highlighting forceful expulsions and detentions without adequate protection of rights. According to HRW, these expulsions have targeted Rohingyas and other Bengali-speaking Muslims, many of whom are registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The campaign, initiated in May by states governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has seen numerous refugees forcibly removed to Bangladesh and Myanmar. HRW's Asia director, Elaine Pearson, urged the Indian government to halt these practices immediately. "The Indian government should immediately end the intimidation, arbitrary detention, and unlawful expulsions of all Rohingya refugees and impartially investigate allegations that they were ill-treated," Pearson stated.

Further concerns have been raised by a UN human rights expert following reports that Rohingya were forcibly disembarked from an Indian navy vessel into the Andaman Sea, a move denounced by UN Special Rapporteur for Myanmar, Tom Andrews, as "outrageous."

In a related legal development, India’s Supreme Court recently dismissed a petition by two Rohingya refugees aiming to prevent further deportations, questioning the credibility of the evidence presented. The court also refused to recognize Rohingyas as refugees, aligning with India's position of not being a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and lacking a domestic legal framework for refugees.

The plight of the Rohingya, a stateless Muslim ethnic group from Myanmar’s Rakhine State, has drawn international concern for decades. Following a brutal military crackdown in 2017, described by the UN as a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing," nearly a million Rohingya fled to Bangladesh, with smaller numbers seeking refuge in India where they continue to face legal and social challenges.

HRW has also highlighted alleged human rights abuses by the Arakan Army against the Rohingya in Myanmar, underscoring the widespread and complex nature of the crisis affecting this vulnerable population.