Migration from Myanmar: An Empirical Study on Hindu Rohingya Refugees Residing in Bangladesh

Abstract The Rohingya Hindus are a minority group of the Rohingya community in Myanmar. The vast majority of Hindus in the Rakhine province are citizens of Myanmar and can use the bulk of their constitutional rights. The 2014 Myanmar population and housing Census report stated that an estimated 9,791 Hindus reside in the area, accounting for approximately 0.5% of the population. During the British colonial era, most Hindus in Myanmar came from British India. Since Buddhism and Hinduism both have historical ties and were founded on the same continent, Hindu Rohingya people in Myanmar encounter fewer issues than Muslims. However, around a million individuals of Indian descent, primarily Hindus, were driven out of Myanmar following the military takeover in 1962. The military persecution, torture, and genocide were followed by 87,000 Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh from October 2016 to July 2017. Although the majority of this community is Muslim, several Hindus have, for the first time in history, recently fled to Bangladesh. Currently, 528 registered and approximately 700–800 unregistered Hindu Rohingya are living in the Hindu Rohingya camp near Bangladesh’s Kutupalong-Balukhali refugee camp. The Rohingya Muslim population has been the centre of attention since the start of the Rohingya exodus into Bangladesh. But for a long time, Hindu Rohingyas have gotten little attention because of their modest numbers and lack of national and international recognition. An analysis of the causes of the Hindu Rohingya refugees’ migration to Bangladesh is attempted in this chapter. Additionally, it looks into the lives of Hindu Rohingya refugees in post-COVID Rohingya camps, their relationship with the Muslim Rohingya refugees and the host community, and their opinions on repatriation amid the ongoing crisis in Myanmar’s Rakhine state in present-day Myanmar. This chapter is an exploratory and empirical research endeavour that used both qualitative and quantitative methods to analyse Hindu Rohingya refugees from Myanmar residing in Bangladesh.