Hindus in Myanmar face rapes and murders

Minority Hindu community is under fierce attack in Myanmar as the Islamic militants and the Army fight fire with fire.

A news has now emerged that at least 400 Hindus have gone missing while Hindu women have been left brutalized after rape. Many of these Hindus are feared murdered by their community members.

ElevenMyanmar.com and Irrawaddy.com have been covering the news of attacks on Hindus which have forced many of them to seek shelter in nearby Bangladesh.

These Hindus used to be from the Northern Maungdaw and now they are missing.

A report in ElevenMyanmar.com quoted a Hindu from Maungdaw as saying that “There are two Hindu villages in Thittongwasone area in Northern Maungdaw. More than 400 people of 70 households live there. Now we lost contact with them though we were informed that they were fleeing. But we didn’t know where their position was. They do not arrive in surrounding ethnic villages. We are worried if they are hiding in the forest or have been murdered.”

The report also states that four or five households from Maramagyi Village and eight Hindus households from Khamauksaik Village Tract are also missing.

The Hindu community how, however, not find refuge in Muslim-majority Bangladesh which is even reluctant to give even a little space to Rohingyas who trace their origin to Bangladesh.

The Hindu man quoted by the ElevenMyanmar.com explained:

“Although they might run to Bangladesh border, the Bangladesh won’t accept them. There are ten houses of Hindus in Khamauksaik Village and four or five houses in Yebawkya Village. Those also are missing now. We are very worried for them now.”

Murders and rapes

The Hindu man quoted by the paper also said that he has heard that Hindu women have been a target of rape. He said: “Although it is hard to confirm, we have heard that Hindus from Yebawkya Village have been murdered and some Hindi women are raped after they were arrested.”

He also said that the relatives of the girls might have been murdered first.

There are also reports that some 95 Hindus have been rescued by the Myanmar Army but it remains unconfirmed.

6 Hindus have been murdered in Myanmar by  Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA)  a banned terrorist group fighting for a separate nation for Muslim Rohingyas.

A Twitter account allegedly belonging to this banned terrorist outfit has already claimed responsibility, calling them “defensive actions”.

The Hindus of Myanmar trace their origin to India and many are of Tamil and Bengali descent.

As per the Myanmar Census 2014 Report on Religion, there were 252,763 (0.5%) Hindus in the nation.The largest number of Hindus, 100,166 (2.0% of Region’s enumerated population) lives in Bago Region (southern-central part of the country), while a mere 106 Hindu people live in the Chin State in western Myanmar.

Narendra Modi to soon go to Myanmar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going on a state visit to Myanmar from September 5-7, 2017 at the invitation of U Htin Kyaw, President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. This will be Prime Minister Modi’s first bilateral State visit to Myanmar. During the visit, Prime Minister will hold discussions with State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on matters of mutual interest and also call on President U Htin Kyaw. Apart from his engagements in the capital city of Nay Pyi Taw, he will visit Yangon and Bagan.

On August 26th, India had expressed concern on the violence by the terrorists but it has resisted from saying anything else as Rohingyas continue to garner support international support.

It is likely that he will also hold discussions on this matter as the refugees would also likely line up to flee to India.

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Myanmar: 6 Hindus massacred by terrorists