FROM MAULANA’S DESK

The solution to the problem of the Rohingya Muslims is only one—that is, acceptance of reality. The Rohingya Muslims must disavow their insurgency and militant activities. They should make it known that they are a larger part of the Myanmar nation. in the Rohingya. To curb their activities, the Myanmar government took tough action and stern measures against them. According to the leaders of Rohingya, these steps by the central government were an act of “oppression”, but in the eyes of the government, this was merely retaliation. Their response was designed to bring discipline to their country. In 1971 when Bangladesh was formed, it gave a kind of political boost to the Rohingya leaders who further intensified their separatist activities, due to which the Myanmar government also reacted more stringently than before. The present exodus of the Muslims from Burma began after 25 August 2017 attacks by members of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA). They struck 30 police posts and an army base and then maintained several days of ambushes, as Myanmar security forces hit back. The army began its counter-offensive in response to this violence perpetrated by militant Rohingya. This is the story of the Rohingya Muslims in brief. It was in 1966 when I was in Lucknow. I remember that one day a Muslim scholar came to me and said he was going to Burma and would I accompany him? When I asked why, he replied that a movement for the formation of a Muslim state was going on in Burma and that we too should lend our full support to it. I strongly disagreed with his suggestion. I explained to him that people who thought like him might be trying to form a state in the name of Islam but that such an act would only lead to strife. I told him that I disapproved of their method of proceeding, as a movement that took shape in such a manner was not truly Islamic, and could only lead to conflict and dispute. I told him that I could not endorse such a cause. He became angry and left. Since 1966, my opinion on the Rohingyas is that Rohingya Muslims are not oppressed but their case is the outcome of ill-judged political activities instigated by unwise leaders. If the whole picture were to be seen, one would arrive at the conclusion that the Rohingya Muslims are not victims of oppression, but are rather paying the price of their