WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 21, 2025) — The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) strongly condemns the reported actions of Indian authorities who, according to the United Nations, forcibly expelled Rohingya refugees — many of them women, children, and elderly individuals — by placing them on naval vessels and casting them into the Andaman Sea, abandoning them to dangerous and life-threatening conditions.
According to the New York Times, dozens of Rohingya refugees were rounded up from various Indian cities, blindfolded, flown to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, onboarded an Indian naval ship and thrown into the sea. Survivors recount being forced to swim toward Myanmar’s shores with only life jackets, left vulnerable to the very military forces they had fled.
This disturbing episode appears to be part of a wider crackdown by Indian authorities that coincided with escalating tensions with Pakistan. In the days following a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir that claimed the lives of over two dozen Indians, authorities across Prime Minister Narendra Modi led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states detained thousands of Muslims under the pretext of national security, labeling them as “illegal Bangladeshis,” “Pakistanis,” or “Rohingya.” While many of those detained turned out to be Indian citizens and some later released, confirmed Rohingya and Bangladeshi refugees, including some with valid UNHCR documentation, were deported without due process.
“The idea that Rohingya refugees have been cast into the sea from naval vessels is nothing short of outrageous. I am seeking further information and testimony regarding these developments and implore the Indian government to provide a full accounting of what happened,” said Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar.
IAMC condemns these actions in the strongest possible terms.
“India’s treatment of the Rohingya is not only a moral and humanitarian failure, it is a blatant violation of international law, including the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits the forced return of individuals to countries where they face persecution, torture, or death,” IAMC President Mohammad Jawad said.
“The systematic dehumanization of Rohingya refugees is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of state-sanctioned anti-Muslim discrimination,” Jawad added.
IAMC calls on the United Nations to launch a thorough and transparent investigation into these expulsions and to make its findings public. We urge the Indian government to immediately halt all deportations of Rohingya refugees, initiate an independent inquiry into the incident, and hold accountable those responsible for these egregious violations of human rights and international norms.
Furthermore, IAMC calls on the international community, including the United States, to take urgent diplomatic and legal measures to pressure the Indian government to comply with its obligations under international law and prevent further abuses against stateless and marginalized communities.
