Just 2 years ago, there were 10,500 Rohingyas living illegally in India (Representational photo)
The Centre on Wednesday informed the Rajya Sabha that the illegal Rohingya population in India is 40,000, which is a four-time jump from two years ago when the population of the migrant community from Myanmar in the country was 10,500.
In a written response, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said as per estimates available with the government, around 40,000 Rohingyas are living illegally in India.
The Home Ministry also informed Parliament that the central government has directed the state governments to constitute task force at district levels to identify and deport the illegally staying foreign nationals.
The issue of illegal immigration is taken up with neighbouring countries during bilateral talks at various levels, the government said.
The latest figure is being seen as an abrupt jump as two years ago Mr Rijiju in his reply to the Lok Sabha had mentioned the total figure of Rohangiya Muslims in the country as 10,500.
According to the Home Ministry, Rohingyas are
mostly settled in Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Delhi, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Andra Pradesh and Manipur. According to the Jammu and Kashmir government's estimate, Rohingya Muslims are numbered at around 5,700 but it could go up to 10,000.
Rohingyas originally belong to Rakhine province of Myanmar and many of them have left the country due to alleged persecution by the majority Buddhist community.
In another related question, the Home Ministry clarified that there is no refugee camp for Bangladeshis and Rohangiyas in India.
However, there are 107 camps in Tamil Nadu and one in Odisha for Sri Lanka refugees. As far as Tibetan refugees are concerned, they are staying in settlements on their own.