Elections: The Rohingya in Bangladesh’s Political Imagination
I have a new piece out in Himal Southasian on how Bangladesh’s election politics intersects with the Rohingya crisis.
The core argument is simple. No matter who forms the next government, Rohingya repatriation will continue to be used as a political tool rather than treated as a genuine, rights-based solution.
I look at how:
The interim government has framed the Rohingya as a “national burden” and doubled down on managed repatriation theatrics.
The BNP rewrites its own history of past repatriations while promising to “send them back” again.
Jamaat pushes a more ideological, irredentist vision of return that bears little relation to realities on the ground in Rakhine.
UNHCR’s new leadership and regional powers like China and India are aligning around a language of “durable solutions” that risks prioritising speed and optics over refugee rights.
Meanwhile, more than a million Rohingya remain confined to overcrowded camps in Cox’s Bazar, with shrinking aid, tight restrictions on work and movement, and worsening conditions.
My conclusion? Regardless of who wins the election, repatriation is likely to remain a performance of governance rather than a genuine solution for the Rohingya.
That does not mean it is harmless. On the contrary, the danger is that a tightly managed “pilot” repatriation staged for political and diplomatic effect could still expose Rohingya to coercion, insecurity, and return to conditions that remain fundamentally unsafe and discriminatory in Arakan. Also, the Rohingya are likely to remain the exception to Bangladesh’s democratic reset. They will be governed through security, diplomacy, and image management rather than through public debate or accountability.
You can read the full piece here:
https://www.himalmag.com/politics/bangladesh-rohingya-election-bnp-jamaat
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