The Plight of Rohingya Muslims in Bangladesh Camps By Dr Shabir Choudhry, 04 January 2026, London

 The Plight of Rohingya Muslims in Bangladesh Camps

By Dr Shabir Choudhry, 04 January 2026, London

A recent fact-finding visit by a UK-based humanitarian delegation has once again exposed a humanitarian catastrophe that the world — and especially the Muslim world — continues to ignore.

This registered Charity sent a delegation to Bangladesh to investigate the plight of the Bihari people, who have been stranded in Bangladesh since the separation of Bangladesh in 1971. Also, the delegation visited the camps of the Rohingya people who escaped persecution from Burma.

Forgotten People: The Biharis of East Pakistan

Before addressing the Rohingya tragedy, the delegation drew attention to another long-forgotten group: the Bihari Muslims.

These people migrated from Bihar, India, to East Pakistan in 1947, believing in the promise of a Muslim homeland. After the war of 1971, they found themselves abandoned — first by Pakistan, which they had supported during the armed conflict, and then marginalised by the new Bangladeshi state. Many were left at the mercy of hostile armed groups and unsympathetic authorities.

More than five decades later, thousands of Bihari Muslims still live in camps, trapped in conditions of extreme poverty, legal uncertainty, and social exclusion. Their suffering is a painful reminder that political loyalties often mean nothing once states redraw borders and rewrite narratives.

The Rohingya Catastrophe: Survival Without Dignity

If the plight of the Biharis is tragic, the situation of the Rohingya Muslims is nothing short of catastrophic.

The Burmese military has killed tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims. Those who were massacred may, tragically, have been the “fortunate” ones. The survivors — now living in refugee camps in Bangladesh — endure a life stripped of dignity, opportunity, and hope.

According to the delegation:

• Refugees are confined to restricted zones deep in jungle areas, isolated from towns and economic life.
• They are not allowed to work, travel freely, or seek sustainable livelihoods.
• Education is severely limited, creating a lost generation.
• Healthcare and sanitation facilities are inadequate, increasing disease and suffering.
• There is a severe shortage of clothing, particularly warm clothes — the delegation witnessed children without proper clothing in December, exposed to cold and illness.

Life in these camps is not merely difficult; it is a slow erosion of humanity. Survival is permitted, but dignity is denied.

A Moral Failure of the Muslim World

What makes this tragedy even more painful is not just the cruelty of the perpetrators but the silence and indifference of those who could help.

While millions of Muslims languish in camps:

• Some rulers of wealthy Muslim states gift luxury aircraft worth hundreds of millions of dollars, complete with gold-plated fittings.
• Others squander vast sums in casinos, elite holiday resorts, and lavish lifestyles in Europe and elsewhere.
• Yet the refugees — men, women, and children — remain invisible, except when used rhetorically in speeches or slogans.

This is not a lack of resources. It is a lack of moral priority.

Islam teaches that the worth of a society is judged by how it treats its weakest. By that standard, the global response to the Rohingya — and to other displaced Muslim populations — represents a profound ethical failure.

Beyond Charity: The Need for Conscience

Charities perform vital work, often filling gaps left by governments and international bodies. But charity alone cannot resolve a crisis created by state violence, geopolitical calculations, and global apathy.

What is required is:

• Sustained international pressure on Myanmar
• Legal recognition and protection for refugees
• Education and livelihood opportunities
• And above all, a restoration of human dignity

The Rohingya do not need pity. They need justice, protection, and the right to live as human beings.

Until the world — and particularly the Muslim world — aligns its actions with its moral claims, these camps will remain not just places of refuge, but monuments to our collective failure. END

Dr Shabir Choudhry is a London-based political analyst, author, and expert on South Asian affairs, with a focus on Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Kashmir.