Myanmar\\\'s welcome gesture to displaced Muslims: Much more needs to be done

The government of Myanmar has given citizenship to 209 of the Muslims displaced by sectarian violence, in what is seen as a good gesture to the minority community. It's a welcome beginning that needs to be followed through.   
Driven out of their hearth and home, the minority people have been complaining of severe discrimination against them.
This has been done after about a million Muslims, known as the "Rohingya", have claimed citizenship of Myanmar. The authorities seem unwilling to accept the appeal.
The Rohingya issue has drawn international attention as the minority people are often been subjected to harassment in Myanmar-and ethnic cleansing at its worst.
The hardcore Buddhists have often resorted to violence against the minority and the government says it is unsure about the rationale of citizenship claim.
It is also often alleged in Myanmar that many of these people came to the country from neighbouring Bangladesh - a contention Dhaka hotly disputes.
Many Rohingyas live in camps in Bangladesh, having been forced to flee their country following repression and violence against them in different phases.
While most of them returned to Myanmar, many Rohingya refugees are still living in camps in Bangladesh.
A good number of such refugees are also housed in the refugee camps in Myanmar after being rendered homeless as a sequel to the violent incidents, mainly caused by a section of militant Buddhists.
The government and many in the predominantly Buddhist nation often refer to the Rohingyas as 'Bengalis'--a euphemism for 'illegal immigrants' from the neighbouring Bangladesh. But these people have lived in Myanmar for generations and they consider this country - earlier known as Burma -- as their homeland.
Despite strong pleas coming from the international community, including the United Nations, not much progress has been made in resolving the Rohingya issue.
These minorities have been categorised by various human rights and other organisations as being deprived of their rights. Rights groups say that these people must be allowed to say how they want to be described. But others say that the importance of the citizenship-verification process trumps such concerns because it is necessary to settle the key issue of "statelessness".
Many Rohingyas are effectively stateless as they are not recognised as citizens by Myanmar while Bangladesh, not surprisingly, rules out their being citizens of the country.
Most Rohinyas were excluded from the UN-backed census earlier this year because they refused to list their identities as "Bengalis".
Some of the 209 who received the citizenship in the latest developments related to the sensitive issue covering the wide term 'Rohingya' are members of the Kaman Muslim minority.
This group is recognised by the government as indigenous to Myanmar. It is not clear whether these people are considered as Rohingya by the Myanmar authorities.
The Rohingyas live under apartheid-line conditions in Rakhine state in the west, needing permission to move from their villages or camps where almost 140,000 remained after being displaced in deadly clashes with ethnic Rakhine Buddhists in 2012.
Authorities say they are looking after these people while there is also a concern about the safety and wellbeing of these minorities.
The granting of citizenship to 209 of the displaced Muslims is seen as a good gesture. But, what is needed is a wider recognition of the "Rohingas" as citizens of Myanmar unless some cases are really doubtful or illegitimate.   

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