Article
When Realpolitik Triumphs over Uyghur Rights in Xinjiang

By : Sarada Subhash

Page No: 283-310

Abstract
The ongoing human rights violations against the Uyghur ethnic minority, predominantly Turkic speaking Muslims, in the China-ruled Xinjiang region are deeply disturbing. This article is an attempt to situate the persecution, violence and Uyghur concerns in a broader framework that highlights four critical dimensions of this issue. These include, the contrasting narratives about the history of East Turkestan/Xinjiang; understanding the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which China has been portraying as a significant security ‘concern’; highlighting Xinjiang’s geostrategic importance to China vis-à-vis Central, West and South Asia and finally, Washington’s counter-terrorism strategies (post-9/11) which many see as a significant factor in abetting the Uyghur predicament. In short, the article tries to understand if these issues have contributed to aiding or aggravating the continuing Uyghur crisis and via assessing these segments, it shall also try to provide a brief insight into ‘why’ and ‘how’ China is managing to do what it is doing in Xinjiang.

Author :
Sarada Subhash is a Research Scholar with the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF). She pursues research on Tibet, Xinjiang, and Chinese Foreign Policy. The author is deeply grateful to Prof. Sujit Dutta, an acclaimed China expert, for his invaluable inputs and observations on the article and particularly, the history segments.
 

DOI: http://doi.org/10.32381/NS.2023.06.04.4