India on Saturday dispatched around 1,000 tonnes of relief material, which can cater for around 62,000 families, for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, an official statement said.

The material was loaded on Indian Naval Ship Gharial, which will deliver it to Chittagong in Bangladesh where thousands of Rohinya refugees have come in from Myanmar.

The relief material is in customised family packets, which contain essential items including rations, clothes and mosquito nets.

Earlier, relief material was also sent to Bangladesh through Indian Air Force's C-17 transport aircraft, to address the humanitarian crisis emanating from the big scale migration of Rohingya Muslims.

According to UN, almost 430,000 Rohingyas have fled Myanmar and crossed to Bangladesh since August 25.

The relief material was dispatched even as a Rohingya petitioner on Friday told the Supreme Court that they were not illegal immigrants but refugees who fled Myanmar and came to India for shelter.

The petitioner said that they fled, in the wake of their persecution on the grounds of their religion, and argued that they were entitled to all protection under the international conventions on refugees and treaties.

Contesting the Central government's stand that they being foreign nationals enjoyed no protection under the Indian Constitution, Rohingya refugee Mohammad Salimullah, who has moved the top court, seeking its protection from being deported said that protection under Article 14 - guaranteeing equality before law and Article 21 - guaranteeing protection of life and liberty was available to both Indian citizens and non-citizens alike.

In his rejoinder to the Central government's affidavit, he said: "Rohingya are not involved in any act of militancy. They are a fleeing persecuted ethnic minority whose only claim is to peaceful asylum. Any individual case of involvement in militancy may be dealt with by the governmental in accordance with the law of the land.” 

IANS inputs