Uighurs

Why in news?

• The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet is at the Xinjiang region, where Beijing is alleged to have repressed Muslim minorities. China said it’s hoping the visit can “clarify misinformation.”

More about the news:

• Various countries have called on China to “ensure full respect for the rule of law” for the Muslim Uighur community in Xinjiang.
• Credible reports indicate that over a million people have been arbitrarily detained in Xinjiang and that there is widespread surveillance disproportionately targeting Uighurs and members of other minorities and restrictions on fundamental freedoms and Uighur culture.

About Uighurs:

• The Uyghurs/ Uygurs or Uighurs, are a minority Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia.
• The Uyghurs have been recognized as native to only one region, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China.
• The Uyghurs have traditionally inhabited a series of oases scattered across the Taklamakan Desert comprising the Tarim Basin, a territory which has historically been controlled by many civilizations including China, the Mongols, the Tibetans and the Turkic world.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Uighur people, sometimes discussed in news, primarily reside in the country of:

(a) China

(b) Pakistan

(c) Russia

(d) Turkmenistan

Answer