Who are the Uyghurs and why is China being accused of genocide

The UN Human Rights Council has voted against holding a debate on alleged abuses in China's Xinjiang region after intense lobbying by Beijing, in a major setback for Western nations.

What is the news?

India and 10 other nations abstained.

Who are the Uighurs?

There are about 12 million Uighurs, mostly Muslim, living in north-western China in the region of Xinjiang, officially known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).

The Uighurs speak their own language, similar to Turkish, and see themselves as culturally and ethnically close to Central Asian nations.

They make up less than half of the Xinjiang population.

In recent decades, there's been a mass migration of Han Chinese (China's ethnic majority) to Xinjiang, and the Uighurs feel their culture and livelihoods are under threat.

In the early 20th Century, the Uighurs briefly declared independence, but the region was brought under complete control of mainland China's new Communist government in 1949.

Where is Xinjiang?

Xinjiang lies in the north-west of China and is the country's biggest region.

Like Tibet, it is autonomous, meaning - in theory - it has some powers of self-governance. But in practice, both face major restrictions by the central government.

It is a mostly desert region, producing about a fifth of the world's cotton.

It is also rich in oil and natural gas and because of its proximity to Central Asia and Europe is seen by Beijing as an important trade link.

What was the build-up to the Uighur crackdown?

Anti-Han and separatist sentiment rose in Xinjiang from the 1990s, flaring into violence on occasion.

In 2009 some 200 people died in clashes in Xinjiang, which the Chinese blamed on Uighurs who want their own state.

Xinjiang is now covered by a pervasive network of surveillance, including police, checkpoints, and cameras that scan everything from number plates to individual faces.

According to Human Rights Watch, police are also using a mobile app to monitor peoples' behaviour, such as how much electricity they are using and how often they use their front door.

Since 2017 when President Xi Jinping issued an order saying all religions in China should be Chinese in orientation, there have been further crackdowns.

Chinese narrative

China says the crackdown is necessary to prevent terrorism and root out Islamist extremism and the camps are an effective tool for re-educating inmates in its fight against terrorism.

It insists that Uighur militants are waging a violent campaign for an independent state by plotting bombings, sabotage and civic unrest.

China has dismissed claims it is trying to reduce the Uighur population through mass sterilizations as "baseless", and says allegations of forced labor are "completely fabricated".

Why did India abstain from voting against China?

India has traditionally voted against or abstained from such country-specific resolutions at the UNHRC.

It is understood that China's presence within the UNHRC was a factor in the decision since any backing for the Xinjiang issue could have led to similar moves by China on other issues in India.

This is particularly in the context of the Kashmir issue.