India, Oct. 22 -- True character is revealed not in comfort, but in crisis. And India has passed that test before. Our tradition of sheltering the persecuted is neither recent nor accidental. In 1959, when the Dalai Lama and thousands of Tibetans fled Chinese persecution, India didn't just open its borders, we helped build a community in exile that thrives to this day. That moment - and others such as the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, and the civil conflicts in Sri Lanka and Afghanistan - cemented India's global image as a democracy with a moral compass.

The current Rohingya crisis must be seen in the light of this legacy. With the Supreme Court now hearing critical petitions, this moment may well determine whether India upholds or dep...