Rohingya: A People Under Endless Tyranny
Nurul Islam. Asian Affairs: An American Review. July 2020.Introduction
The Rohingya people live in Arakan (renamed by the military as Rakhine State in 1974), in Burma/Myanmar and have a long history. They are one of the world’s most persecuted people. Historically, Arakan was an independent kingdom ruled by Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims. It was never a part of Burma until Burmese king Bodawpaya invaded and occupied it in late 1784. Arakan had deep historical relations with Indian subcontinent and Muslim Bengal in the fields of culture, religion and politics. “Having genealogical link to the ancient Arakan people of Chandra dynasty, Rohingya have developed as a distinct ethnic group in Arakan from peoples of different ethnical backgrounds over the many centuries.”
Burma’s parliamentary government (1948-56; 1957-58; 1960-62) of U Nu recognized Rohingya as an ethnic group and they enjoyed all benefits of citizenship in the country. But from 1962 military ruling the Rohingya have faced a continuous process of delegitimization and institutionalized persecution. They are not listed among the 135 so-called national races that Burma has recognized as indigenous. In 1982, the military regime enacted a new citizenship law that reflects anti-Indian and anti-Muslim racism. It serves as an oppressive legal tool particularly against Rohingya people rendering them stateless in their own homeland on grounds of their religion and ethnicity.
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