Rohingya Identity

The very construction of the Rohingya identity is based on historical waves of migration in and out of the Arakan region, also known as “Rakhine”. These migratory processes eventually gave rise to a Muslim community within the Arakan state which has remained in existence until today. They began in the 18th century, were manifold and involved movements to and fro between the Bengal region and Burma. Rohingyas have linked their identity to the existence of pre-colonial Muslim settlements in Arakan, such as the sizable Muslim community within the Arakanese kingdom of Mrauk-U, dating from the 15th century. The conquest of this kingdom by the Burmese kingdom spurred emigration of Muslims to the Bengal region. Under British rule, however, immigration

From Burma to Bangladesh

Rohingya leaders have claimed that they descend from pre-colonial Muslim settlements in Arakan. Although the majority of Muslims in the Arakan State today are immigrants from Bengal, multiple waves of migration back and forth between Arakan and Bengal might justify this claim of being affiliated with ancient Muslim communities in Arakan. (*6)

Both Buddhists and Muslims have been long present in Arakan. Isolated from Burma by the mountain range Rakhine Yoma, the Arakanese territory was occupied by the Kingdom of Mrauk-U from 1429 to 1785 and governed independently from the neighboring Burmese kingdom. The kingdom’s religion was Buddhism. However, it was subordinate to the Sultan of Bengal, to whom the King of Mrauk-U owed his kingdom’s independence in 1830. Thus, the Arakanese kings employed Islamic titles and Muslim inscriptions were stamped on the kingdom’s coins. Even when Mrauk-U conquered east Bengal and freed itself from its status as a vassal to the Sultan of Bengal, Islamic traditions were maintained. (*4) This cultural influence was reinforced by the arrival and immigration of Muslims to Mrauk-U in the following centuries. Bengali slaves, captured by Arakanese merchants and sailors during raids in Bengal, were employed from the seventeenth century onwards. In 1660, the Mrauk-U king granted asylum to the Mughal Prince Shah Shuja, whose presence attracted Muslim immigrants. They began serving at the Arakanese court as gentry or servants.