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Teaching the Holocaust and other Genocides
 
Created in collaboration with the Holocaust & Human Rights Center, the NYS Education Department, and the NYS Archives Partnership Trust.

Rohingya

Geographically bordered by Bangladesh to the west, India and China to the north, and Thailand and Laos to the east, the Southeast Asian country of Myanmar has a deep-rooted history dating back to 1057, when King Anawrahta founded it as the Kingdom of Burma. In the western part of the country, along the border with Bangladesh, lies the state of Rakhine, home to the Rohingya Muslims—an ethnic and religious minority in a predominantly Buddhist nation.  

For years, the Rohingya have faced systematic oppression and persecution, with some arguing they are the most persecuted minority in the world (Ibrahim, 2018). To fully understand the ongoing atrocities they endure—including violence, destruction of homes and property, forced labor, and sexual abuse—we must first examine the history of Myanmar, beginning in the 19th century when it was still known as Burma. 

Targeted Groups  

The targeted group of the genocide was predominantly Rohingya Muslims living in the northwestern state of Rakhine in Burma/Myanmar.

Rohingya Map

Although other ethnic minorities have also faced persecution and discrimination, none have suffered as much as the Rohingya.    

Theravada Buddhism argues that in order for Buddhism to remain secure, all other forms of religion must be eliminated. This thinking was directly behind the actions of the Burmese Buddhists who looked to the state for support of dehumanizing anyone non-Buddhist in exchange for their political support. Consequently, throughout the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, Extreme Buddhist Organizations used their power and political influence to repress the rights of the Rohingya Muslims.  

Historical Background

One of the main reasons the Rohingya have been persecuted and discriminated against more than other ethnic minorities within Burma lies in the belief that they are actually Bengalis and not Burmese (Ibrahim, 2018). This falsehood is rooted in the history of Burma before 1948, particularly in the state of Arakan. Now called Rakhine, the area of Arakan was, until 1784, a separate political entity from Burma.  

In 1784, Burmese Kings invaded and conquered Arakan, making it part of the Burmese Kingdom. Historically populated by the Rohingya, Britain annexed Arakan in 1826 in the First Anglo-Burmese War. Buddhist extremists, military leaders, Burmese nationalists, ethnic extremists, and the National League for Democracy all have argued that the Rohingya did not traditionally live in Arakan but rather immigrated from Bangladesh and are thus not considered Burmese. This widely held belief was and is used to deny Rohingya citizenship within Myanmar today.

Within Rakhine as part of Burma, the Burmese people remained under British rule until World War II, when they fell under Japanese Occupation from 1942 to 1945. During this period, people within Burma supported different sides, with the Rohingya fighting alongside the British and the Buddhists living in Rakhine supporting the Japanese. As the tide of the war turned, so too did the support of Burmese leaders, with General Aung San and other local leaders turning their support to the British to help defeat the Japanese in 1945.   

In 1947, Aung San was elected as a transitional leader of Burma as it pushed towards independence. During this time, the Rohingya also shared some political rights and power, with the Rohingya Muslims being elected as members of Burma’s governing body. In July of that year, however, General Aung San was assassinated by a political enemy, ushering in a period of instability and persecution towards the Rohingya as Burma gained its independence in 1948.  In the years that followed, as politicians and military leaders fumbled and fought for power, the Rohingyas were consistently cast as scapegoats to draw attention away from other matters and to gain political power among those in charge.    

Not all started out as bad for the Rohingya, however. In 1948, as Burma gained its independence and Prime Minister U Nu was elected to office, Rohingyas were recognized as equal citizens according to the Union Citizenship Act passed by Parliament. This followed in 1949 when the government began issuing identification cards to all citizens, including the Rohingya.  

With the military coup in 1962, however, the tide shifted against Rohingyas, ushering in a half century of persecution. When the military overthrew the elected government of Burma in 1962 under the leadership of General Ne Win, things became increasingly worse for Rohingya Muslims. With the prevailing belief among nationalists that the only true citizens of Burma could be Burmese Buddhists, Ne Win declared Burma a one-party state. No independent media were allowed under military rule, and Burma’s economy became nationalized. By the 1970s and 1980s, the citizenship of Rohingya Muslims was being called into question.   

 As the military increased in power, so too did Burmese nationalism. One effect of this was the increased fear and distrust of those considered outsiders, particularly ethnic and religious groups such as the Rohingya. In 1974, a new Constitution was implemented in Burma that allowed for one-party rule, still under the control of the military. With this came the passage of the Emergency Immigration Act, which severely limited the rights of foreigners from Bangladesh, China, and India. Included in the group were Rohingya Muslims who were seen as foreigners from Bangladesh.  

Along with other foreigners, the registration cards of Rohingya Muslims were confiscated by state authorities who considered them a threat within Burma. This persecution continued when in 1978, under a plan called Operation Naga Min (Dragon King), all people in Burma needed to have their certification status verified. During this process, people who were considered foreigners, especially the Rohingya, were subjected to brutal violence by the military, partly because of political and religious leaders within Burma calling for their expulsion.  

According to Ibrahim the Rohingya made for easy targets as they were “visibly ‘alien’ in the color of their skin, in their language, and most of all in their religion…”. This resulted in the government severely limiting the citizenship of Rohingya in 1982. Under the leadership of retired General San Yu, Burma’s parliament passed a law that stripped Rohingya Muslims and other minority groups of their citizenship status.  

By the late 1980s, Burma faced a severe economic crisis that led to mass riots across the country. In response, the government cracked down on perceived dissidents, arbitrarily arresting individuals and sentencing many to death. Amid this turmoil, Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of General Aung San, was placed under house arrest. It was also during this period that Burma was officially renamed Myanmar. 

As political shifts unfolded and pro-democracy protests spread, the military grew increasingly threatened. The Rohingya, particularly in the state of Rakhine, were treated as a security threat, prompting the government to declare a state of emergency and impose harsh military crackdowns. In the aftermath of the unrest, the government introduced new identification cards, known as "Citizenship Scrutiny Cards." However, these cards were never issued to the Rohingya, further entrenching their statelessness and marginalization.   

The 1990s brought increasing violence to the Rohingya Muslims, though there was promise things might get better under the leadership of the National Democracy League (NLD) and Aung San Suu Kyi. After the NLD won the national election in 1990, the military refused to acknowledge the results and remained in power, keeping the NLD’s leader-Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest.  

        Courtesy of the US Holocaust Museum

In 1991, in a marked increase in violence towards the Rohingya, the government implemented Operation “Clean and Beautiful Nation” allowing soldiers to commit violent atrocities towards the Rohingya, forcing over 250,000 of them to flee into refugee camps in Bangladesh. In an effort of continued persecution, the following year, the government created a special border force that was designed with the sole intent of harassing and targeting the Rohingya.  

Nevertheless, in 1992, many of the Rohingya who had fled into Bangladesh had returned. The effort to dehumanize and persecute Rohingya Muslims intensified in the mid-1990s when the government began to deny birth certificates for Rohingya Muslims and issued them new identification cards.  These new “white cards” only allowed for temporary registration and were not considered proof of citizenship.    

The first decade of the 21st century brought with it a period of increased violence and, in turn, displacement, of Rohingya Muslims. Although the NLD was making headway towards Myanmar, the military retained power. Thanks to a provision in the revised 2008 constitution, a specific percentage of seats in Parliament had to be reserved for the military, making it highly unlikely that they would lose their grip on power.  

In the first national election held since 1968, the military-backed political party won the national election in 2010, appointing General Thein Sein as president.  In a series of protests and boycotts, the NLD was not happy.  Although at first it seemed as if President Thein Sein would bring about progressive reforms, including the freeing of political prisoners and limiting censorship, these promising policies were short-lived.  Under the leadership of President Thein Sein, violence and persecution towards the Rohingya greatly escalated.  

Genocide Triggers

In October of 2016, Burmese police posts in Rakhine were attacked by a small group of Rohingya Muslims. With nine officers killed in the attack, the Burmese military launched what was called a “clearance operation,” where they destroyed villages, killed people, and raped women throughout Rakhine. Triggering what most countries now acknowledge as a genocide, these violent attacks led to over 80,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing to Bangladesh.  Although the government tried to portray and justify the attacks as a proportionate response to the earlier attacks on the Burmese police, first-hand accounts and satellite pictures revealed these were genocidal actions with mass murders, sexual violence, and entire villages being burned.  By 2017, the Kutupalong refugee camp became the largest refugee camp in the world with over 600,000 Rohingya Muslims.                       

Rohingya Cox Bazar Refugee Camp
Fox Bazar Refugee Camp, Bangladesh.
Photo taken by Maaz Hussain/VOA
Targeted Groups 

The targeted group of the genocide was predominantly Rohingya Muslims living in the northwestern state of Rakhine in Burma/Myanmar. Although other ethnic minorities have also faced persecution and discrimination, none have suffered as much as the Rohingya.    

Theravada Buddhism argues that in order for Buddhism to remain secure, all other forms of religion must be eliminated. This thinking was directly behind the actions of the Burmese Buddhists who looked to the state for support of dehumanizing anyone non-Buddhist in exchange for their political support. Consequently, throughout the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, Extreme Buddhist Organizations used their power and political influence to repress the rights of the Rohingya Muslims.    

Implementation of Genocide 

The attack by a group of Rakhine Muslims on Burmese police officers in 2016 set off a wave of violence that escalated in 2017, and that many classify as a genocide. Specifically, a group called the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), also known at Harakah al-Yaqin, attacked three border guard posts. This signaled to the Burmese military that there was an armed rebellion among Rohingya and led to massive retaliation.   

In the months that followed, the Burmese police and military in the state of Rakhine killed hundreds of Rohingya, gang-raped women and girls, and forced almost 100,000 of them out of their homes. In August of 2025, ARSA fought back, resulting in a military-backed crackdown on Rohingya across the state of Rakhine. Although the International Court of Justice tried to intervene in January of 2020, by 2021, the military had launched a successful coup, regaining power and leading to more violence against Rohingya and other ethnic minority groups in Myanmar.

International Response
Rohingya Crisis Snapshot.jpg

As violence against the Rohingya and the resulting refugee crisis in Bangladesh continues, the United Nations Human Rights Organization continues to collect donations from around the world to help with food, shelter, medicine, and education for displaced Rohingya in refugee camps. Other non-governmental organizations including the Red Cross and the Red Crescent provide relief supplies

and support efforts to help separate families reunite. As the crisis continues and violent acts and persecution are continuously perpetuated against the Rohingya, various Human Rights and Genocide groups continue to document evidence of what is happening.    

Although there has been widespread international condemnation for the human rights violations and ethnic cleansing that have taken place in Myanmar over the last fifty years, until relatively recently, the plight of the Rohingya attracted little international interest.  

For most of its history, Burma has been seen as a country that is predominantly closed off from the world. Aung San Suu Kyi was primarily painted as a figure of peace committed to a peaceful and democratic future for all inhabitants of Myanmar/Burma. As violence began to escalate in 2017, however, the United States responded with economic sanctions of the military leaders who perpetrated the violence.   

As it became clear that a genocide was taking place in Myanmar after 2017, there was steady pressure put on both the NLD and eventually, the military, to stop the violence targeted at Rohingya Muslims. Beginning in 2018, the United Nations Human Rights Council issued results from a fact-finding mission that was conducted in Myanmar, declaring that what was taking place was a genocide and crimes against humanity.   

Later that year, an international law firm called The Public International Law & Policy Group, which had investigated the crisis in 2017, thanks to a grant from the United States State Department, declared that crimes against humanity were taking place.  In January of 2020, the International Court of Justice imposed measures against Myanmar ordering it to comply with the obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.    

Rohingya and the Ten Stages of Genocide

Classification  
As an ethnic and religious minority within the predominantly Buddhist and Burmese Myanmar, the Rohingya Muslims have faced years of state-sponsored discrimination. Through the distribution and withholding of identification cards and a variety of laws targeting foreigners and specifying requirements for citizenship, the Rohingya have been classified as foreigners from Bangladesh.  

In essence, by being classified as “other,” based on ethnicity and religion, the Rohingya were separated from the dominant group.  This separation and “othering” was amplified with the passing of the 1940s Foreigners Act, requiring them to carry an identification card that categorized them as second-class citizens.    

Symbolization
Within the state of Rakhine, the persecution against the Rohingya often was helped through labeling them using incorrect and derogatory terms.  Labeled as Bengali foreigners or Muslim “kala” (a racist Hindu term), paved the way for them to be discriminated against.    

Discrimination
The discrimination against the Rohingya Muslims was systemic and methodical.  With the passage of the 1948 Union Citizenship Act, Rohingya were denied citizenship due to their classification as foreigners.  Almost thirty years later, Rohingya were only allowed to have Foreign Registration Cards, and by 1982, they had become practically state-less with the passing of the Citizenship Law.  In 2015, their temporary registration cards expired, entirely denying them citizenship, preventing them from the right to vote or run for government positions.  There were also restrictions on marriage, childbirth, and freedom of movement.  

Dehumanization
To make it easier to persecute the Rohingya, dehumanizing tactics were enacted by the military.  According to Genocide Watch, propaganda was consistently used to create an “exclusionary ideology” (p.9).  Further, extremist groups like the 969 Movement referred to them as “snakes, mad dogs, wolves, and jackals” (p. 9) and Islamophobia ran rampant on social media.    

Organization  
The genocide of the Rohingyas took place mainly due to the organization among the military and police within the Rakhine state of Myanmar.  Both organizations organized to rape and murder Rohingya Muslims, conduct extra-judicial arrests, and remove Rohingya from their homes and villages.  Between 2011 and 2012, it is estimated that security forces arrested close to 2,500 Rohingya for trivial offences.    

Polarization
As fear of Muslims spread among the Buddhist majority, the plight of the Rohingya became worse. In 2015, with the passing of the Race and Religion Law, marriage was restricted between Buddhist women and non-Buddhist men. Additionally, Rohingya had obtained permission from the state for marriage and were limited to having only two children. Further, the false accusation of Rohingya Muslims engaging in a “Rakhine Ethnic Cleansing Program” led to mass distrust.      

Preparation  
The Buddhist Nationalist Movement led by the 969, continued to perpetuate these falsehoods about the Rohingya Muslims, calling for their removal from Myanmar.     

Persecution  
As second-class citizens, the Rohingya Muslims living in the Rakhine state have been persecuted for years.  They are not allowed to marry non-Muslims and are limited to having two children.  They are not considered citizens and cannot participate in political elections.    

Extermination  
In 2017, a mass massacre targeted Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State. Those who escaped to Bangladesh now endure life-threatening conditions, often deprived of basic necessities such as healthcare, food, and water. 

Denial  
​​​​​​​The Burmese military, along with political leaders, including the internationally known Aung San Suu Kyi have denied the genocide of Rohingya Muslims taking place in Myanmar.  In 2019, in what some have called “a spectacular fall from grace” (Democracy Now, 2019), Aung San Suu Kyi asked the U.N. International Court of Justice to drop the investigation of genocide against Myanmar. 

Sources

Ibrahim, A. (2018). The Rohingyas: Inside Myanmar’s Hidden Genocide  
This book provides a general overview of the history of Burma/Myanmar, as well as the historical context for the ethnic conflicts and genocide of the Rohingyas within the Rakhine state.  The book serves as a useful introduction for educators who want to understand how the contemporary ethnic conflicts, political upheaval, and genocide of Rohingyas connects to the Burmese history and British colonization.  

Lee, R. (2021). Myanmar’s Rohingya Genocide: Identity , History and Hate Speech   
The book explores questions of identity and belonging in Burma/Myanmar, and helps provide a historical overview of the beginning of the genocide. Examining various issues including race, ethnicity, and nationalism  the book outlines how the Rohingya people were systematically persecuted.  

Genocide Watch. (October, 2022). “Myanmar: Genocide Emergency”   https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/genocide-emergency-myanmar This report explicitly outlines the ways in which the government and other Burmese officials, particularly in the  state of Rakhine, have systemically carried out a genocide against the Rohingyas.  It utilizes various stages of  Stanton’s Stages of Genocide to argue that a genocide has taken place in Myanmar.  This could be used to provide students context, and can be used as a primary source for analysis in the classroom.  

The New York Times: Teaching About the Rohingya Crisis in Myanmar with The New York Times   https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/25/learning/lesson-plans/teaching-about-the-rohingya-crisis-in-myanmar-with-the-new-york-times.html This resource provides a concise overview of the history of the Rohingya and the genocide for educators.  It also provides numerous resources, including maps, charts, and primary sources that can be utilized in the classroom when teaching about the genocide.   

Primary Sources and Testimony  
Testimonials  
CNN: Why I Fled 
https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2017/09/world/myanmar-rohingya-refugee-stories/  

Physicians for Human Rights: The Rohingya: Survivors of Atrocity https://phr.org/our-work/resources/the-rohingya-resisting-annihilation/  

Maps  
Northern Townships of Rakhine State (International Criminal Court)  
https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/RelatedRecords/CR2019_03514.PDF  

Rohingya Crisis Explained in Maps (Aljazeera)  
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/10/28/rohingya-crisis-explained-in-maps  

Videos  
I am Rohingya: A Genocide in Four Acts Documentary  
https://www.cinemapolitica.org/film/i-am-rohingya-a-genocide-in-four-acts/  

Human Rights Watch: Aung San Suu Kyi Denies Burmese Genocide of Rohingya
at the Hague   

https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/12/17/aung-san-suu-kyi-denies-burmese-genocide-rohingya-hague

Geography Now: Myanmar: The Rohingya Crisis Explained  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bDgDiBO4Co  

PBS: Myanmar’s Killing Fields  
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/myanmars-killing-fields/  

VOX: The “Ethnic Cleansing” of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims Explained  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04axDDRVy_o  

Wandering: A Rohingya Story  
https://www.wandering-themovie.com/  

Online Resources  
Facing History and Ourselves  
www.facinghistory.org This resource provides different pedagogical strategies and methods to approach difficult histories in the classroom, including the Rohingya Genocide.  There are also resources specific to the genocide, including videos of refugee camps and survivor testimony, as well as step-by-step lessons to incorporate teaching the Rohingya Genocide.  

​​​Genocide Watch. (October, 2022). “Myanmar: Genocide Emergency”
https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/genocide-emergency-myanmar  

This report explicitly outlines the ways in which the government and other Burmese officials, particularly the state of Rakhine, have systemically carried out a genocide against the Rohingyas.  It utilizes various stages of Stanton’s Stages of Genocide to argue that a genocide has taken place in Myanmar.  This could be used to provide students context, and can be used as a primary source for analysis in the classroom.   

Physicians for Human Rights: The Rohingya: Survivors of Atrocities  
https://phr.org/our-work/resources/the-rohingya-resisting-annihilation/ This resource provides a treasure-trove of photographs, interactive charts, and survivor stories that can be used in the classroom.  

The New York Times: Teaching About the Rohingya Crisis in Myanmar with
The New York Times 
 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/25/learning/lesson-plans/teaching-about-the-rohingya-crisis-in-myanmar-with-the-new-york-times.html  This resource provides a concise overview of the history of the Rohingya and the genocide for educators.  It also provides numerous resources, including maps, charts, and primary sources that can be utilized in the classroom when teaching about the genocide.   

SHOAH: Teaching With Testimony, The Rohingya Refugee Crisis  https://www.teachingwithtestimony.com/themes/twt_ui/resources/pdf/SHOAH-Testimony-StudentActivity-Rohingya-V0.3.pdf  This resource provides educators with a step-by-step lesson plan to incorporate survivor testimony in the classroom.  It is also useful for providing short, classroom-applicable primary sources of survivor accounts.   

UNICEF: Rohingya Crisis  
https://www.unicef.org/emergencies/rohingya-crisis  This resource provides a short overview of the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, with a specific focus on how children have been affected. It includes a short video about children in refugee camps that could be useful for classroom use.   

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Online Exhibit: Burma’s Path to Genocide
https://exhibitions.ushmm.org/burmas-path-to-genocide This online exhibit provides a chronological overview of how the Rohingya people were systemically outcast from Burmese society and eventually came to be considered outsiders. It provides useful photographs, maps, and primary sources to be used in the classroom.  

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: Modern-Day Genocide, A Study of the Rohingya Minority in Burma https://www.ushmm.org/teach/holocaust-lesson-plans/modern-day-genocide-a-study-of-the-rohingya-minority-in-burma This extensive online resource breaks down the history of the Rohingya and the genocide into digestible sections, each with their own primary sources, historical context, and lesson ideas.  Exploring the status of the Rohingyas from belonging, to targeted, to weakened, to destroyed, this resources provides educators with a comprehensive set of tools to explore all aspects of the genocide in their classrooms.      

World Without Genocide ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​https://worldwithoutgenocide.org/genocides-and-conflicts/myanmar  
​​​​​​​This resource provides a basic, “who, what, where, when” context of the Rohingya Genocide in Myanmar.  It also is a good source for maps and photographs, and provides short introductions to the different ethnic groups living in Myanmar.