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.
