History of Rohingya's

INTRODUCTION

The Rohingya Problem has of late become a matter of great concern to the government and to the people of Bangladesh as well as Muslim Ummah.

Several lakhs of uprooted Rohingyas, men, women, and children, have been forced to leave their homeland Arakan and took shelter in Bangladesh.

This is happened not once but twice, in 1978-79 and 1991-92; the problem is not yet over. This is a man-made problem, created by the ruling Burmese military junta.

It is not due to the fault of the Rohingyas themselves and the reason is political and coercive policy of Burmese Junta.

In Arakan, Rohingyas form a solid group, which is an eyesore to the Burmese government.1 The Rohingya have been settling in Arakan from long before the British occupation of the country. In fact the forefathers of Rohingyas had entered into Arakan from time immemorial.

The Burmese ruling junta do not know, or pretend not to know that the Rohingyas have a long history, a language, a heritage, a culture and a tradition of their own that they had built up in Arakan by their long and historic settlements. In fact the Rohingya have been settling in Arakan for more than a thousand year.

2 In order to know and understand the full context of the Rohingya problems, it is necessary to know the geographical location, the population, the historical background and culture, ethnic origin, chronology of activities of Rohingya Nation.

ARAKAN once a sovereign and independent State, is now one of the states of the Union of Burma.

3 Under different periods of history Arakan had been an independent sovereign monarchy ruled by Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims.

After Bengal became Muslim in 1203 AD, Islamic influence grew in Arakan to the extent of establishing Muslim vassal state beginning in 1430 AD.

Muslim’s rule and influence in Arakan lasted for more than 350 years until it was invaded and occupied by Burman king Boddaw Paya on 28 December (Saturday) 1784 AD.4 The First Anglo-Burmese War (1824-26) was ended on 24 February 1826 when Burmese ratified the Treaty of Yandabo and Burmese ceded Arakan and Tenasserim to British India. Then under the Government of India Act of 1935, Burma was separated from British India on 1 April 1937.

Arakan was made a part of British Burma against the wishes of its people and thus finally Arakan became a province of independent Burma in 1948.

GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES OF ARAKAN

No one will deny, however firmly he may believe in free will, that the destinies of men are to a large extent determined by environment. Among the many influences covered by this term, the most powerful are geographical.

Geographical facts influence the course of history. Climate determines man’s food and other wants.

The physical features of the earth, sea and mountains fixed the occupation of the people inhabiting a particular area. It is a fact of history that geography plays a great part in shaping the political life of a country and moulding the socio-cultural pattern of its people.

The physical features and natural peculiarities indeed reflect the life and culture of the land. The history of a country cannot be appreciated without the knowledge of its geography.

Hence, ideas of natural peculiarities form an essential preliminary to the study of its history and culture.

The geographical peculiarities of Arakan had a tremendous influence on the political, social, spiritual, economic and cultural of its people.

The natural feature of this land, which were, and even now are, peculiar to itself, left distinctive marks on the socio-cultural institutions, mental outlook, way of life, education, food, dress and manner and customs of its people.

THE LOCATION AND AREA OF ARAKAN

The present day Arakan State is situated between North Latitude170-15' and 210-17' and East Longitude 920-11' and 940-55'.

The total area of Arakan during British period was about 20,000 sq.miles which has been reduced to 14,200 sq. miles in 1974. It is situated between Burma proper on the east and south (to the east Magwe Division and Pegu Division; to the south Irrawadi Division); and Bay of Bengal and People's Republic of Bangladeh on the west; and on the north Bangladesh and Chin State.

8 The Arakan Hill-tracts district (5235 sq. miles) bordering India and southern most part of Arakan from Kyauk Chaung river to cape Negaris have been partitioned from Arakan mainland without the native people's consent.

It is a narrow mountainous coastal strip of land with 443 miles coastal belt from the Naf River to Cape Negaris.

It is wider in the Muslim north, which is about 100 miles in breath and tapers down gradually to the south where it is at least 25 miles wide.

THE HILLS OF ARAKAN

The Western Mountain Belt of Burma, also known as Arakan Yoma Mountains, is a series of ridges that originate in the northern mountains are and extend southward to the south-western corner.

The Arakan Coastal Strip is a narrow, predominantly alluvial belt lying between the Arakan Yoma Mountains and the Bay of Bengal. In some places the strip disappears as the mountain spurs reach the sea.

To the south of Akyab district are the Barongas, three detached ranges of low hills running southwest into the sea.

Arakan is seperated from the Chittagong region of Bangladesh by the river Naf.

The northern part of Arakan is covered with hills, and from this region three low ranges run southward. In the west, between the Naf and Mayu rivers and terminating near the mouth of the latter, is the steep Mayu range, the southern portion of which lies paralled with and not far from the coast.The western spurs of the Arakan Yoma Range cover the broken country east of the Lemro River.

Between the Kaladan and the Mayu rivers two ridges run parallel to each other to within 20 miles of Akyab on the coast, throwing out spurs into the Mayu valley and Ponnagyun township but with steep sides on the Kaladan side.

THE RIVERS AND ISLANDS OF ARAKAN

Arakan is blessed with geographical diversities.

The rivers of Arakan generally flow from north to south being separated from each other by abrupt high watershed. Arakan is a land of creeks and chaungs.

There are a number of rivers and streams (chaungs) that flow in the Arakan into the Bay of Bengal. In all, there are seven rivers in Arakan.

They are the Naf, the Mayu, the Kaladan, the Lemro, the Ann, the Taungup and the Sandoway. The four major navigable rivers are the Naf, Mayu, Kaladan and Lemro and all they are situated in the northern Arakan.

All these four rivers are tidal and easily navigable all the year round.

There are hundreds off-shore islands in Arakan of which Rambree and Cheduba are the largest. Rambree Island is the biggest of the offshore Island in Arakan comprising an area of 2,310 square miles being east to west 22 miles and north to south 105 miles. It lies between 180-55' and 190-32' North Latitude and between 930-30' and 930-58' East Longitude. Along the western coast line of the Island rises a range of low hills but the coast to the east and south is low-lying tract, ringed by mangrove jungle.

The second biggest is Cheduba Island situated off the coast betwee 180- 45' and 180 - 50' North Latitude and between 930-30' and 930-45'.

It has an area of about 200 square miles, being east to west 20 miles and north to south 10 miles. In this island there is a Red Mountain and in its western parts there grow a kind of sweet smell grass.

Other note-able islands are Boronga Islands, Savage Island, Kyun Thaya, Sagu Kyun, Ganga Kyun, Ye Kyun and Kyun Zin and many of, which are cultivated.

CLIMATE OF ARAKAN

Arakan State is situated in the tropical zone and as such it is subject to tropical climate.

But its situation with a sea to the west and ranges of hills to the east has neutralised the extremes of the climate to a considerable extent.

So, the Climate of Arakan in general is not extreme. It is mild and salubrious in the south.

There are only three seasons: summer, rainy and winter season. In the northern part of Arakan the climate is unhealthy due to the existence of vast tract of un-cleared jungles in the valleys.

Temperature seasonally varies from 460 to 710 F and the weather is humid except during the month of April and May.

The summer season is from March to May and the rainy season is from June to October. The winter/cool season, from November to February, is cool and pleasant.

The average maximum temperature of the Arakan State for the whole year is 78.19 degrees and the average minimum 77.96 degrees, the average mean being 78.08 degrees. The average rainfall of Arakan for the past 10 years (1970-80) has been a little less than 200 (193.56) inches.

The rainfall varies from an average of 221.05 inches in Akyab to 158.97 inches at Kyaukpru and 200.66 inches at Sandoway. The southern part of Arakan frequently visited by cyclones, which cause damages to life and property