M
yanmar,
formerly
known as Burma, has
a population of 51
million and a total of
135 ethnic groups. One of the ethnic
groups is Rohingya Muslims who
have lived in Rakhine country for
centuries. It began with the internal
migration made by the British when
they ruled India in 1824 - 1948. At
that time, Myanmar was classified as
part of India. The British government
has brought in labor workers from
India and Bangladesh to Myanmar
in an effort to strengthen the basic
economy in Myanmar for the Brit-
ish government. The policies made
by the British government at that
time has put almost 200 000 of the
Rohingya people entered Myanmar.
The British government had
also promised the Rohingya a dif-
ferent land made special for Mus-
lim as the separated land called
the “Muslim National Area” with
one condition that is to support the
British government. During World
War 2, as what was on the deal, the
Rohingya support British while the
Myanmar was on the Japan side. Af-
ter the World War 2, it turned out
the British government only award
the Rohingya people with position
in the government, not the sep-
arate and independence Muslim
National Area as promised before.
This is rather unfortunate,
as Rakhine state was considered
an ancestral land for the Rohingya
people since the 15th century. At
that time, the Arakan Kingdom
was the original occupants of the
Arakan, Rakhine state. Moving
further in time, the Rohingya were
always under the dominance of
another political organization or
nation. Making the Rohingyas, as
one of the minorities that never
received an autonomous state since
the fall of the Arakan Kingdom.
Shamsu Nahar, a
Rohingya refugee,
collapses with exhaustion
and chest pains after
crossing the border
illegally near Amtoli,
Bangladesh, Photo: The
New York Times
SASARAN JURNAL KRITIKAN MEDIA . 25