Talk:Burmese Indians

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
Zuni girl; photograph by Edward S. Curtis, 1903 This article falls within the scope of WikiProject Ethnic groups, a WikiProject interested in improving the encyclopaedic coverage and content of articles relating to ethnic groups, nationalities, and other cultural identities. If you would like to help out, you are welcome to drop by the project page and/or leave a query at the project's talk page.
NB: Assessment ratings and other indicators given below are used by the Project in prioritizing and managing its workload.
??? This article has not yet been assigned a rating on the Project's quality scale.
??? This article has not yet been assigned a rating on the Project's importance scale.
After rating the article, please provide a short summary on the article's ratings summary page to explain your ratings and/or identify the strengths and weaknesses.
WikiProject Ethnic groups open tasks:
Burmese Indians is part of WikiProject Myanmar (Burma), a project to improve all Myanmar (Burma)-related articles. If you would like to help improve this and other Myanmar (Burma)-related articles, please join the project. All interested editors are welcome.
Myanmar (Burma) To-do:


Congratulations! Some one had successfully tried to commit ethnic cleansing on Burmese Indian Muslims. He had vandalized all of my internal links to Burmese Indian Muslims by replacing with Burmese Indians.

I cannot accept to put this BURMESE MUSLIM or MYANMAR MUSLIM under Islam in Burma. I feel that ETHNIC CLEANSING of BURMESE MUSLIMS is the work of BSPP/SLORC/SPDC and BURMESE BUDDHIST CHAUVINISTS.

Now the great Myanmar Wiki editors are treating us the same way.

If Wikipedia agree or approve that kind of ETHNIC CLEANSING, I will have to leave this newfound job of voluntary contribution of articles to you.

They could accept Panthay and Malay Myanmar Muslims but not the Burmese Muslims as ETHNIC MINORITY GROUP.

It is amusing to read the funny and childish discussions by some editors that to use Burmese is an insult like N word. (May be they need to please their political masters. If not they would be arrested again! We all Burmese knew that Myanmar is associated with SLORC/SPDC and most of the opposition is using Burma as a sign of resistance. Calling Burma is not an insult to anyone. If so, try to avoid using themselves Bama/Bamar/Burmese. May be start to use Myanmarese?

Why do not want to put Burmese Muslims or Myanmar Muslims and Burmese Indian Muslims or Myanmar Indian Muslims as separate group. But Burmese Malays and Panthays could be mentioned. Ne Win’s BSPP/SLORC/SPDC is illegally denying the registration us as separate ethnic group without success. Germans killed 6 million Jews but failed. I am not asking for any special rights but no one can deny that we are Citizens and in Democracy, please read UN articles in Wikipedia for the citizen rights and Individual Freedom. No need to fight anymore.—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Darz kkg (talk • contribs) 08:13, 6 February 2007.

I understand your argument, but using religion as the sole factor in determining who belongs in an ethnic group is inconsistent and inaccurate. Are you suggesting that 3 separate articles for "Karen Buddhists", "Karen Christians", and "Karen animists" be created merely because they follow different religions? I think that ethnolinguistic and racial ties are stronger in deciding what groups form "ethnic groups". In my opinion, it is too cumbersome to use religion to divide ethnic groups. For instance, there are no separate articles for Roman Catholic Vietnamese and Buddhist Vietnamese, or Atheist Chinese and Buddhist Chinese. By the same reasoning, I think the articles on Burmese Indians should not be divided by religion. Furthermore, I believe it would benefit the article if the items in the article Myanmar Indian Muslims be merged into a subsection in "Burmese Indians" and "Islam in Myanmar", where the information could be more easily found.--Hintha 08:37, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] merge discussion

  • support merge here. Chris 04:23, 7 February 2007 (UTC)
  • Support. If the article were divided by ethnolinguistic differences rather than religious differences, like Burmese Tamils, Burmese Punjabis, I would not support a merge. --Hintha 08:37, 7 February 2007 (UTC)
  • I strongly objected the merging.
Because of Buddhist Race alone only all the mixed blooded desendents of India, China and other races became united as Bamars or Myanmar. This is not a race issue only. Planned Religious discrimination on all the Muslims in Myanmar by Buddhist Chauvinists. Myanmar Muslims are denied Birth Certificates, National Identity Cards because of the Religion, Islam. Just read the articles in Wiki, Burmese Chinese how come Ne win, Khin Nyunt and San Yu etc are accepted as "Myanmars" just because they are Buddhists. If Muslims renounced Islam like PM Sein Win and Deputy Minister Mg Di, they could be accepted as Myanmars. So if the could not accept Myanmar Muslims as Myanmars with Islamic faith, it is necessary to accept Myanmar Muslim as new Ethnic Minority. But I know I am playing the harp in front of a buffalo. Why did one of you VANDALIZE my article by replacing all the Burmese Indian Muslims with Burmese Indians? <

Please do not bring the Buddhist Burmese Chauvinists' Ethnic Cleansing jobs here.Please read my facts given below.

In Asia, Burma/Myanmar, the issue of rejecting Burmese/Myanmar Muslims as a seperate new Ethnic Minority Group is used by successive Military rulers to deny Muslims to get Birth Certificates, National Registration Cards etc which lead to denying The Rights of Muslims in Burma/Myanmar. Individual freedom was also denied based on this. It is amounting to modern Apartheid or Ethnic Cleansing. I hereby argue my point with the following points or issues to consider_

With your argument, you're saying that an ethnic group "Myanmar Buddhists" and "Myanmar Christians" exists, even though they do not. Myanmar Muslims come from a wide diversity of ethnic groups, and hence should not be clustered all together, as Buddhists, Christians, animists, and Hindus are not in Myanmar. --Hintha 22:49, 7 February 2007 (UTC)
Yes, Myanmar Buddhists ethnic minority is present in Burma. To be qualified to be in that group, no need to be a pure Bama, Bamar or Burmese. Only the Religion Buddhist determined the person to be accepted into that elite or special Race. See, it is clear that Religion, Buddhism determined the person to be qualified to get into that “Big Brother” overseeing and exploiting all the other Ethnic Minority Groups. No problem Ko Hintha, even many Ethnic Minorities are suffering the same fate as us. Can you deny the truth that Burmese Buddhists are very different from Burmese Christians and Burmese Muslims?
Never mind go ahead, delete all the words and facts related to Burmese Muslims. After all, you are the earlier migrants in Wiki as in Burma. We are late migrants in both places. Nevertheless, once there is democracy and real Secular Federal Union of BURMA/Myanmar, you Burmese Buddhists would become one of the Ethnic Minority like us. I am surprised with the current SPDC’s treatment on other religion citizens, which is against Buddha’s teachings. However, I am amused to meet some “Wa” holding Myanmar Passports, who could not even speak Myanmar language. I have to talk to them through my Chinese nurse! As one of you asked our fellow Burmese American whether he can speak Burmese, don’t try the same question on me. You may be shocked; I could even understand Pali and could read Kamawa. “You could mock me; Kalar is reading Kamawa, as a saying in Burmese. But after all, Pali, Kamawa and Buddhism all come from Kala Pyi or India including some of you. Don’t forget that Burma’s greatest son UNSG U Thant is an Indian.—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Darz kkg (talk • contribs) 20:45, 7 February 2007.
You say that an ethnic race "Myanmar Buddhists" exists although the definition of ethnic race falls nowhere near what you describe. Being Bamar is not the only qualification of falling into this nonexistent race; Shans, Mons, Pa-Os, Chinese, etc. would all belong in this nonexistent race then. My paternal grandparents held FRCs, but were able to guarantee their children being registered as "Burman" citizens via familial connections. But being discriminated against doesn't allow me the right to accuse people of bigotry and ethnic cleansing, or to accuse or belittle others of chauvinism and vandalism. I brought up this issue to be resolved calmly and in a civilized manner, the Wikipedia way. --Hintha 04:57, 8 February 2007 (UTC)
Thanks for admitting that you have one FRC in grandparents. That’s the point Ko Hinthar. It is correct, as you had said; there is no problem at all if you are Buddhist. But once reveal that some one is a Muslim, all the harassment started. Although all of my four grand parents are Full Burmese Citizens, including two of the great grand parents were pure Burmese, anther one pure Shan, all ex-Buddhists converted into Islam. (May be these kind of conversion had given some worries to the authorities.) All other five Great grand parents are mixed blooded “Burmese Muslims” and all of my brothers and sisters are citizens. However, why? why? why? some of their grand children were denied the same National Registration Cards but issued with other coloured three folded IDs? In addition to that, all the Muslims must grease the hands of National Registration officers. If could not, the poor Muslims are denied citizenship. Please read the article in Burma Digest below. (I have the copy right because I wrote about my self)

Never mind, you merge all my articles under Islam in Myanmar and Myanmar Indians but don’t decide on our racial issues with your tinged mind. Just put as different groups as you all could not deny that we formed different groups even if you could not accept as different ethnic group.

You said our origin is from a wide diversity of ethnic groups, and hence should not be clustered all together, how would you answer if we argue with your words, “you Bamas also from a wide diversity of ethnic groups, and hence should not be clustered all together merged Pyu, Kan Yan Thet, Japan, India, China, Tibet and Yunnan” . Just read back your Glass Palace Chronicle. But anyway, power comes from the barrel of the guns.

I am amused about some of your postings, claiming Kokants and Panthays as not in official Ethnic Group. Unofficial according to the UNOFFICIAL or illegal government?

I had read the Burma/Myanmar issue. Just because one criminal changed the name and the relevant court trying his case need to use all his names, eg Kyune Taik @ Lone Taik @ Mg Mya (I hope his name should be in the Wiki because he had changed the Burma’s history) we cannot assume that his changed name is official.

Let’s go back to the UN accepting Myanmar issue_ UN has accepted the opposition Burmese Government in exile also. Moreover, UNGA had decided few dozens of resolutions asking your “legal” government to change. Last UNSC resolution was voted by the majority against SPDC but vetoed by the two communists.

Just see that Communist China. It never ruled even for one second on Taiwan but that China bullied whole world, UN and Burma to accept its one China policy. Just because UN accepted this, you could not claim that Taiwan Government is illegal or non-existent.

My case rest here, you all do whatever you like. Have you heard about the concept of the Race told by General Aung San. If not I am willing to translate and send to you. However, as the followers of the gang who hate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, you would refuse that concept. Never mind just stay behind the world with the antiquated philosophies of successive Military Governments.

OK, let me explain, once again. What unites all of the Myanmar Muslims other than the fact that everyone is Muslim? What you're saying doesn't constitute a race. It's true that the Pyus and other ethnic groups merged with the Bamars, but the Bamar ethnic group already existed, having migrated from the Tibetan Plateau into the Ayeyarwady delta, and afterward, began absorbing the local population of similar ethnic groups (e.g., the Pyu were Sino-Tibetans as were the Bamar). Whether or not you accept the fact that the military goverment is legitimate, it is in power. And Wikipedia standards on ethnic classification follows the government standards of each country, typically. Currently, because many ethnic groups, including the Chinese and Indians are not represented, editors are trying to adjust the groups by ethnolinguistic family (Indo-Aryan, Sino-Tibetan, Thai-Kadai, Mon-Khmer, etc). If your supposed "Myanmar Muslims" ethnic group did exist, which would it fall under? The Panthays (who are Sino-Tibetan ethnolinguistically) of that "ethnic group" would surely not fall under Indo-Aryan, for example. Nor would Malays (who are Austronesian ethnolinguistically), for instance. Most of your rantings are not even relevant to this discussion here. What you're saying is that your anger over the discrimination of Muslims in Myanmar is what compels you to create a purely fictional ethnic group called "Myanmar Muslims", one that is based on your sentiments and whims rather than on fact and definition. --Hintha 10:23, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] General Aung San’s concepts to rebuild the future (First) Independent Burma, which is still good for our Second Independent Burma:

“I want to address the Indians and Chinese residing in this country. We have no bitterness, no ill will for them, or for that matter for any race and nationality in the world. If they choose to join us, we will welcome them as our own brethren. The welfare of all people of this country irrespective of race or religion has always been the one purpose that I have set out to fulfill. In fact it is my life's mission.”

I recognize both the virtues and limitations of pure nationalism, I love its virtues, I don't allow myself to be blinded by its limitations, though I knew that it is not easy for the great majority of any nation to get over these limitations. In so far as nationalism encourages us to love our people and love others. In so far as nationalism inculcates in us a sense of national and social justice which calls upon us to fight any system that is oppressive or tyrannical both in our country and the world, there I am completely with nationalism.

I believe in the inherent right of a people to revolt against any tyranny that people may have over them. History has amply demonstrated the right of a people to its own freedom, and that once it is denied to them, even in the case of the peoples who belong to the same stock. There is therefore nothing wrong in the aspirations of a nation if it wants to regain the freedom that is its birthright and attempts to have it. Every nation in the world must be free not only externally (i.e., free from any foreign rule) but also internally.

We cannot confine the definition of a nationality to the narrow bounds of race, religion, etc. Nations are extending the rights of their respective communities even to others who may not belong to them except by their mere residence amongst them and their determination to live and be with them. I am glad to know that you regard yourselves as nationals of this country. So far as I am concerned, I am perfectly prepared to embrace you as my own brothers and sisters.
Reverend Sanghas! You have a tremendous role to play. This is the highest politics which you can do for your country and people. Go amongst our people, preach the doctrine of unity and love; carry the message of higher freedom to every nook and corner of the country, freedom to religious worship, freedom to preach and spread the Dharma anywhere and anytime, freedom from fear, ignorance, superstition, etc., teach our people to rely upon themselves and re-construct themselves materially, spiritually and otherwise. You have these and many more noble tasks before you.

Every student of social and political science knows very well that such slogans as race, religion, language do not alone constitute nationalism. There are one or more races in almost every country. Nowadays, we have different religions being embraced by members of the same nationality.

What then constitutes nationalism? The main factor is the having to lead together one common life sharing joys and sorrows, developing common interests and one or more common things like racial or linguistic communities, fostering common traditions of having been and being one which give us a consciousness of oneness and necessity of that oneness.

Race, religion, and language are thus by themselves not primary factors which go to the making of a nation but the historic necessity of having to lead common life together that is the pivotal principle of nationality and nationalism.

Nowadays, with the increasing mutual intercourse of nations, there is such a provision in many of the constitutions of the world for naturalization of foreigners. But it is in history that opportunist political leadership taking advantage of the strong national sentiments of the people may try to exploit the nationalism of the people for their selfish individual or group interests. We must be careful of such exploitation of nationalism. For then racial strives and bitterness will be fomented and fostered among us by interested parties in order to divert our attention from the main objective.

Some of us have been going still about the same old way of ‘dirty’ politics. But is politics really ‘dirty’. It is not politics which is dirty, but rather the persons who choose to dirty it are dirty.

Above all are translated from Bo Gyoke's speeches. See my article in BD http://www.tayzathuria.org.uk/bd/2006/5/14/soa.htm


[edit] EVOLUTION OF MYANMAR MUSLIMS.

Race. Ethnic Groups.

Successive Myanmar Military leaders repeatedly claim that Muslims in Myanmar (Burma) could not be called, registered or enlisted as a separate race. They are giving various reasons or lame excuses for that attempts of Ethnic Cleansing.(I hope Wikipedia could stay neutral and resist on this issue of the attemps by some of its own Burmese Chauvinist editors to erase my Burmese Muslims/Myanmar Muslims and Burmese Indian Muslims/Myanmar Indian Muslims --

1.Muslims in Myanmar (Burma) are mix-blooded people, not pure race as Burmese Buddhists.
2.Muslims are migrants only and not the original people of the land.
3.Muslims are scattered all over the country without owning a separate state as other races of Burma.
4.No race can be formed base on the religion.
5.By calling Kala, meaning Indian, the authorities equate all the Muslims with the recent migrants of Indians under the British or even trying to accuse as fresh illegal immigrant.
6.The hidden agenda is their deep-seated fear of propagation of Islam. They are scared of future Muslim dominance although it is not possible.

We hereby intend to consider some undeniable facts about the three crucial words of –
Now let us look at the “ROOTS OF MYANMAR MUSLIMS.”

Forefathers of Myanmar Muslims had landed in Myanmar (Burma’s Rakhine, Ayeyarwady delta and Tanintharyi coast) as early as ninth century, roughly about 200 years before King Anawrahta of Pagan established the first Myanmar (Burmese) empire in 1055 AD.

He later concurred the King Manuha and Buddhist Mons of Thaton. He then invited Shin Arahan to propagate Buddhist teaching among people of Pagan. So the Buddhist religion reached Burma much later than the arrival of Islam. But we had to admit that the Hindus and Buddhists arrived the lower Burma (not owned by the Burmese or Myanmar yet) earlier than the Islam.

Because of that uniting force of Buddhist Religion, the original three Ethnic Minority Groups of Pagan: Pyu, Kan Yan and Thet assimilated homogeneously into present Myanmars. So, we hereby want to challenge present Myanmar Generals, especially BSPP/SLORC/SPDC and cohorts Burmese Chauvinists to deny that the Buddhist Religion forms the backbone of the formation of Burmans or Myanmars.

Even the Chinese, Indian Hindus, Indian Muslims, Japanese and some Anglo Burmans if they convert (or pretend to convert to) Buddhism they would be homogeneously assimilated into Burmese Buddhists. Burmese Chinese like General Ne Win, General Khin Nyunt, President San Yu etc are accepted as “PURE BURMESE” and given hightest positions. When SHIA MUSLIM U Sein Win and Sunni Dr Maung Di renounced Islam, they were accepted into the mainstream administration, Sein Win was even given PM post. Mg Di deputy Ed. Minister. There are many mixed –blooded people in Myanmar disguised as PURE Bamas. During the SPDC’s present registration on issuing National Identity Cards, if any said he or she is Buddhist no more questions, easily accepted as pure Bama. But one the relagion is Islam, even if he or se is recently converted into Islam, they refused to accept as a pure race.

It is not a simple, minor issue but the very important thing of denying a citizen’s right to posess a National Identity Card. Without it could not travel inside or outside MYANMAR/Burma.


1.Race.
2.Ethnic Minority Group and,
3.Citizen.

We should analyze which groups of people are deserved to be called or who have the sole right to be called a separate Race, separate distinct Ethnic Minority Group or a real Citizen.

1.Are only so called “pure race” should be called a race and not so pure or mixed blooded people could not stay together to form a RACE?
2.Or are those “pure blooded” races are really pure enough?
3.Are those “Original Owners of the Land” really true or just mere early Migrants, reserving and monopolizing the place?
4.Are migrants always regarded as migrants without entitlement to any Human Rights or Citizens’ Rights, even after few generations?
5.Well-established migrants, after already accepted as a citizen are still foreigners?
6.Are descendents of migrants and local mixed marriages still alien after few generations?
7.Could a conqueror of the war just annexes the new territory and regarded the locals staying in that land as Foreigners and started the ethnic cleansing?
8.Could that conqueror brought back the prisoners of war back, for various reasons e.g. slavery, to serve in various positions, civil or army, and allowed to settle in the heart of the country as permanent aliens for few generations?
9.Could the kings, after accepting the helping friendly allied forces, allow them to settle in his country, gave land, property and even brides as rewards after the victory, but a few generations later kicked them out as lousy migrants?
10.After staying few dozens of years or few centuries under a foreign powers as a colony, once got the independence, could the new local government start to kick out the migrants entered during the period of colony?
11.Could they erase the real historical fact of gaining their independence after all was obtained with the help of so-called migrants?
12.Should they neglect the promises of fair and equal treatment they had given to those Migrants and the colonial masters before gaining the independence?
13.Is a religion could never form the backbone of a race?
14.Is descendents of migrants could never form a separate or distinct race?
15.Is a religion could never form the backbone of an ethnic minority group?
16.Is descendents of migrants could never form an ethnic minority group?
17.To be regarded as a race, ethnic minority group or a citizen, is there any rule to be the original settler or owner of a land? Country? Or a State?
18.Have the Migrants no chance to be accepted as citizens?

Although all of the above questions lead to undeniable truth, we like to highlight the above axioms with the following facts. They are taken from the world’s historical theatre and our Myanmar (Burmese) geography and local history.

Race.

A group of people with a certain sense of itself and cohesiveness is called a race. There is usually a commonality or shared values such as: social, culture, attitudes and ideals.The most important bond and determining all these is a religion. There is usually a common language, literature and a territory.

It may be a ‘pure’ race (homogeneous) e.g. Arian, Mongoloid or African. Or a ‘mixed’ race (heterogeneous) that is a mixture of few tribes, clans or minority groups. They mixed, stayed and struggled together with the sense of unity.

Let us look at how Islam deals with this sensitive racial issue as Arabs were and are so proud of their race.

Islam not only recognises absolute equality between men irrespective of any distinction of colour, race or nationality, but also makes it an important and significant principle, a reality.

All Human are descendants of one father and one mother. The division of the human race is neither meant for one nation to take pride in its superiority over others nor is it meant for one nation to treat another with contempt or disgrace, or regard them as a mean and degrade other races and usurp their rights.

South Africa Zulu is the combination of many tribes and clans by a powerful worrier in nineteenth century. So it is obvious that they are not homogeneous. African Americans & Asian Americans are regarded as recognized Ethnic Minority Groups but there are many subgroups under them. Among Asian Americans, some of the bigger groups such as Indian Americans and Chinese Americans could be subdivided according to the clan, dialect, religion and their home state or district. So it is very obvious that non-homogeneous or more correctly, heterogeneous factor could not rule out the legality of a race.

Owning a territory, land, state or country is not very important to become a race. Israelis and Palestinians have no homeland at all earlier in the long world history. Actually they were not the original owners of that sacred land. Just because they had no land, we could not deny the fact that, the Israelis and Palestinians distinct and famous races. They were even mentioned in three holy books and their racial conflict was and is the world’s most important and dangerous problems.

Most of the American Ethnic Groups also have no separate states.

Or some Ethnic Groups’ historical territories may be occupied by different nations or countries at present.

We like to give some examples.

Mons of Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia, now occupied by three separate countries.

Like some of the Myanmar Ethnic Groups, the Malays, Indonesians and Polynesians had descended from the Yunan But few historians are thinking about the possibility of reverse migration from Australia side. But some Polynesians have got some mixture of Africa.

But even recently some genetic experts found out that there is some evidence that the Chinese originally descended and migrated from Africa. Actually the “Bush People” featured in ‘ God is crazy 2’ are a little bit yellow and their features are some what like Myanmar or Mongoloid. (One of the Myanmar Doctor, Anaesthetic in Namabia wrote in the Myanmar Magazine in 1998).

Karens of Myanmar and Thailand. Shans, Siam and Southern Chinese (Nankhan) divided into the races of Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and some Chinese ethnic minorities.Nagas of Myanmar and India are exactly same races in different countries. And many Ethnic Minority Groups commonly found in China and India are also found and recognised as prided or precious nationals of Myanmar especially in Kachin and Shan States. So the relation of the citizenship for the same race staying in different country is totally different. Relation between the race and history of land ownership is also irrelevant. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Darz kkg (talk • contribs) 02:39, 7 February 2007 (UTC). And the population of the Myanmar Muslims increased during the British rule of Burma because of new waves of Indian Muslim Immigration. This sharply reduced since 1941 because of Indo-Burman Immigration agreement, and totally stopped after Burma (Myanmar) gained independence in Jan.1948. So Myanmar Muslims are at least staying in Myanmar from 50 years and some of them are staying for more than 1000 years already.

Myanmar Muslims are descendants of Arabs, Persians, Turks, Moores, Indian-Muslims, Pakistanis, Pathans, Bengalis, Chinese Muslims and Malays intermarried with local Burmese and many ethnic Myanmar groups such as: Rakhine, Shan, Karen, Mon etc.

Muslims arrived Burma as travellers, adventurers, pioneers, sailors, Military Personals (voluntary and mercenary), and some of them as prisoners of wars. Some take refuge (from wars, Monsoon storms and weather, shipwreck and some for other various unforeseen circumstances). And some of them are victims of forced slavery. Some of them are professionals and skilled personals such as advisors to the kings and at various ranks of administration. Some are port-authorities and mayors and traditional medicine men. Some of them are good at various vocational skills, culture arts etc. Mixed marriages, intermarriages and assimilation process of throwing away of almost all their foreign languages, foreign dresses and foreign culture slowly shaped them in to Ethnic Myanmar Muslim group of today.

But they had drawn a line in the ongoing process of assimilation. That line of limit is their religion, Islam.

As practising Muslims they could not go beyond the limit of tolerance of Islamic principles.So Myanmar Muslims threw away Urdu, Bengali, Chinese, Hindi and all other foreign languages.

Even Arabic is learned just to read Holy Koran and for prayers. Myanmar Muslims speaks Myanmar as their mother tongue, wear Myanmar dress and even have an official Myanmar name as well as Islamic Arabic name. Because they could not compromise their faith in Islam in matters such as: only eating halal foods and drinks, marriage, divorce, inheritance, and other customs which heavily depend on Islam e.g. circumcision, funeral and burial rituals etc. So Myanmar Muslims could not assimilate homogeneously as Chinese, Hindus and others, except for those who convert or renounced Islam. Complete Assimilation of a minority group always need a compromise of their tradition, their culture and some of their rights. ETHNIC MINORITY BASED ON RELIGION.

In Myanmar (Burma), General Ne Win ordered not to allow the registration of the Muslims as Burmese Muslims (Myanmar Muslims) and present Military Junta not only simply follow his tradition and laws but tightening their grips on Burmese Muslims. Although the whole world accepts that the persons who worships Islam are called Muslims. Ne Win and present Junta refused registration based on religion. They refused to allow the Muslims of Burma to be registered as Myanmar Muslims (Burmese Muslims). They are forced to register as Indian hybrid, Pakistan hybrid, and Bengali hybrid, worshipping Islam. So in order to avoid been labelled or registered or discriminated as a foreigner or a lower graded citizens, a few of the Myanmar Muslims even enlisted or registered themselves as Burmese-Buddhists. Actually the religion is the most important factor in the formation of the Ethnic Minority Groups in the whole world. This is really the most explosive issue in most of the Ethnic- conflicts, leading to wars around the world throughout the history. In former Yugoslavia: Serbs, Croats Kosovo and Bosnia differences are mainly based on religion. In Lebanon, Christian and Arabs are the two opposing Ethnic groups. Even among main religions, sometimes different sects fought each other e.g. Sunni Muslims and Shia’ Muslims, Roman Catholics and Protestants of North Ireland are fighting based on religious differences in their Ethic groups. In Sri Lanka, Buddhist and Sinhalese are fighting. In Indonesia the people from Bali are different from other parts of Indonesia because of the religion only. They remained Buddhist without converting to Islam. Because of the religion, they could not assimilate totally with Indonesian Muslims. They maintained some of their customs and rituals. The main difference of Indian and Pakistan is religion. Internal Racial Riots and continuos internal conflicts in these countries are based on religion. Cyprus, Germany, Italy, Spain UK and USA also have differences and voting-trends based on religious lines. (No Catholic could be elected President of USA for nearly 200 years until J.F.Kennedy became President in 1960).

Karens in Myanmar are also subdivided by religion. Christian Karens are more numerous and different from Buddhist Karens and Muslim Karens. They differ not only in religion and customs but their political alienation or alignment is totally different. Ruling Myanmar Governments always look the Christian Karens with a suspect, because the Christians are more close and loyal to ex-colonial masters. Just after the independence of Myanmar, mostly Christian Karens rebelled against the central government. And the Myanmar army lost most of the country. Christian Karens even arrested a group of top ranked military officers including the Deputy Commander-in- Chief of the Myanmar army. Buddhist Karens betrayed and rescued them back. They were honoured with the highest awards in Myanmar Military’s history. Presently also, we could see the same kind of alignment. Buddhist Karens deserted the fellow Christian Karen rebels. Buddhist Karens joined their hands with Myanmar Army and raided the Christian-Karens across the Myanmar-Thai border. Apart from them, there are also Muslim Karens in Myanmar. Some of them even formed the Kawthoole Muslim Liberation Force (KMLF) and formed alliance with the Christian Karen rebels.

Buddhist-Rakhines are also different from Muslim Rakhines or Rohingyas. Some of them are even active as a rebel group called, the Rohingya Patriotic Front. Panthays or Chinese Myanmar Muslims are also totally different from other Chinese or other Myanmar Chinese. Buddhist Shan and Muslim Shans are also quite different. So it is obvious that the new Ethnic Minority Groups will appear depending upon their religion.

The religions will become the main and very strong bonds in the formation of the various Ethnic Minority Groups in Burma / Myanmar . And the religion is the main obstacle obstructing the complete assimilation of the minority groups. In other words, religion sometimes prevents the disappearing of the Ethnic-minority groups. Daw Aung San Su Kyi in her book “The Voice of Hope” told Alan Clements about the politics and religion: A journalist said to me, “When you speak to the people you talk a lot about religion, why is that?” I said, “Because politics is about people, and you can't separate people from their spiritual values.” And he said that he had asked a young student who had come to the weekend talks about this: “Why are they are talking about religion?” The student replied, “Well that's politics. ”Our people understand what we are talking about. Some people might think it is either idealistic or naive to talk about ‘metta’ in terms of politics, but to me it makes a lot of practical good sense. AC: It's a matter of debate, but politics and religion are usually segregated issues. In Burma today, the large portion of monks and nuns see spiritual freedom and sociopolitical freedom as separate areas. But in truth, dhamma (Religion) and politics are rooted in the same issue - freedom. D A S S K: Indeed, but this is not unique to Burma. Everywhere you'll find this drive to separate the secular from the spiritual. In other Buddhist countries you'll find the same thing - in Thailand, Sri Lanka, in Mahayana Buddhist countries, in Christian countries, almost everywhere in the world.

I think some people find it embarrassing and impractical to think of the spiritual and political life as one.

I do not see them as separate. In democracies there is always a drive to separate the spiritual from the secular, but it is not actually required to separate them. Whereas in many dictatorships, you'll find that there is an official policy to keep politics and religion apart, in case I suppose, it is used to upset the status quo.

HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY alone could not be the basic factors determining the legality of the official recognition of the Ethic Minority Groups of a country. Especially history is a very poor guide. There was almost always someone else there first. Israelis and Palestines almost always fight for their ‘native’ homeland. Actually neither of them were there first to occupy that land. Just have a look at the history of Myanmar.

Assam and Manipure of India; Phi Mor, Gor Lan and Kan Fan of China (the names stated here are Myanmar names); Ayuthya of Thailand; Penang of Malaysia, were once under Myanmar’s influence, even if it was for a brief period of time.

And alternately, Arakan King Narameikhla founded the Mrohaung or Mrauk-Oo with the military help of Nadir Shah, the Muslim Sultan of Bengal. So his heirs, the successive Arakan kings were subject to Bengal from 1430 to 1531 AD.

The Buddhists of Arakan the other major ethnic community, known as Magh or Rakhine are a mix-blooded race descended from Aryans of Maghada, India, Mongolians and Tibeto-Burmans.

Hindus, Portuguese, Chinese, British and Japanese partly or completely colonise Myanmar in history for various lengths of periods.

And in ancient times, Polynesians of Pacific Islands first occupied the ancient Burma and were pushed down by ancient Indonesians and Malays. Actually all those Polynesians, Indonesians, Malays and most of the present Myanmar and Ethnic Minorities descended or migrated from China through Yunan.

Hindu colonists, of Andhra Dynasty, from middle India (180 BC) established Hanthawaddy (actually Mon town Han Sawadi – similar to Thailand citizen Mons) and Syriam (Tanyin or Than Lyin) in Burma.

Even before them, Orissa, Indian Buddhist colonists, arrived there earlier, settled and built pagodas since 500 BC.

There was a well-known belief and people even used to say that Myanmar started from Tagaung, built by Abi Raja, a Sakian (Tha Ki Win min), Indian Royal family member, migrated from Kapilavatthu (India) after defeated by the king of Panchala (India), Vitatupa. He left the Middle Country (India) and established the Tagaung country, known at that time as Sangassarattha or Sangassanagara. On the death of Abi Raja, younger son Kan Raja Nge (younger King Kan) got the throne. Thirty-three kings reigned there. Elder brother Kan Raja Gyi (elder King Kan) went down the Ayeyarwaddy River, ascended the Thallawadi River, arrived Kelataungnyo and ruled there as Rajagaha. He ruled the ancient Arakan. His son Muducitta became king of the Pyus (ancestors of modern Myanmar). He founded the city of Kyauppadaung. He conquered the Dhannavati (built by king Marayu).

So what is the great deal, dear Buddhist Burmese brothers?

The pure Indian or Kala brothers, Kan Rajas (Kan Yaza Gyi and Nge) were your ancestors. One started Myanmar kingdom and another the Rakhine Kingdom. Both of them were very fresh, recent and new immigrants. And your Myanmar (Burmese) and Rakhine Royal families descended from them.

Are all of you are not ashamed to call the Muslims Kalas and labelled as migrants, hybrids, non citizens, when all of you are actually totally same as us. And all of us know that all the major religions never started in Burma. All of the religions are foreign to all of us.

The Mainland Burmese are now able to colonize the Arakan State because, the British presented them, free of charge, as an extra gift during the granting of Independence to Burma. Actually the Burmese could colonize the Arakan State with their own strength for thirty-two years only from 1783 to 1815 AD.

The Arakans (Buddhists and Muslims) agreed to join the Burmese Union because they had trusted all the promises given by General Aung San, during the Pang Long Treaty. If not, the British would not allow including the Arakan and other States to join the mainland Burma. But General Ne Win and successive Burmese Generals betrayed the ethnic minorities and ignored the promises given by General Aung San. Although the minorities including Arakans had given up their rights to separate from the Union, the Burmese Chauvinist Military Generals still refused to recognize their other rights e.g. religious, cultural, political and civil rights etc. Muslims of the Arakan i.e. Rohingyas are suffering most. It is a little bit funny that in spite of long established history of Muslim Rohingyas, the Burmese colonist Generals, who could manage to colonized Arakan for a mere thirty-two years only, claims that they are the rightful owner of Arakan and the Rohingyas are alien migrants.

If we continue back to the glorious Burmese history:

The invading Chinese from the north destroyed Tagaung. The last king of Tagaung, Bhinnaka Raja run away and died later. His followers split in to three divisions. One division founded the nineteen Shan States at the eastern part. Another division moved down Ayeyarwady River and combined with Muducitta (second generation migrant, grand son of Indian Abi Raja) and other Sakiyan (Indian) princes, among the Pyus, Kanyans and Theks.

The third group stayed in Mali with the chief queen Naga Hsein, a Sakiyan.(Indian) She was the queen of the Sakyiyan king Dhaja Raja migrated from India. On the way he founded Thintwe’. Then they founded the upper Bagan(Pagan).

Dahnnavata captured Thambula, queen of Pyus. But Nanhkan (China) queen of Pyus had driven out the Kanyans, who lived in seven hill-tracks beginning Thantwe’.

King Dwattabaung, direct descendent of Abi Raja (Indian Migrant) founded Thare Khit Taya in 443 BC. It was said to be self-destroyed in 94 AD. The history is half -mystical at that time.

Mons or Talaings, an Ethnic Minority Group of Myanmar, migrated from the Talingana State, Madras coast of Southern India. They mixed with the new migrants of Mongol from China and driven out the above Andhra and Orissa colonists. Those Mon (Talaings) brought with them the culture, arts, literature, religion and all the skills of civilisation of present Myanmar. They founded the Thaton and Bago (Pegu) Kingdoms. That Mon mighty Kingdom extended from Lower Burma (Pathein or Bassein, Mawlamyine or Moulmein, Tanintharyi or Tenasserim, Tanyin or Syriam), Thailand and Cambodia. King Anawrahta of Bagan (Pagan) conquered that Mon Kingdom of King Manuha, named Suvannabumi (The Land of Golden Hues).

Two princes named Thamala and Wimala (Myanmar version of Indian names-Thalma and Vimala.) established the town Bago in 573AD. Tabinshwehti (Taungoo Dynasty) conquered it in 1539 AD. The Arabs and European travellers of the ninth century saw many Myanmar-Muslim sailors and traders, in Pegu (Bago), also known as Ussa.

Now there are only a few real Mons (much less than few hundred thousands) in Myanmar. But they were rewarded with the separate Mon State by the General Ne Win’s government because of his strong second man, General Tin Oo (actually he was even well known as ‘one and a half ’ i.e. higher than number two position, as he controlled the Military Intelligence). He was a Mon. Later he was accused of corruption and removed from the number two post. This was allegedly after the Thailand’s official twenty-one gun salute and red carpet reception for his (General Tin Oo) son and daughter-in-law’s honeymoon trip there. Please allow me to interrupt with another interesting short story, which is not directly related with the main issue but because of a lot of coincidences. Another General Tin Oo (now NLD opposition leader) was the Chief Commander or Middle Division Military Command. He was very popular among the grass root people, Military rank and file and among the ruling elite. He had just rooted out the prolonged strong hold of Burma Communist Party’s head-quarters on the Bago Yoma (Pegu Mountain Ranges). When we met, I was surprised because he recognised me although I was almost an ordinary person and we had only met briefly once before that. He greeted me and suddenly joked with me. He told me the story of Kyansittha, during the war with the Mon (Talaings) went to pray the famous Shwe Maw Daw pagoda in Bago. When he came down the ‘Talaings’ had surrounded the pagoda, but Kyansittha manage to come down without any harm. He asked me the reason and answer to this ‘miracle’. The answer is very easy, just a Homophone only. Ta, means one in Burmese. Ta-Line means one line on the shoulder i.e. a rank and file in his own army. So, Kyansittha was not surrounded by the enemy Mons (Talaings) but was just surrounded by his own military men, ‘Ta-Lines’. That General Tin Oo was later promoted to the Chief Commander of Burma Armed Forces and became ‘the number two man’ in Burma. But that position was dangerous under the dictator Ne Win. Once the second man became popular and if there were signs of a threat, he used to removed and replaced with a weaker person so that his number one position would be safe. General Tin Oo was accused of corruption. He had alleged to accept five bottles of liquor, accepted the government controlled foreign currency to buy medicine for his child suffering from leukaemia. The Burmese Military Attaché in London allegedly gave that medicine to him. Another reason for his removal was, his wife, a Medical Doctor was proud and rude among the military families!

Portuguese, Philip Debrito (Nga Zin Ga) established a colony in Syriam from 1581 to 1613.

Chinese Kublai Khan’s Muslim Turkish soldiers, commanded by Nasrudin, the son of Yunan Governor attacked and took over Burma in 1277 AD. Tartars at first took strong hold in Bhamo (Burma) for a few years and later destroyed Bagan (Pagan) in 1287 AD.

Shans of Myanmar and Siams, now known as Thais are from one same Ethnic Group. Their language is different in slang only. They are descended from Sino-Shan and Mon Khamars, who came down from Yunan, China.

U Nu, the last democratically elected Prime Minister of Burma, overthrown by the General Ne Wins’ Military coup, later formed the government-in-exile in Thailand. After he returned (surrendered) to Burma, there were praises in the Government controlled Media, regarding his patriotism in refusal to sign an alleged agreement to allow Shan State to be annexed with Thailand in exchange for the Military and financial aids.

Myanmar language.

Myanmar Muslims are using Myanmar language as their mother tongue. They are well assimilated in this aspect. A lot of Ethnic Minority Groups through out the world are facing problems because of the language differences. Myanmar spoken language is under Tibeto-Burman family. The source of the Myanmar script (written language) was adopted from the Brahmi script from India (500 BC. to 300 AD.), in the reign of King Asoka. This Brahmi Indian scrip spread to Tibet, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and even some parts of Indonesia. In Myanmar, this Brami script was developed and modified by the civilisations of Pyu (now disappeared and totally assimilated in Myanmar), Mon, Rakhine, and Myanmar. Myanmar language script was fine tune again after introducing Sanskrit, Pali, Pyu and Mon scripts. Earliest Myanmar written language starts in Bagan (Pagan) period of eleven century. When compare to many of the prided, recognised ethnic minorities, who could not speak Myanmar language, most of the Muslims in Myanmar could speak the mother tongue. Myanmar traditional dress. Myanmar-Muslims have adopted and taken the Myanmar dress as their own. It is widely accepted that Taik pone (Myanmar man’s jacket) was taken from China and the Longyi (Sarong) was taken from India. Curiously Muslim religious customary Purdah, a veil for the women, is spread to even Burmese-Buddhists and other Ethnic Minorities. They called that with the adopted name Pawah.

So the present Ethnic Groups all over the world, including the races of Myanmar (Burma) are not the original owners of the land. And are not neatly arranged into Nations. There is a lot of spill over into neighbouring states.

And their religion, language, culture and traditional dresses are usually found to be shared or modified from others.

The author of this book wish to make clear that the above paragraph does not mean to insult or belittle the spirit and pride of Nationality and the state of been a member of a particular Ethnic Group. I wished to reduce the fanatic extremist, Nationalistic Spirits only. After all, we all are just fellow, brothers and sisters staying temporary on earth. Why should we fight the deadly wars and hate each other for the non- permanent properties and lands. Peace, kindness, loving kindness, forgiveness, charity, helping the needy and various good virtues are the teachings of all our Religions.

So, based on the above, undeniable, concrete facts and truths – no one should deny the rights of Muslims in Burma (Myanmar). Myanmar Muslims have a right to be recognized as one of the races in Myanmar (Burma). We are one of the legal Ethnic Minority Groups of Myanmar (Burma). Myanmar Muslims (Burmese Muslims) are no more foreigners nor migrants but full-blown citizens of Myanmar (Burma). Muslims in Myanmar (Burma) have the same and equal rights with all other Myanmar citizens, including Burmese Buddhists and all the ethnic minorities of Burma (Myanmar).


I hereby wish to refer an article written by me in the Burma Digest. (you can confirm with the Burma Digest Chief Editor and Publisher, Dr Tayza that I am the author and copy right owner and is allowed by Burma Digest to republish anywhere including Wikipedia) [1]

[edit] Open Letter to the Editor:

We are all Burmese in our heart

Dear Editor,

I hope that you and some of the Burmese Digest readers could recalled my name in association with my best friend Ko Tin New (Bo Aung Din). He had mentioned a few times about me in his a dozen Compassionate letters to Nan. As he had mentioned, my grandfather was a Burmese Muslim and married to a pure Burmese girl, Ko Tin Nwe’s grand Aunt that is the sister of Ko Tin Nwe’s grandfather. As he had mentioned, she was disowned by her father because she married a so called a ‘Kala’.

Actually the ‘Kala’ she married was the Burmese Muslim, the son of the royal body guard of Nyaung Yan Prince. Yes! I am not bluffing. His family was famous for the loyalty and braveness and was descendents of Afghanistan warriors at first came to Burma as mercenaries. And they were already regarded as loyal subjects of the Burmese kings or in other words Burmese Citizens. They are completely burmanized except for their religion. They loved to be called Burmese Muslims and successive Burmese Kings had already recognized them as Burmese Muslims and as their loyal subjects/citizens and even given them the relevant lands designated with their jobs.

In old royal capital Mandalay, we could still see the two ‘A Myauk Tans’ meaning Cannon or large artillery men’s quarters. ‘Myin Win’ horse-men’s quarters, ‘Sin Kywone’ meaning Elephant keepers, ‘Ko Yan Daw Win’ meaning Royal Body Guards’ quarters etc still fully occupied by their descendents Burmese Muslims with respectively named Mosques. As Ko Tin Nwe wrote, Oh Bo Mosque was donated by King Mindon, all the teak pillars were meant for the Royal Palace but those that could not go into their respected holes in time according to the astrologers were discarded and donated to build the Mosque. Chinese Muslim Mosque’s land was also donated by King Mindon and he also donated the hostel in Mecca for his Burmese Muslim subjects.

Mandalay was founded on Monday, the 23rd May 1859. But King Mindôn passed away on the 1st of October 1878 at the age of sixty-four. King Thibaw (1878-1885) took the throne illegally or by a palace coup. It was near the end of King Mindôn's illness, which lasted about two months that, the Alaè-nandaw Queen plotted the maneuverings to make Thibaw Prince to get the throne. She was the daughter of King Bagyidaw (1819-1837), by his Chief Queen. She became very powerful after the death of the Chief Queen Nanmadawpaya in November 1876. The rightful Heir-Apparent, the Kanaung Prince was murdered in the rebellion of 1866.

King Mindôn was undecided and hesitated to choose a new successor but put three of the best trusted and elderly Princes as Regents viz: Mekkhara, the Thônzè and the Nyaung Yan Princes.

Alè-nandaw Queen tried successfully to block them from becoming Eing shae min or Crown Prince. She plotted with palace officials to place Prince Thibaw on the throne, her second daughter Supayalat’s lover.

She practically isolated King Mindôn and give orders, as if it were by the King's orders. The

Princes were summoned to the Palace and arrested. The princes Nyaung Ok and the Nyaung Yan managed to escape. They run into the French ‘Embassy’, now No 10th. State High School or formerly known as Than Dae’ School. His bodyguards including my great grandfather escaped into lower Burma and some of them settled in Taungoo.

King Mindon learned about the plot and ordered the Princes to be released. Kin Wun Mingyi and the Supreme Court (Hlut-daw) were persuaded to believe that King Mindôn's wished to appoint Prince Thibaw as an Eing shae min and to marry Supayalat. Other Princes were re-arrested. When King Mindôn passed away, just after the funeral, young inexperience and naive Prince Thibaw was proclaimed King. He was the son of the almost unknown or least powerful Laungshe Queen. The Salin Princess, eldest daughter of Mindôn Min, who was the Princess reserved according to an old custom, to be the Queen of the next King, became a nun. Thibaw married the two sisters Supayagyi and Supayalat. The elder, Supayagyi, should be the chief queen, but Supayalat forced her to live a life of retirement in the Palace.

On February 1879, the interned Princes, together with some Princesses, a Queen and some notables, altogether over 70 persons, were murdered. Another greater massacre took place in 1884. About 300 remaining members of the Royal Family, who had escaped in 1879, were cruelly butchered.

So my great grand father luckily escaped the massacres. His daughter-in-law, pure Burmese lady who converted to Islam and was disowned by her family for the crime of marrying a ‘Kala’ was widowed soon and was very poor but she managed to give all of her children good education. Eldest son became a famous Head Master and he is my father. And she was very proud to see, before she departed, that more than two dozens of her grandchildren got the university degrees including many doctors and engineers. The rest is history.

But now only Myanmar Military rulers are labeling us as guest citizens, ‘Kala’ or mixed blooded persons or not pure citizens. That, however, could not make us, or people like us, to become non Burmese Citizens. We are Burmese citizens no matter how some might disagree, or wish otherwise or decreed by force. Whether mixed blooded or not is not important in the eyes of the whole world but SPDC could not deny our right of 100% pure Burmese citizenship!

We, and all the other persons like us, not just those Indians, Chinese, Bengalis or Pakistanis although we are undeniably mixed blooded immigrants’ children or descendants of immigrants, but we are now full Burmese Citizens. No matter what some like SPDC racists or their cohorts might say contrary.

Our great grand parents and all the ancestors were loyal citizens of Burma and all of them were and are holding the Burmese National Registration Cards or ‘Ah Myo Thar Mhat Pone Tin Cards’. My brothers and sisters’ family members are holding those Burmese National Registration Cards but now the SPDC Apartheid Régime had ordered to issue the differently formatted cards for their younger children. It is curious when the parents and elder brothers and sisters are the same citizens as our Burmese Buddhists at least on paper but now only their youngest children are blatantly or brazenly discriminated as different from others and their own elder siblings.

This racial discrimination is practiced on not only Muslims but on Chinese and Hindis. SPDC National Registration officers decreed that if any one is not pure Burmese Buddhist, could not claim to be pure blood and all the Burmese Muslims must be recorded as mixed blooded persons. Whether correct or not, know or not, must be enlisted as mixed blooded Indian, Pakistan or Bengali. So it is blatant Racial Discrimination or openly practicing Apartheid practice of SPDC Junta.

My nephews and nieces are forced to begin their journey of life differently from their elder siblings and face the reality of the unfair world. We believe that no one has that right to practice the issuing of Apartheid certificate or new type of Registration different from other citizens to us. By doing so, SPDC is clearly starting to commit a Genocide offence.

Our children are entitled to their dreams and should not encounter any disappointments even before they started their tender lives. We wonder how that single document would change their dreams or what would be their vision of their world or Myanmar excluding them or shutting out all of them from all the opportunities. It is our children’s turning points of their lives. SPDC ruthlessly had shown them who they are, why and how they are not welcomed in Burma/Myanmar. Most importantly, SPDC have shown our children a real rejection. In waking to this realization, we suddenly understand that SPDC have already failed all our children’s future. As our children journey into an uncertain future, they will struggle and grapple with their sense of their rightful place in this Myanmar nation.

The constant emphasis on differences by the narrow minded SPDC apartheid racists who could not see value in these children prevent them from being seen, seeing themselves, as anything other than Burmese Citizens. And so SPDC Junta’s dancing with shadows continues, to their pied-piper song of unity and integration in single race and religion, to the beat of their war drums, changing Burma into a Myanmar world of so much bigotry and hatred. Our young children’s every early moments would be yet under another hammer blow, tempering or compromising their fantastic visions into listless and endless compromise under SPDC and cohorts.

Our country’s diversity makes us who we are and what we are today, that cannot be emphasized enough. And though we Burmese Muslims may each resonate differently, harmonizing only at some points in time and never universally, that is we are completely burmanized culturally but differ in religion only but I am sure when we dream we dream as Burmese only because we know Burmese, we love Burmese, and Burmese only is in our heart and mind.

Successive Burmese Kings had accepted us as their loyal subjects or citizens, after Independence U Nu’s government had accepted us. And General Aung San had even promised us: “I want to address the Indians and Chinese residing in this country. We have no bitterness, no ill will for them, or for that matter for any race and nationality in the world. If they choose to join us, we will welcome them as our own brethren. The welfare of all people of this country irrespective of race or religion has always been the one purpose that I have set out to fulfill. In fact it is my life's mission.”

But sadly those illegitimate illegal SPDC Régime is practicing Apartheid committing the Genocide on all of us.

I could guarantee to all of our Burmese friends that we are all Burmese in our heart and we have no intention or imagination to even support the foreign countries believed to be the homeland of our ancient ancestors even if Burma is at war with them!

Please give back our children at least a chance to dream. Please do not shut off their future.

Ko Tin Maung

You could read the above article in Burmese/Myanmar. (I got the copy right to reprint here.) [2][3]


[edit] COMMENTS

I'm sorry to observe that it is rather a forlorn hope for a religious affiliation to be recognised as race /ethnicity/nationality, military junta or whatever rules the country. Arabs are Arabs and not Arab Muslims; Jews are probably unique in that their race and religion are synonymous though racial purity here is also suspect. Burmese and Buddhist also tend to be considered synonymous though patently untrue. Muslims in Burma are either Burmese/Myanmar or Kala/Indian, mixed blood or not, and I agree entirely with the sentiment that if you feel Burmese you are Burmese whatever your creed. A lot of Burmese are of mixed ancestry particularly in towns and cities anyway, but Buddhist is not race/ethnicity/nationality. Bosnian Muslims, I believe, are not a seperate race either, but Turkic Serb Croat mix of one sort or another.
Unfortunately it is a common Burmese majority perception that Muslims see non-Muslims as needing to be either converted or culled, hence the animosity. And they can't understand the need to be called Burmese Muslims; the difference in physical appearance is enough to indicate the difference in creed, an Indian-looking person is usually a Hindu or a Muslim. They are called Asians in Britain, British Asian not British Muslim which could mean a white person. Assimilation or integration is still an ongoing debate there with the same kind of mistrust and misunderstanding.
It is of course wishful thinking to expect people to give up their roots, cultural and especially religious background, in order to conform to the society at large which may even be considered decadant and morally corrupt as in the case of Britain. In the end it's the way both parties react to each other, groups as well as individuals. The true yardstick of civilisation, I believe, is the way a host society treats strangers, with humanity, hospitality and friendship unless the 'alien' proves malevolent. Thanks for the history lesson. Wagaung 00:11, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Dear Ko Tin Maung and Darz kkg( Ko Ko Gyi = big brother, I guess that's your Burmese name, and a nice popular one too) - One can't help but sympathize with you over the predicament the grandchildren are in. I know of one example where the grandfather was three quarters English and this teenager is still classified Anglo-Burman whereas the father, whose ID goes back to before the new law was introduced, was not. It is of course absurd and patently unjust but for a purpose I dare say. It's as if the Burmese military regime had taken its cue from Margaret Thatcher's new laws for British citizenship introduced in the same year 1982. Even in my time in the early days of military rule, a very bright Chinese schoolmate of mine was barred from enrolling for medical school because one of his parents held a Foreigner Registration Card. If I recall correctly the parents' generation was given the choice at the time, when national IDs were introduced mainly for reasons of widespread insurgencies, to either become Burmese citizens or retain their foreign nationality; dual citizenship was not recognised, and there were many non-takers.

Bear in mind even the dominant Bamar have been made to feel they must leave the country for greener pastures or flee political repression these days. The military regime is xenophobic enough already, but appears to have been made even more paranoid by the wider Islamic world taking an 'unhealthy' interest in Burma along with the dominant West. And don't you think it is only natural that the Burmese Buddhist majority (your claim that they are also a minority is simply bonkers, unless perhaps that's wishful thinking on your part) naturally resents proselytising Muslims and evangelising Christians alike?

I have come across Burmese Muslims who would answer 'Muslim' to the question 'What ethnic race are you?', not even bothering with the Burmese prefix (I agree there is no denying that there is a social political entity based on a shared religion but not race/ethnicity/nationality, just as British Muslims are in Britain where you have a mixed bag of Arabs, Persians, Turks, Asians, Africans and white Europeans such as Bosnians and Albanians).

But are they merely confused or perhaps deluded? ( No Burmese would answer 'Buddhist' to the same question) It is a mindset that bodes ill in the sense that the logical upshot being an entrenched 'us and them' attitude which feeds into a vicious circle. Consider the plight of the Karens, starting off strident not to say militant in their demands for an independent state of their own and beholden to their former colonial masters and fellow co-religionists. They are after all indigenous from the beginning of history just like the Wa you were mocking at earlier on, reminding me of some British Asians (people from the Indian subcontinent in this context) seeming to think they are more British than the rest of us latecomers. Chance would be a fine thing, to be really accepted, all of us 'coloured' ones and those who look different from the society at large no matter what generation down the line you are now.

First ask yourselves 'Do you want to remain a minority and even ghetto-ise yourselves in a melting pot that Burmese cities are today?' Is it integration or assimilation you are after? One does need to be realistic about what one can achieve and know the limitations, but by all means go for it one step at a time as far as you can go short of bringing it all down on yourselves like a ton of bricks for crossing the line. The Mujahid rebellion in the Arakan (the name Rohingya however evolved was unknown then) crossed that line very early on, in 1947, granted in desperation but nonetheless it crossed that line for wanting an independent state for Rakhine Muslims which even the majority Rakhines can never agree with, let alone the Burmese. Above all there is no way any of the minorities can achieve anything without taking part in a broad alliance with the Burmese majority, the first task here and now being the broader struggle to topple the military regime; just look at where the disparate ethnic insurgencies are after over 40-50 years of struggle. My very best wishes and good luck. Wagaung 17:49, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Wiki’s policy is not to reveal the other's name even if you know, but as I had just use the name of the famous 88 Generation Student Leader as a pseudonym, it is OK for me as I have more than a dozen Pseudonyms.
Thank you for the understanding and the revealing of the conditions in UK. I hope that you already knew that in the democracy index, analysed in The Economist's annual publication, The World in 2007 that grades 167 countries out of 192 independent states according to their degree of democracy. Among the “Full democracies” Britain is 23rd. Not impressive at all!
Do you know what my favourit hero, young Saya Daw U Ottama’s (named Mg Paw Tun) advise to his brother (Tun Kyaw Aung) , “Young brother, in any exam you have to aim for the first position.” And he threw away his second prize medal for the fifth Std. awarded by British District Chief, into the Kaladan river. So no need to look up at how UK treat its foreign citizens according to U Ottama's wise advice.
We want full democracy; respecting the Human Rights of all the citizens irrespective of race, religion or creed. And the Individual freedom in the corruption free Myanmar. May be I am day dreaming a Utopia.
The Wa I mocked was the pure Chinese national crossed the Chinese Border with Wa ex-rebels. He paid money to Was and Myanmar Officers. He became instant citizen and even got the Passport. If Chinese face no problem. If Indian features, the bribery also no much use. That is the truth of even discrimination on the "foreign" citizens. Just see the Noble Myanmar Chinese list, Ne Win, san Yu, Aung Gyi, Khin Nyunt etc.

darzkkg —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Darz kkg (talk • contribs) 14:02, 9 February 2007 (UTC).


[edit] Thank you Ko Hintha and all the Wiki Myanmar Project editors for the kind help.

So, the religion could not become a basic factor to form a new race according to your theory. What about Kosovo Muslims and Bosnian Muslims? US action to help them was obstructed by big bully, veto wielding communists same as the present scenario in Myanmar-resolution in UNSC. Therefore, US had to go ‘alone’ with NATO and willing partners. Now UN had recognized by participating in the process.

We need to think out of the box. It is funny that Ko Hintha said, Indian, Chinese, Bama and Malay could not mixed together when I am one human being with those mixed genes. Actually, my fathers’ parents are; Ko Tin Mg, who is the Burmese-Indian mixed blood married to the Shan-Panthay, Ma Thorda. (Please read in my letter posted earlier) My father married to a Pashu (Malay) woman. Therefore, I am the product of the mixed marriage, mixed blooded person. Sometimes I feel like the grass between the bricks.

Nevertheless, because of my nature to see every thing as the blessing in disguise from God and try to extract the best out of all my mixed genes, I am happy with the results. Now I even have to thank you, Myanmar Wiki editors. I have to accept that there is no Myanmar Muslim nor Myanmar Indian Race.

Thank you for lumping us with Burmese Indians and Islam in Myanmar.
Ko Hintha, do you know that a person practicing Islam is called a Muslim?
It is the universal concept, accepted by the whole world.

Bingo! Check-mate!

Those practicing Islam in Myanmar are called Myanmar Muslims.
Never mind even if you cannot accept this logic. Call us in any name.

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet."
Wiliam Shakespeare --From Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

Therefore, you could call us Ayer gyi or Kala Gyi, Tayoke gyi or Pauk phaw. Up to you. But look at your self in the mirror. How much pure blood you all have?

Therefore, in preparation of the merger exercise lumping us as Indians, I prepared the Burmese Indian site for the soft landing. I never intend to insult our Burmese friends’ pride but the facts I found out are truths! So please help edit and improve the product or brainchild of my poor English. Spelling, grammar, style etc but please do not try to alter the truth of our prolong sufferings. Just read the definition of Genocide. The Journalists, (including editors) could be punished because of their Propaganda warfare to support the crimes of Humanity (Genocide) committed by their governments.

THE EIGHT STAGES OF GENOCIDE, By Dr. Gregory H. Stanton, President, Genocide Watch [4]

Thank you again for indirectly promoting the spirit of brotherhood-in-Islam. Now there is no more Burmese Indian Muslims but we are associated with the greater brothers INDIANS and Burmese Indians. After all, not only India had a glorious history, present India is advanced in IT, Nuclear and Space Technology.

And we are no more a mere minority Burmese Muslims, but part of the Islamic World. So if anyone tries to do Genocide on us we now have all the rights to ask help from our brothers-in-Islam around the world. Please read the definition of Genocide, even calling names like Ne Win and cohorts had done, the anti-Muslim activities done by successive Myanmar Military rulers and the journalists who help could be tried at the International Tribunal.
God sees the truth but waits. (From the Great Russian author Leo Tolstoy)

I used to tell my Chin and Rohingya friends;
Only because of the oppressions back home, you all had tried to migrate. If not, most of the Chins would be still on the hills planting and Rohingyas would be still fishing and farming. Even if there is a true democracy, Burma could not effort to develop their native places quickly. Now instead of development going to their places they are placed in developed countries. This is a blessing in disguise! --darzkkg 05:39, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Don't you think it's becoming tedious,rambling and unwieldy and above all somewhat irrelevant, like all the stuff on the history of the Arakan which does not really belong here (merge to Rakhine State)? Can you not be brief and keep it manageable and readable without making one lose one's attention after a while? It would certainly do more justice to your cause if it doesn't sink to the level of a rambling diatribe. Please don't make it boring and repetitive;it's not helping.
It is a fact of life that even a slightly Indian-looking person in Burma may be called Kala or Appana, just as a Chinese-looking person will be called Tayoke, Pauk hpaw or Htaungkè. Kala is not derogatory just as Tayoke for Chinese is not; there is no other generic term for them. And I'm afraid you can never wish it away or legislate against it. There are plenty of Burmese kids fondly nicknamed Kala or Tayoke by their families, but I've never come across a dog called either of those. The insult as you perceive is justified only in the inflexion, the tone of voice, and this anybody can guess even a foreigner totally ignorant of the language. You know as well as I do that the actual swearing involves a prefix such as hkway (dog) or a suffix such as Kala-zouk (inferior) or Tayoke-poke (rotten), and this applies to the Bamar as well. The Burmese word kabya is not derogatory either; it's the only word for half and half (dual ancestry). Since a lot of the urban Burmese are a mongrel lot themselves like you said, some of them cheerily tell me they can swear at anyone because they are 'none of the above'.
So the answer is look Burmese and you won't be called Kala or Tayoke, who says life is fair? I've been asked if I was a Hindu by an old Indian fellow in a dhoti at the entrance of the station in Mandalay, if I was a Muslim because I addressed some Muslim elder out of respect Mamugyi (uncle), and if I was Japanese by a Japanese woman in England. Fight for your rights by all means, but again be realistic and lose that chip on your shoulder, and again good luck to you, but don't say the way the English joke about France 'it's a nice country, the only problem is it's full of French people'! Wagaung 18:13, 11 February 2007 (UTC)
You're welcome, Darz kkg. I believe we have finally come to an understanding on what determines an ethnicity. Aside from your irrelevant accusations of propaganda and genocide on my part and your threats of invoking Muslim solidarity to supposedly "counter" users like myself, I believe this discussion has been fruitful. I've never claimed to have "pure blood" as you say, and I'm proud of being mixed. By the way, Burmese Chinese do not find being called tayoke nor pauk hpaw offensive. My kabya father calls his closest Chinese friends htaung kè (from Hokkien 头家 tau gei, meaning "boss"), and they have no problems with this. Many words in Burmese will never be "politically correct", but most people don't extrapolate negative meanings from harmless words. For example, in the U.S., some will always find "Black" offensive and use "African American" instead, but that doesn't bother most people. By the way, I sincerely thank you for your detailed contributions on the Panthay. I hope we haven't got off to a bad start. --Hintha 08:52, 12 February 2007 (UTC)
Dear friends, TQ for the kind comments but in “Racial Profiling” your personal acceptance or general Burmese opinion could not count or hold water in the CIVILIZED WORLD OUTSIDE MYANMAR.
It is a crime! Although you all are too used to it, Muslims including me, who are at the receiving end, take seriously as an offence. We are not wrong, according to UN accepted Genocide guide lines. In the land like Myanmar where it is even a taboo to mention even our Independence father Bogyoke Aung San, those salute him or made a khamoke (hat), symbol of his daughter’s party, were jailed, but every body is free to profile others!
In football there is a popularly accepted axiom, “the best defense is attack.” So I have to aggressively defend our race and religion.
Calling Kala never stopped there. It is used with animosity and always followed by discriminations. I my self was at the receiving end for the most of my life in Burma. I was the top student in my town and district during the high school days. In MC, I still stayed at the first position in each and every exam in every subject every year. However, during the “D” interviews the examiners always showed their animosity towards the Kalas, sometimes even blatantly disclosing openly. Later in the service, I was denied postgraduate studies abroad and promotion.
Therefore, I emigrated for good. Those idiot authorities never understand the effects of the brain drain but I am happy with my present status and I understand that those unfortunate things are actually God’s blessings in disguise only. I started doing research on our Muslim history for fifteen years. Therefore I have a lot of facts and although I tried my best to put in the relevant facts only in your so called ENCYCLOPEDIA, it is a little bit long.

This is not a fairy tale Mr Wagaung . Even 1001 Arabian nights is quite long. If you can prove that Arakan is not related to Burma and Bangladesh is out of Indian sub continent, my facts written there could be labelled irrelevant. After all, you all want to lump the Burmese Indian Muslims in this Burmese Indians, Muslim related facts are appropriate here. Because of your decision only Hindi and Buddhist Indians' related facts became relevant to mention. TQ very much. However, after putting or feeding all the facts, I will stay away from further comments or trying to put back the facts, you erased. You all are free to edit, as you like. My world is much larger than to waste in this small fighting.

Ko Hintha, sorry that you misunderstood my threats as directing to you. Don’t take as an insult, what you do to my article or what happens to you is not important for me at all. I am warning the relevant authorities above only to stop the act of GENOCIDE on our Muslim-brothers in Myanmar. These atrocities are even against the Buddha's teachings. We are trying to persuade the world Muslim countries to support the US action in UNSC. See, we had successfully persuaded Qatar and Indonesia!

Please feel free to edit my articles into short and precise up to the Wiki standard. For me 15 years of my collection made me bias. ( Becoming Nga_thine_mya_taut Hin_hone.)

But please understand me, I could prove that I had tried to be concise by looking at the following fact_

I wrote one very short section only, Arakan Kings minted coins with Muslim names and declaration of Islamic faith. The facts behind are just the gist from the following_


“ARAKAN’S PLACE IN THE CIVILIZATION OF THE BAY”

A STUDY OF COINAGE AND FOREIGN RELATIONS
M.S. COLLIS, in collaboration with San Shwe Bu.

The Article below appeared in BURMA RESEARCH SOCIETY 50TH ANNIVERSARY PUBLICATION'S, NO-2, RANGOON 1960, FROM PAGE-1485-504.

Coins found in Arakan. Mr. Htoon Aung Gyaw, Barrister-at-law and certain other private collectors of Akyab have coins found in Arakan. Sixteen of them were confirmed to belong to the Maruk-U dynasty (1430 to 1784 AD) were distinct specimens, bearing the dates and titles of fifteen different kings of that time. Moreover there were a few coins belonging to the Wesali dynasty (788 to 951 AD). I propose in this paper to show the relationship of these coins to Indian coinage as a whole and to use them as a document from which to draw certain general conclusions on the history of Arakan. As that history has never been written and as the data for the early centuries are scanty and controversial, I trust that the inevitable shortcomings of this summary will be understood and excused. Types of Indian coinage. Speaking generally the coins of India fall into two distinct types, the Hindu and the Mohamedan. Specimens of Hindu coinage of as far back as 600 BC are in the British Museum, but it was not until India came into Hindu contact with Mediterranean civilization in 327 BC. that its coinage developed and became an art. This connection, beginning with the invasion of Alexander and continuing through the Satraps into Roman times resulted first in the striking of coins almost pure Greek in design and gradually in the adaptation of that design to Hindu ends. With the Guptas (320 to 455 AD) a coinage had been evolved which while owing much to the Greek theory of form, was pure Hindu in feeling. Now all this Hindu coinage, from its highest as a work of art to its lowest as a barbarous confusion, has certain definite characteristics. It exhibits portraits of kings, figures and animals, deities and symbols of deities. Inscriptions take a very subordinate place; dates are infrequent; as it is not always possible to identify a coin with a particular king, a classification by dynasties and localities is the most that can often be attempted. Mohamedan Types of Indian coinage: Mahomedan coinage, which came into India in 1203 AD has opposite characteristics. It is of an inscriptional nature. Save for a few exceptions, it contains not a portrait or a figure. The King's name, title, date and faith are carefully recorded. The coin's artistic merit depends upon the calligraphy; and as everyone is aware who has studied the Persian script as at mural decoration this can give a remarkably balanced and vital impression of art. Coins of Arakan. The coins found in Arakan belong to both the groups described above;those of Wesali are Hindu and those of Mrauk-U are Mahomedan.

Wesaii, Archacological evidence. The ruins of the city are stilI to be seen on the bank of a tidal creek, about six miles from Mrauk -U (now known as Myo Haung) and about fifty miles inland from the Bay of Bengal. The site has neither been surveyed nor excavated, but the casual observer may perceive the remains of brick walls enclosing a large area. On the south side was to be seen until lately portions of a stone pier. Within the walls are numerous mounds and lying on them are pieces of stone statuary, bas-reliefs, capitals, floral designs in stone and inscriptions in the Nagari character of the 8th century. All these remains are purely Hindu in execution and subject. The figures represent deities; on the capitals is the sacred bull of Siva; the style is rougher than the best Hindu work, but is not debased. Close by the walls is a large stone monolith of Buddha belonging to the same date. This is the image now known as the Paragri, praying at which Fra Manrique found King Thiri-thu-dhamma eight centuries later. Various Nagari inscriptions, still un deciphered, have been found in the vicinity of the city; and at Mahamuni, 15 miles N. E., are to be seen surrounding the mound on which once sat the great image of the Buddha, which is now in Mandalay, a number of statues and bas-reliefs of the Hindu Pantheon. Incomplete and insufficiently worked out as is this archaeological evidence, it suggests that in the city of Wesali were practised both the Hindu and Buddhist religions or that it was a Mahayanist city.

Wesaii MSS. evidence.

Mr. San Shwe Bu has placed in my hands his translation of a curious Arakanese MS. called. "The true chronicle of the Great Image." Its caligraphy is order than that of the rest of the MSS. in my possession. - Sam Shwe Bu. The age of this MS. like that of most Arakanese MSS. is unknown, but it purports to give some account of the

Wesali dynasty.  Its contents in this respect may be summarized as follows: -

The area now known as north Arakan had been for many years before the 8th century the seat of Hindu dynasties. In 788 AD. a new dynasty known as the Chandra, founded the city of Wesali. This city became a noted trade port to which as many as a thousand ships came annually. The Chandra kings were upholders of Buddhism, guarding and glorifying the Mahamunni shrine; their territory extended as far north as Chittagong. The dynasty came to an end in 957 AD. being overwhelmed by a Mongolian invasion. The conclusion to be drawn from this MS. is that Wesali was an easterly Hindu kingdom of Bengal, following the Mahayanist form of Buddhism and that both government and people were Indian as the Mongolian influx had not yet occurred.

Hinayanism had already fled the India and that Mahayana Buddhism was really a compromise in which the Hindu gods and Buddha ranked equally.

Wesaii a Mahayanist State. These are some of the data for forming an opinion as to the religious condition of Bengal from 400-1000 AD. As Wesali was a Hindu State adjacent there to, the presumption is that its religious history was similar. Hinayanism had vanished; Mahayanism had compromised with original Hinduism to such a point that Buddha had become one of many gods; even the sexual magic of Tantricism was no anomaly. Such, it appears, was the Chandra kingdom of Wesaii, Mahayanist in the sense that word carried in the Bengal of the 8th century. It is significant that at least one Tantric sculpture has been found in Wesaii.

Wesali, as will be explained later, must be regarded not as an early Burmese but as a late Hindu State. With the whole tradition of the great Hindu past it had inherited coinage. All these data indicate that the coins of Wesali were in the pure Brahmanical tradition. But coins bearing Brahmanical symbols are not inconsistent with a Mahayanist dynasty. I am not aware of any Indian coin of a period later than the 1 st century AD., which contains a Buddhist figure, symbol or inscription. The Mahayanist kings of the periods mentioned above struck Brahmanical coins. Nothing is therefore more to be expected than that the Wesali coins should also be Brahminical. It is merely another proof of how closely the Mahayanist Buddhism of 8th century Bengal approximated to Hinduism.

The end of Wesaii & the beginning of the Arakanese. Such was the kingdom of Wesali, an Indian state in 957 AD, occurred an event which was to change it from an Indian into an Indo-Chinese realm and to endow the region of Arakan with its present characteristics. The "True Chronicle" records that in the year 957 AD., a Mongolian invasion swept over Wesali, destroyed the Chandras and placed on their throne Mongolian kings.

Over the border in Bengal the same deluge carried away the Pala kings. The evidence for this latter irruption is fully cited in a paper by Mr. Banerji and there is no doubt that the Mongolian invasion, which terminated the ruler of the Palas, closed also the epoch of the Chandras. But while in Bengal the Hindus regained their supremacy in a few years, it would seem that in Arakan the entry of the Mongolians was decisive. They cut Arakan away from India and mixing in sufficient number with the inhabitants of the east side of the present lndo-Burma divide, created that Indo-Mongoloid stock now known as the Arakanese. This emergence of a new race was not the work of a single invasion. The MSS record subsequent Mongolian incursions. But the date 957 AD., may be said to mark the appearance of the Arakanese, and the beginning of a fresh period.

The period 957-1430 AD, General characteristics.

The cardinal characteristic of the new period is that Arakan (as the area may now be called) looked East instead of West. The Mongolians were savages and following their invasion supervened a period of darkness. But the invaders became educated in the culture of the country they had conquered. The resulting civilization was of a mediaeval character. The capital was moved from Wesali to the Lemro River, some fifteen miles south-east. There during the ensuing centuries numerous dynasties ruled each with its own city but always in the same locality. Few archaeological remains of this period of five centuries exist, though brick foundations may be seen on the Lemro bank. In Bengal the Mohamedans were not to arrive till 1203. Over the mountains in Burma proper was the quaint kingdom of Pagan. It was with Pagan alone the Arakan had any considerable dealings and it was to learn much. Thus during these five centureis the inhabitants of Arakan became more similar to the inhabitants of Burma and less like Indians. Their religion became less Mahayanist and more Hinayanist.

Particular Characteristics of the period 957-1430 A. D.

There existed a road connecting the Lemro with Pagan. That road was known as the Buywet ma-nyo. It has long been overgrown, but the present Government is seeking to resurvey it. It was along that road that the ideas of Burma passed into Arakan. But India was again to play its part in the making of Arakan. To understand the age of Mrauk-U (1430 - 1785 AD.), the profound changes which had taken place in Bengal since the time of the Palas must be called to mind. From all points of view, military, political and cultural, the Moslem Sultanates were in the van of civilization. For every other state they represented modernity, as industrial Europe now represent what is modern for Asia and Africa. Bengal was absorbed into this great polity in l293 AD. But that was its extreme eastern limit.

Why Araken turned towards India in 1450.

The circumstances which made Arakan turn from the East and look West to the Moslem States were political. In 1404 A. D., Min Saw Mwan was King of Arakan, ruling from Launggret, one of the Lemro Cities already mentioned. As the kings of Pagan had regarded Arakan as their feudatory. The Kings of Ava, succeeded them was annoyed by the Arakanese who raided the Yaw and Laungshe. The heir apparent to the throne of Ava invaded Arakan in 1406. Min Saw Mwan fled the country, taking refuge at Gaur, the capital of the Sultan of Bengal. That kingdom had been independent of the Sultanate of Delhi for eighty six years. It was one of the many sovereign states of the world wide Moslem polity.The Arakanese king remained there for twenty four years, leaving his country in the hands of the Burmese. (This part of the history was written in other chapter.) The Arakanese king loomed from the mediaeval to the modern, from the fragile fairyland of the Glass Palace Chronicle to the robust extravaganza of the Thousand Nights and one Night. Nasir-ud-din restored him in 1430 A.D. and Mrauk-U was built. It is noteworthy that one of that Sultan's coins was recently found near the site of that city. It is a unique document in the history of Arakan.

Origin of Arakanese coinage.

Nasir-ud-din's coin is in the tradition and it was on that coin that the coinage of Mrauk-U was subsequently modeled. In this way Arakan became definitely oriented towards the Moslem State. Contact with a modern civilization resulted in a renaissance. The country's great age began.


The Mrauk-U dynasty l450-1786 Period 1. 1430-1530. As feudatory to Bengal.

It was a curious fact that while the government of Further India was Mongolian-Buddhist, that of India and westwards beyond was Mongolian- Mohamedan. That basic distinction centred in the matter of war and agggrandisement. They founded what was known as the Arakanese empire. For the hundred years, 1430 to 1530, Arakan remained feudatory to Bengal, paid tribute and learnt history and politics. Eleven kings followed one another at Mrauk-U in undistinguished succession.

During the whole of Minbin's (Zabauk Shah) reign the administration of Bengal was totally defenseless. Minbin occupied Eastern Bengal and remained to Arakan for the next hundred and twenty years, till 1666. Its administration was left in the hands of twelve local rajahs, who paid an annual tribute to the Arakanese king's Viceroyat Chittagong. In Mr. Htoon Aung Gyaw's collection is one of Minbin's coins. It presents a succinct commentary on the sudden rise of Arakan to importance in the Bay.

On one side of it is inscribed the word "Minbin" in the Burmese character. On the reverse in Nagari is his Moslem title, Zabauk Shah. So Arakan had turned into a Sultanate. The Court was shaped in Gaur and Delhi; there were the eunuchs and the seraglio, the slaves and the executioner. But it remained Hinayana Buddhist. Mahamunni was still there, still fervently worshipped.

The architecture of the Period.

It is Hindu, but of so unique a design. This architecture was the work of Indian builders employed by Minbin and working to his general specifications. It illustrates the cosmopolitan origins of the state of Mrauk-U, which derived from the Hindu and theBuddhist as well as from the Prortuguese and the Moslem. But it also indicates how Minbin was able to fuse diverse elements into a particular and separate style.

If Minbin founded the prosperity of Mrauk-U, Razagri, his sussessor of forty years later, may be said to have consolidated it. In 1576 central and western Bengal was definitely administered by Akbar. Hence the Arakanese in eastern Bengal found themselves on the frontier of the Moghul. There was now no buffer state between. It was known that the Moghul regarded all Bengal as rightly his and that it was entered in his records as such. Hence it behaved Mrauk-U to guard that frontier well. But it was not feasible to do so with the regular army. Arrangements were therefore made with Portuguese mariners who had been allowed to found a trade settlement and refitting base near Chittagong. It was agreed between them and the king that they would protect the frontier against the Moghul in return for all the trade openings their position at Chittagong afforded. The king had his brother or near relative as Viceroy. Portuguese, made a dash at the city of Mrauk-U itself but they were defeated. Thus at this time, the government of Mrauk-U was strong enough to keep the Portuguese in order. Maruk-U, having turned the tables on Bengal proceeded to do the same on Burma,

This was the first and only period in its history when Arakan was able not only to repulse the Burmese but even to annex part of their country. Razagiri, in alliance with Ava, took Pegu. On the division of the spoils the strip up to and including Syriam and Moulmein was added to his long coastline. This campaign was rendered possible by his excellent navy and Razagri in appointing the Portuguese de Brito, as Governor of Syriam was repeating the policy of the north west frontier. He depended on those mariners, in conjunction, presumably, with his own seamen,to keep his borders for him.

For a short period during the reign of Razagri, Arakan extended from Dacca and the Sundabans to Moulmein, a coast strip of a thousand miles in length and varying from 150 to 20 miles in depth. This considerable dominion was built up by means of the strong cosmopolitan army and navy organized by Minbin and by inducing the Portuguese outside his army of fight for him in return for trade concessions. It is difficult to conceive of a state with less reliable foundations. But during the short years of its greatness, the century from 1540 to 1640, it was brilliant and imposing. Copying the imperial Court of Delhi, its kings adopted the title of Padshah. The French traveller Fyiard, who was in India at the time, sums up its position in the Bay as second only to that of the Moghul. In my studies from Fra Manrique and the Arakanese MSS. I have tried to paint a picture of Arakan at this moment of its highest destiny. He depended upon his foreign mercenaries. These were ready to unmake him. The sanctity of authority was gone. Moreover the victories of previous reigns had flooded the country with Moghul, Burmese and Portuguese prisoners of war. These were centers of discontent on which any adventurer could count. On such men counted Shuja, Aurangzebe's elder brother, rightful Emperor of Hindustan, when he fled to Arakan after being worsted in the struggle for the imperial crown which followed the death of Shah Jahan. Only a strong national king can control an army of foreign paid soldiers.

After 1600 a change for the worse overcame the Portuguese. They became pirates. They recruited their numbers from the halfbreeds. Yet it was on the good faith of these desperate men that the King of Mrauk-U depended for the defense of his Northwest Frontier. As the 17th century advanced, the Moghuls consolidated their administration. But Bengal remained and irritant. It was the base from which resolute pirates crossed into their domains, raiding even to Moorshedabed. The pirate boats were manned by pure Portuguese, half-breeds and Arakanese. They seized from the riverbanks’ goods and persons. They were latter sold in Arakan, as slaves.

But it was a shortsighted policy for the kings of Arakan to annoy so strong a neighbouring State as the Moghul Empire. However, it is doubtful whether the usurping kings after Thiri-thu-dhamma attempted to control the Portuguese. They had established an independent bandit State on the Bengal border. So intolerable a condition of affairs could not last. Moghul Sultan Aurangzebe sent to Bengal a strong Governor, Shaistah Khan with instructions to stop the piracy.

Shaistah Khan warned the Purtuguese bandits to come over to his side before he attack. They were promised the rewards greater than they had received from the king of Arakan. In 1665 the Moghul operations took place, the huge fleet built by the Nawab, the assisted by the Dutch defeat the rest of the Portuguese fleet. When the Moghuls advanced into Arakan proper, the Arakanese army resisted them in force with success. After the loss of Chittagong the territory of the Kingdom of Mrauk-U was reduced to the present districts of Akyab, Kyaukpyu and Sandoway. Those areas In Lower Burma which had been won by Razagri and resumed in part by Thiri--ru-dhamma had all lapsed back to the Burmese. Arakan was now confined to its natural boundaries and was no larger than it had been two hundred and fifty years previously. There were twenty five kings of Mrauk-U during those hundred and nineteen years. The coins themselves exhibits little variations Their design is neither more not less inserving. It remains in the Mohamedan tradition of 1450 AD.

The fall of Mrauk-U.

The Moghuls had ceased to an expanding power. Burma was mearly as distracted as Arakan; the English were new comers. In 1760 the Alaungpaya dynasty had united Burma, Mrauk-U's fate was certain. In 1782 Thaniada became king of Maruk-U and Ngathande asked Bodawpaya, king of Burma, to invade the realm.After so long a period of looking west, Arakan turned eastward again. Ngathande's idea was that Bodawpaya would place him on the throne as a feudatory monarch.. Bodawpaya, however used Ngathande, invaded the country and reduced it to the position of an administered province, the first time in its long history that it had lost a home government of its own. It is noteworthy that when Bodawpaya decided to annex Arakan, he bowed to the old idea that the Mahamuni was the defence of that kingdom. For so many centures it had been the common belief of Further India that as long as Mahamuni was in Arakan, the country would remain independent, that Bodawpaya thought it safer to tamper with those calculations in Yadaya which were reputed to protect both the image and the realm. He therefore sent masters of that Art before his troops crossed the mountains and the formula were detected. After his victory he removed Mahamuni to Amarapura, where it now sits. This event, long prophesied and long guarded against, crushed the Arakanese more than defeat in the field. Bodawpaya's first act was to strike a medallion in the style of the Mrauk-U coinage.

The Burmese administration of Arakan. ( 1784 to 1825) Bodawpaya's medallion.

Burmese had never used coins and hence he had no model of his own. He copied therefore the Moslem design. The legend reads- "The kingdom of the Master of Amarapura and of Many White Elephants." This is the numismatic document to the fall of Mrauk-U.

It was the last coin struck in Arakan.

The Burmese governor of Mrauk-U found the country in a very lawless state. One Chinbya organized a rebellion. To secure peace and maintain order the Burmese put to death some and deported others to Burma. Two hundred thousand are said to have fled to India.

In her previous connections with outside states Arakan had always been the gainer. As feudatory to Pagan she had received the Little Vehicle and learnt her present alphabet. As feudatory to Bengal she had laid the foundations of her great age. But administered as a governorship by the Burmese of the 18th century, she had nothing to gain for the Burmese had nothing to teach a country which for centuries had been in touch with the world of thought and action through the Moslem Sultanates at a time when Burma herself was isolated and backward. But an extraordinary turn of events had changed the face of India since the fall of Chittagong in 1666. The Moghuls had disappeared and their place had been taken by the English. They became irritated with the Burmese in 1824 because of frontier raids. The Burmese were not aware that the English, the masters of Hindustan represented a more modern polity than their own. The Arakanese, however, were better informed. For just as Min Saw Mwan realised in 1430 that the Sultanate of Bengal was a polity in the van of the world's thought and would be able to drive the Burmese out of Arakan and restore him, so the Arakanese of 1824 perceived that the English were moderns and that the Burmese could not resist them. Accordingly they sided enthusiastically with them and facilitated in every way the English occupation of Arakan in 1825. When the Burmese had fled and Mrauk-U was occupied by the English, the Arakanese expected that the history of 1430 would be repeated and that an Arakanese prince would be placed on the throne.

The significance of the English administration of Arakan. 1825 to 1929. Conclusion.

The rhythm of the history of Arakan is that of a dancer who sways now to the East and now to the West. Rarely has she stood Upright.

AUTHORITIS CONSULTED

1.Mr. Tun Aung Gyaw'sArakanese coins, arranged, translated and annotated by Mr. San Shwe Bu.
2.The True Chronicle of the Great Image. An Arakanese MSS. translated by Mr. San Shwe Bu.
3.Notes from private Arakanese MSS. placed at my disposal by Mr. San Shwe Bu.
4.Lecture by Mr. Htoon Chan, Bar-at-law. Printed in "Arakan News" of May 1916.
5.The coins of India. P. Brown.
6.Coinages of Asia. S. Allan.
7.The Palas of Bengal, Banerji
8.Early History of India. V. Smith.
9.Travels of Fa-Hein. Edited by Giles.
10.Padre Maestro Fray Seb. Manrique (Translated in Bengal Past and Present).
11.Shihabuddin Talish. Persian MS. Translated by Sarkar.
12.The Glass Palace Chronicle. Tin and Luce.
13.History of Bengal, Stewari.
14.Musaimans of Bengal. Fuzli Rubbee.
15.Outline of Burmese History. Harvey.
16.Catalogue of Coins in Phayre Provincial Museum.
17.Reportof Superintendent, Archaeoligical Survey, Burma, fortheyears 1917,1921,1922 and1923.
18.From Akbar to Aurangzebe. Moreland.
History of the Portuguese in Bengal. Campos.
19.Coins of Arakan, of Pegu and of Burma. (In Numisman Orientalia) Sir Arthur Phayre.

The above Article appeared in BURMA RESEARCH SOCIETY, 50TH ANNIVERSARY PUBLICATION'S NO-2, RANGOON 1960, FROM PAGE-1485-504.

TQ all. darzkkg 05:39, 13 February 2007 (UTC)--darzkkg 05:39, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Some advice or suggestion to complete this article

I hope, the Wiki editors could find the Burmese Indians of Hindi Buddhist and Christian faith, Burmese Brahmans (Punnas) Nepalese (Gurkha) etc to complete this article. The follow up of the ex-Burmese Indians who migrated back to India sub-continent may be interesting. I read in Mizzama that they were discriminated as “Burmars” and they stayed as one group, there is even Bama Bazaar and many of them migrated again.

Late Ex-President of India, Mr Narayanan’s wife is a Burmese Indian women, Psycho graduate from RASU, met and married while doing MA in India. Because she was not “Pure Indian” PM Nehru went to their house and blessed them but refrained to attend the wedding ceremony because of the Indian Government’s policy. Ex-Burmese Indian even became a minister in Middle East country. One Burmese Rohingya is the second riches person in Bangladesh, One Burmese doctor, Faridah Mere, who left Burma for good to Pakistan later Migrated to Malaysia and became the Head of the Department in Surgery in the General Hospital KL (National University.) Tiara Jaclyn is the wife of the Malaysian Minister. (Richest man in Malaysia) Her grandfather is a Burmese Chinese and she converted to Islam. She is the famous actress, even acted in a Hollywood movie “Beyound Rangoon” and was blacklisted in Burma but once she followed her husband’s trip to Myanmar, she was welcomed with the red carpet.

I wish to start writing on this Burmese Diaspora but could not complete myself and so leave it for Wiki editors to encourage or persuade the Burmese Migrants to write about themselves. darzkkg 01:27, 16 February 2007 (UTC)--darzkkg 01:27, 16 February 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Appeal to Wiki editors not to ERASE the FACTS and try to change the history of Burma

Dear Wiki Myanmar Project editors.,

I have contributed quite a lot to Wikipedia, in my four articles. At first, I was interested in Islam related articles and my first contribution was “MARKED” to be eliminated within a week. I tried to divide into 4 articles and cleaned off massively. Then the warning notices appeared again for merger of Myanmar Muslim into Islam in Myanmar and Myanmar Indian Muslims into Burmese Indians.

As that action is similar to the successive Military Governments’ action to label us as Indians, I tried to object. At last, I understand that I alone could not resist the combine force of all of you. Therefore, I have no choice but to prepare that Burmese Indian site for the soft landing and started pure, real FACTS to glamorize it. As I am writing articles in other places, I read a lot and used to collect data thoroughly even saved in my computer so that I could retrieve and use later.

Because you all want to dump us, Muslims from Burma into Indians, I got the opportunity to include non-Islam related facts such as, India, Hinduism, Indian-Buddhism, Bandula’s killing of Indian Shans etc that are related to India and Burma. One of you suggested that Arakan’s (under Myanmar) interactions with India (Bengal) are not related to the topic, which I rebutted. (After all the Muslim Arabs and Muslim Moghul Kings are also involved in my article.)

Now why did U Hintha WRONGLY thought that the following contributions of Indians to Burma are irrelevant and unilaterally deleted without even properly discussed?

The following three paragraphs were erased. YOU COULD NOT CHANGE BACK THE HISTORY, Mr Hintha.

India had given you the written language. As you could even write “The Boss” in Chinese, I hope you know that many Burmese spoken words are similar in the sound as well as meaning with Spoken Chinese. (I just learnt about 100 Chinese sentences, some phrases and many words by heart in order to be able to communicate with my Chinese patients but I noticed or learned few dozens of those similar words.)

I was shocked when my Tamil patients saw my Burmese Magazine and could read some Burmese words. Tamils could read several of our alphabets. I almost faint when the words, we called Thara, Aa, Ar, Ei, Ee, Oo, Ooo, Aye, Air, Au, Aur, An Ar ... He told me that was the basic of their pronunciation and language.

Do you know that, the present Myanmar script was taken mostly from Thai-Mons (not from Myanmar Mons) Those Mons are descendents of INDIA Talingana.

General Aung San’s coat was also given by INDIAN Nehru. His historical last minute advises to General Aung San are also historical.

U Hintha, do you think that Buddhism is not important or relevant to Bamars?

U Hintha, do you think that Buddha was from India subcontinent is wrong? If not, why (Indian) Buddha’s contribution to Burma is not relevant to my article.

Actually you had ERASED or tried to change the history of India-Burma relations. Do you think the following facts are not important to a country or the relations of two countries._
1. Religion
2. Written Script
3. Politics especially when that was related to the most important person (Bogyoke) and at the most important time (going to negotiate for Independence).

Please do not erase my facts at least before the discussion. Let us put these facts for discussion to get consensus.


U Hintha erased the following facts_


Myanmar script (written language)

The source of the Myanmar script (written language) was adopted from the Brahmi script from India (500 BC. to 300 AD.), in the reign of King Asoka. This Brahmi Indian scrip spread to Tibet, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and even some parts of Indonesia. In Myanmar, this Brami script was developed and modified by the civilisations of Pyu (now disappeared and totally assimilated in Myanmar), Mon, Rakhine, and Myanmar. Myanmar language script was fine tuned again after introducing Sanskrit, Pali, Pyu and Mon scripts. Earliest Myanmar written language starts in Bagan (Pagan) period of eleven century. ref= HGE Hall History of Southeast Asia.

The last but not the least, Burma got its religion from Buddha who got enlightment in Nepal, Indian subcontinent.

Burma’s General Aung San got the last dose of advises from Indian PM Nerhu on how and what to negotiate at UK for Burma’s Independence. And the best known Bogoyoke’s photo was with the long coat given by Nerhu when he found out that General Aung San was going to face London’s winter without any winter clothes. '

You all have to accept my facts- -

The highway between India and China India and China are the world’s biggest and ancient cradle of civilizations. High, snow peaked, rough and steep Himalaya mountain ranges block the direct interaction or travelling between the two of them except for the virtual highway through Myanmar/Burma. So there were a lot of travelers, migrants, victims of disasters and famine, war refugees and etc moving along this Burma Highway and some of them settled in Burma. (So almost all of the so called Original pure races of Myanmar and Ethnic Minorities are desendents or migrants of China and India.)

So present Myanmar/Burma is the product or the descendents of CHINA and INDIA only. It is funny the Bamars are calling Indian, Chinese, Mixed blooded people without looking back into their history. Ironically, Ancient Burmese Kings were INDIANS and recent Myanmar Military rulers are CHINESE!

The problem is, these Chinese Myanmar Military Leaders tried to brainwash all the Myanmars to hate Indians. Chinese Ne Win started and Chinese Khin Nyunt had carried on with anti-Muslim riots. I hope Senior General Than Shwe would not allow this to continue. After all Myanmar need both its present big neighbours, China and India.

Ko Hintha, as you are also Chinese-Bama mixed blooded person, do not try to change the contributions of Indians to Burma. I hope you would not repeat the famous (Sic) Thein Pe Myint’s column in Bo Ta Thaung, “ Ancient KALAS were good, given us religion, culture etc but present Kalas are bad - - - -etc. --darzkkg 11:06, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

Please tell me how the fact that the Burmese script (and many other scripts) descends from the Brahmi alphabet and how Gautama was from Nepal are relevant to overseas Burmese Indians. This information is more relevant in the Burmese language and Buddhism in Myanmar articles. The only relevance of your writing is that they come from India. Fpr example, if a tree species came from India and was planted in Myanmar, would this be a notable mention? --Hintha 06:40, 21 February 2007 (UTC)
Yes, if a tree species came from India and was planted in Myanmar,it is notable. Especially if INDIANS brought to BURMA. Can you prove that Burmese went to India and brought all those scripts and religion? They were brought by the INDIANS to Burma.
Nevermind, you are very stubborn, you would not change your stand. Your friends will also support you. I am not going to put back that or fight for this. Do what you like. The one I wrote about ULTRANATIONALISTS flamming anti-Indian sentiment is also the truth. But I accepted your lame excuse of neutrality stand of Wiki policy and keep quiet. But I will put that facts again below in the discussion just to keep as a record. I hope you all should not erase this discussion pages.--darzkkg 14:13, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Anti-Indian sentiments in Burma/Myanmar

Anti-foreign sentiment and Nationalism

  • The pride and good feelings of nationalism,
  • the love for the country,
  • race and
  • religion is frequently exploited and used by many politicians, ultra-nationalists, religious fanatics, racial extremists and present Military Junta of Myanmar.

Adolf Hitlar of Nazi Germany and Slobodan Milosivic, were the most prominent and indisputable examples. But it is shameful to admit that many governments and politicians are guilty of this crime one time or another to get or accomplish their own agenda or to cover up their faults and failures. They use to threaten their own people with the foreign powers and enemies, western colonists, imperialists, religious terrorists, Communists and possible out break of racial riots, danger of losing independence of their beloved country.

It is sad to note that, that propaganda warfare is usually successful with the help of the local government controlled media (and nowadays on internet and even on Wikipedia) and because of the use or exploitation of the nationalistic spirit. People against this would be labeled as unpatriotic or traitor.

Once intoxicated with the patriotism and nationality fever, people were blinded. They are ready to do any thing for that patriotism. They are even willing to kill or dare to be killed. They are willing to sacrifice themselves, their family, their property and every thing on earth. Patriotism could mobilize the whole nation.

Myanmar opposition leader Daw Aung San Su Kyi once comments regarding the political extremists, religious fanatics and ultra nationalists, ” Well, there are people who think that it’s right to do any thing in the name of their religion, their race, their family, or any organization to which they may belong.” darzkkg 14:24, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../b/u/r/Talk%7EBurmese_Indians_86a3.html"