Myanmar Indian Muslims
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[edit] Myanmar Indian Muslims
[edit] Myanmar Muslims or Burmese Muslims
Myanmar Indian Muslims formed one of the definite group among Myanmar Muslims or Burmese Muslims. Some people like to refer Burmese Muslims as the more advancely assimilated or original or oldest group amongst all the Muslims in Burma or Myanmar. That is because they are more "Burmanized" when compare to other groups. But nowadays, because of mixed marriages and intermarriages, it is some times difficult to differentiate who is who.
[edit] Myanmar Muslims from Indian Subcontinent
[edit] British colony Burma
During the British colonial administration of Burma, Indian Immigrants were brought in to run the almost all of the Government Service and to run the British companies. They also formed the military and civilian staff of the British Army. Some of them were clerks, almost in all the fields of manpower (skilled and unskilled). Others were doctors, engineers, hospital and medical workers, teachers, Burma Railway staff, river shipping staff, Post office staff, rice mill staff. Some were staff and workers for; mines, oil fields, banks, shops, treasury, Public Administration office and Police Forces. As private civilians, they also came in as; traders, various type of shop owners, servants, launders (dhobi), hotel and restaurant owners, dispatch boys, watchmen etc. [1]
When we called them Indian Muslims or Myanmar Indian Muslims, we mean that they were descendents of the following countries - India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Some even came from Afghanistan.
[edit] Assimilation process
They arrived, temporary or permanently settled and married with local Burmese and Myanmar ethnic minority girls and formed the core of the Myanmar Muslims. Mixed marriages, intermarriages and assimilation process of throwing away of almost all their foreign languages, foreign dresses and foreign culture slowly shaped them into Ethnic Myanmar Muslim group of today.
[edit] Limit of assimilation
But they had drawn a line in the ongoing process of assimilation. That 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 and Bengali languages.Even Arabic is learned just to read Holy Koran and for prayers. Indian Myanmar Muslims now speak Myanmar as their mother tongue although earlier generation still speak Urdu, wear Myanmar dress and even have an official Myanmar name as well as Islamic Arabic name. [2]
[edit] Most prominent Myanmar/Burmese Indian Muslims
U Razak, U Raschid (M. A. Rashid - Government Minister in the 1950s)[3] and U Shaw Phi or Mohd Shafi were the most prominent Myanmar Indian Muslims. Most of the Indian Muslims who could not cut the umbilical cord went back to Indian subcontinent after General Ne Win took over and nationalized all the business. So who decided to continue to stay in Burma cut off the umbilical cord and have shown love to the new home, Burma. Now most of them are second and third generation or some of them were married to locals and almost totally assimilated into mainstream Myanmar Muslims. Now they lost contact with their roots and most of them are even not interested at all to trace their origin.[4]<
[edit] U Razak
U Razak (20 January 1898 - 19 July 1947; Arabic: Abdul Razak) was a Burmese politician who was a respected educationalist. He was a minister and was assassinated, along with his cabinet, on 19 July 1947. July 19 is celebrated in Myanmar today as Martyrs' Day. U Razak was Minister of Education and National Planning, and was chairman of the Burma Muslim Congress.
[edit] Diaspora
Recently some research persons found out that about three thousand Afghanis were settled around Mandalay, during the Burmese kings. They served in various places in Burmese kings’ army and were brought back to the capital from Arakan. And some of the Afghanis helped the Kamans in Arakan State of Burma to rebel against Arakan Myauk U and cause the end of that era. [5]
Some of the earliest Myanmar Muslims or Zerbardi or Kala Pyo or Myedu Muslims or Myedu Kalas or Thone Thaung Khunhit Yar (=3700) were also actually from the Indian subcontinent of Asam and Manipura. [6]
Pre-war Rangoon was dominated by Indians. Transport, trade to almost all of the service sectors, government and private alike was in the hands of Indians so that it was a must to master the Hindi or Urdu for even the Burmese Buddhists to survive in Rangoon, the capital of Burma. [7]
[edit] Anti Indian riots in Burma
In Burma there were half million Muslims in 1921. Burmese population then was only eleven million. Anti Indian sentiments started after the First World War during the British rule. More then half of them were Indian Muslims. Although Myanmar Muslims are different from the Indian Muslims and Indian Myanmar Muslims, Burmese Buddhists put them together, even mixed with Hindu Indians, and called them Kala.
In 1930 there was an anti Indian riots in Burma under British rule. This was not aimed on the Muslims or Islam but on Indians in general. The problem started in Yangon port, because of the irresponsible action of the British firm of Stevedores. [8]
[edit] Muslim Moghul Emperor of India exiled to Burma
The Mughal (and Muslim) rule was formally abolished by the British. The last Muslim Moghul Emperor of India, Abu Za’far Saraj al-Din Bahadur Shah and his family members and some followers were exiled to Yangon, Myanmar (Burma). He died there and was buried in Yangon (Rangoon) on 7.11.1862. Now his burial site became a minor diplomatic clash between India and Pakistan. Both of them want to control the site now famous as a shrine and even Burmese Buddhists used to go and pray there because Za’far Shar, as they known, was regarded as a saint. [9]
[edit] Distant relatives
[edit] References
- ^ 'The Muslims of Burma” A study of a minority Group, by Moshe Yegar, 1972, Otto Harrassowitz. Wisbaden
- ^ Various Myanmar History tax-books of Ministry of Education, Myanmar
- ^ Martin Smith (1991). Burma - Insurgency and the Politics of Ethnicity. London,New Jersey: Zed Books
- ^ ibid(ibidum)
- ^ 'The Muslims of Burma” A study of a minority Group, by Moshe Yegar, 1972, Otto Harrassowitz. Wisbaden
- ^ ibid
- ^ ibid
- ^ ibid
- ^ ibid
[edit] See also
1.Burma Digest Bo Aung Din’s Letter 11- About Myanmar Muslims. and Myanmar Indian Muslims. [1]
2.Burma Digest Bo Aung Din’s Letter 10- Myanmar Muslims, Myanmar Chinese Muslims and Migrants. [2]
3.Burma Digest Bo Aung Din’s Letter 9- Myanmar Muslims.[3]
4.Myanmar Muslim news- [4]
5.Burmese Muslims Network- [5]
6.Islamic Unity Brotherhood [6]
7.Myanmar Muslim political Awareness Oranization- [7]
8.Panthay on line community- [8]
9.Office of UN High Commisioner for Human Rights [9]
10.US Department of State, International Religious Freedom Report 2005 on Burma [10]
11.US Department of State, Burma, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices- 2005 Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor [11]
12.Amnesty International’s report on Burma [12]
13.UK Conservatives’ Human Rights [13]
14.Refusal of Identity Cards for Burmese Muslims [14]
15.Refusal of Identity Cards for Burmese Muslims (in Burmese. We also love Burma.) [15]
16.Racial Discriminations on Burmese Muslims [16][17]
17.Human Rights issues in Burma [18]
18.PRAYERS FOR BURMA [19]
19.Priestly, Harry. "The Outsiders", The Irrawaddy, 2006-01. Retrieved on July 7, 2006.
20.Butkaew, Samart. "Burmese Indians: The Forgotten Lives", Burma Issues, 2005-02. Retrieved on July 7, 2006.
21.The Persecution of Muslims in Burma, by Karen Human Rights Group
