
In 1785 Arakan was over swept by the Bamar, the dominant ethnic group in Burma. The Burmese occupation of Arakan was particularly oppressive. Thousands of Rakhine men were executed and many were deported to central Burma. By 1799, as many 35000 people fled to British Bengal to escape persecution by the Bamar. Around this time, one of the earlier recorded instances of the term “Rohingya” appears in British literature. An article by Dr. Francis Buchanan-Hamilton, a British physician and geographer, published in 1799 states, “”the Mohammedans, who have long settled in Arakan, call themselves ‘Rooinga’, or natives of Arakan… the other are Rakhing … who adhere to the tenents of Buddha.”[7] This mention not only establishes that there was an indigenous Muslim minority in Arakan with the name Rohingya, but it further distinguishes them from the majority Rakhine Buddhist population.
1785

In 1823, Burma came under British rule after a number of wars. While the British encouraged Bengali and other native Indian immigrants to migrate and settle throughout Burma for the work in the paddy fields and tea plantations, these were distinct from the Rohingya. The Rohingya always maintained their own language. Under British rule, the Burmese Buddhist majority felt particularly unsupported and threatened. Traditionally, rule by the Burmese kings had been legitimized by their homage and protection of the Buddhist religious hierarchy.[8] To make matters worse, due to the Buddhist anti-colonial sentiment, the British preferred the Muslims for administrative positions. This early identity of the Burmese as Buddhists, and as Burma as a land purely for them, became fuel for the nationalism that propelled the Burmese Independence movement later on.
1823

World War II

1945

1982

2000