The Rohingya are an indigenous Muslim ethnic group of Myanmar with a continuous presence in Arakan. Linguistic and cultural evidence links their heritage to the ancient Dhanyawadi and Waithalii periods, when Arakan was a distinct political and cultural entity influenced by the Indian subcontinent. The Rohingya language is closely related to a historical inscription of the Ananda Chandra Monument and retains Indic, Bengali, Arabic, and Persian loanwords from centuries of trade and contact.

Arakan State, known today as Rakhine State in Myanmar, was for centuries an independent kingdom, with its most prominent era being the Mrauk-U Kingdom (1430–1784). This kingdom was a thriving center of politics, trade, and culture, strategically positioned between South and Southeast Asia. It was a multi-ethnic and multi-religious realm where Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus lived side by side, contributing to a unique fusion of traditions. The Rohingya played an integral role in administration, commerce, and culture, with Persian, Bengali, and Arabic influences evident in its court, literature, and architecture.

The Rohingya presence was significant enough that Arakan’s identity became deeply intertwined with theirs. For centuries before the Burmese invasion of 1784 undertaken on the invitation of Rakhine leaders, Arakan functioned as an independent kingdom in which Muslim rulers, scholars, and traders left a lasting imprint on governance and heritage. This underscores that the Rohingya presence predates the colonial era.

Before annexation in 1784, the Rohingya and Rakhine coexisted and governed their respective territories. In December that year, King Bodawpaya invaded Arakan, destroying cultural heritage, killing many Rohingya, enslaving others, and forcing some to flee to Bengal. In 1942, an attack by Rakhine, orchestrated by the Burmese political elite, destroyed over 300 Rohingya villages and killed nearly 100,000 people in one of the worst massacres in their history.

Following Burma’s independence in 1948, the Rohingya were officially recognized as one of the country’s ethnic groups, enjoying equal status with other nationalities such as the Kachin, Karen, Mon, Shan, Kayah, and Rakhine. They were full citizens under the 1948 Citizenship Act, with their presence in Arakan acknowledged by government leaders and historical records. Rohingya politicians participated actively in the democratic process. MPs were elected in the 1951, 1956, and 1961 general elections, and leaders held ministerial and parliamentary secretary roles. In 1961, the government established the Mayu Frontier Administration to serve the predominantly Rohingya region.

During this democratic period, the community experienced sense of security, political representation, and cultural recognition. They enjoyed freedom of movement, access to education and healthcare, and official acknowledgement of their identity, as reflected in the Myanma Encyclopedia and state media. The state-run Burma Broadcasting Service (BBS) aired a Rohingya-language program twice weekly, possibly three times a week toward the end, providing news and cultural content alongside other indigenous-language broadcasts. This reflected the formal recognition of Rohingya as an ethnic group. Following General Ne Win’s 1962 coup, the program continued briefly before being discontinued in the mid-1960s, marking a symbolic shift toward systematic marginalization.

The 1962 coup ended the Mayu Frontier Administration and ushered in Burman–Buddhist nationalism, intensifying discrimination. This culminated in the 1982 Citizenship Law, which excluded the Rohingya from the list of recognized ethnic groups, rendering them stateless and stripping them of fundamental rights. Under Burmese rule, the Rohingya became a minority among Buddhists, facing deliberate erasure, propaganda, discriminatory laws, massacres, and restrictions. Despite once numbering over three million, most have fled abroad, with the UN calling them “the most persecuted minority in the world.”

In Myanmar’s 2010 general election, the Rohingya were still allowed to vote and run for office. Five candidates representing the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) won seats in parliament. This was one of the last instances of formal political participation. By the 2015 election, the government had stripped the Rohingya of voting rights and candidacy eligibility, ending their democratic participation entirely.

Recurrent military operations targeted the Rohingya. In 1978, “Operation Dragon King” forced over 250,000 to flee to Bangladesh, and in 1991–1992, over 300,000 were forced to flee to Bangladesh. Mostly returned under pressure but remained under severe restrictions. In 2012, state sponsored attacks by Rakhine Buddhists left many dead and over 140,000 displaced to segregated internal camps.

The most catastrophic episode came in 2016–2017. Many Rohingya believe staged attacks by an armed group, in collusion with the Myanmar military and Vice Senior General Soe Win, were used as a pretext for “clearance operations.” UN investigators documented mass killings, widespread sexual violence, and the burning of at least 288 villages. Over 740,000 fled to Bangladesh, forming the world’s largest refugee camp. The UN and other bodies have classified the campaign as genocide.

Before these operations, the Rohingya population in Myanmar was estimated at 1.5 million. Today only about 450,000 remain in Arakan State, with 140,000 confined to internal displacement camps and segregated areas under “apartheid-like” conditions. Over 1.2 million now live in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district, home to the massive Kutupalong and Nayapara camps. Significant Rohingya communities also live in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Malaysia, with notable populations in India, Thailand, Indonesia, the United States, Australia, the UAE, Nepal, and smaller numbers across Western countries.

Since the February 2021 military coup, conditions have worsened. The junta has imposed further restrictions, mass arrests, and forced conscription, including of Rohingya to fight the Arakan Army (AA). Since 2023, clashes between the military and AA have brought abuses against Rohingya from both sides. Those in AA-controlled areas face massacres, arrests, disappearances, torture, extortion, and forced displacement. On 2 May 2024, the AA massacred over 600 Rohingya in Htan Shauk Kan village, killing entire families, children, pregnant women, the elderly, and disabled people, many executed, burned, and buried in mass graves.

Forced displacement is central to the AA’s campaign. Violence and deprivation drive thousands to flee, often by sea. In May 2025, over 400 drowned after AA forces pursued two boats carrying 507 people. Rights groups confirm crimes including child recruitment, use of human shields, desecration of graveyards, and systematic village destruction. Since gaining control of much of northern Arakan, the AA has killed over 2,500 Rohingya, forced more than 150,000 to Bangladesh, and left those remaining in worsening conditions of genocide.

The flight of Rohingya from Arakan to neighboring countries, especially Bangladesh, remains an ongoing tragedy. Families are often forced to pay huge ransom-like payments to the AA or their accomplices to escape persecution, displacement, and genocide. Those unable to pay face arrest, forced conscription, or entrapment in conflict zones. Even after paying, the journey is perilous, with multiple extortions along the way and many being pushed onto unsafe boats, risking death at sea. This continuing exodus highlights the desperation of a community seeking safety from ongoing genocide.