Rakibul Hasan
Myanmar’s authoritative illegality continues in ‘legal procedures’ surpassing all UN standards regarding citizens’ rights. The United Nations has said all Burmese should be allowed an option to self-identify their ethnicity. But most recently, the country declares it won’t count Rohingya as Muslims rather as Bengalis to be registered first ever in the President’s Census since 1983. Burmese border forces (NaSaKa) and soldiers (Lone Htain), immigration officials and Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP) perform as main actors for the controversial registration process, checking personal details from house-to-house. NaSaKa for several years is trying to continue a process of Begalising its repressed citizens, Rohingyas. A four-page survey form represents name details, age, village, occupation, education, marital status, race and possessed documents in the first page. The second page constitutes ancestral details, grandparents, and immigration information. And, then criminal convictions or proceedings. The final page holds just signature and fingerprint.The 1982 citizenship law, enacted by former dictator Gen Ne Win include 135 official ethnic groups excluding the Rohingya. The law imposes upon restrictions on travel, marriage, reproduction as well.
Dictatorial and semi-military authority wearing so-called democratic uniform alleges its citizens, ethnic Rohingya Muslims as illegal immigrants intruding from neighboring Bangladesh. Primarily Myanmar pursues two calculated goals. Firstly Bengalising this ethnic entity, the country would certainly gain more upper handing stands to push back Rohingyas to Bangladesh, may be several steps and years later. On the other hand, the country may pursue to appease growing Buddhists fundamentalism in Rakhaine state in a sense that Myanmar has been able to segregate them identifying as ‘Bangladeshi immigrants’ banishing their Rohingya status.
But the current initiative of the Burmese authorities have assumed different dimensions. Rakhine state’s Buddhist organisations boycotted the census suspecting it on the ground that the recognition can possibly persuade Rohingyas for legal movements to establish their citizens’ rights. Seemingly, possible Rohingya movement can’t grow now in the authoritarian state which sponsors inactiveness to control ethno-riots against Rohingya minorities. Even ethnic Rohingyas also refused to accept the census in a fear that their imposed Bengali identity may be used to deport them to Bangladesh abolishing their Rohingya identity. Another reason, they haven’t any option rather to practice Bengali language because their long-practiced-Rohingylish language does not exist anymore at the time when they register in the census. Through the census process, they will certainly loose control over its culture and identity.
The United Nations (UN) views the Rohingya, (about 5% of the country’s population), as the world most persecuted minorities in Myanmar, a country of half-century of military rule having self-imposed isolation. The Rohingya community is continuously experiencing torture, negligence, and repression since the country’s independence in 1948. The country blatantly fails to promote its security mechanism towards human rights workers. At present, they have started escaping working offices as Buddhists mob-attacks have escalated in the Rakhine region. Rohingyas pass their horrible days in apartheid-like condition in crowded camps with no access to jobs, education or medical care. In May, 2013 a brutal riot erupted causing hundreds of deaths and countless casualties while the country was celebrating transitions to democracy. Rohingyas have now decreased in numbers and are confined into camps surrounded by the armed forces. The UN estimates approximately 140,000 Rohingya have been displaced in the aftermath of 2013 riot outbreaks. Majority of Rohingya people for generations, are denied citizenship under 1982 law listing them stateless. UNHCR counts more than 25,000 Rohingyas live in two official camps in Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh.
From linguistic perspectives, ethnic Rohingya is a completely a distinct identity. They are neither Bangladeshis (Bengalis) nor belong to any of Indian nationality groups or tribes settled in the state. For example, Rohingyas write their Rohingyalish scripts and speak distinct accents and phonology, never ever, even tiny-closed to any of Bengali or Bangladeshi dialects. If agreeing for the sake of debate only, the Rohingyalish is little closer to the Chittagonian Language, which again is not a Bengali dialect. Chittagonian Language is a member of the Bengali-Assamease sub-branch of the Eastern group of Indo-Aryan Language, a branch of Indo-European language family, spoken in the original inhabitants of the Rakhine state of Myanmar.
Originating from the Indo-Aryan sub-branch of the greater Indo-European language family, Rohingyalish assumes status as the modern written language of the ethnicity. Rohingya linguistic specialists have successfully selected various scripts including Arabic, Hanifi, Urdu, Roman, and Burmese. Hanifi is newly developed alphabets derived from Arabic and two characteristics from Latin and Burmese. Latin letters Ç (for retroflex R) and Ñ (for nasal sound) are widely used to properly represent Rohingya phonology. It represents five accented vowels (áéíóú). Significantly this distinct language has been acknowledged by ISO with ISO 639-3 “rhg” code.
In 1650, Shah Alwal, the great poet of then Arakan Kingdom wrote Rohingya Language for the first time ever in Arabic script. Later in 1973, Master Sultan revived increasing its acceptability where Rohingya scholars appreciated him to a great extent. The most exclusive linguistic change happened in 2000 when Eng. Mohammed Siddique Basu brainstormed and applied an intuitive idea to write Rohingya language in 28 Latin letters only creating a new system called Rohingyalish, recognised by ISO. A certain number of Rohingyas, being illegally intruded into Bangladesh from Myanmar are constantly crossing into West Bengal, Indian Bengali speaking state. But, these illegal migrants neither speak nor understand Hindi, Bengali or English. On the other hand, Rohingyas also can’t speak Urdu or any other Indian Languages. Myanmar authority classified them as ‘illegal immigrants’ from Bangladesh and Bangladesh identifies them as undocumented foreigners.
History shows that the direct descendants of Arab settlers started residing in (Arakan) Rakhine state during 8th century. After 24 years of exile in Bengal, King Narameikhla (1430–1434) of the Kingdom of Mrauk U regained his lost throne in 1430 where Sultanate of Bengal collaborated with him providing military assistance. Then, a little number of Bengali settlers under his endorsement started settling there. Even after acquiring independence, the Arakanese Buddhist kings continued to hold Sultanate title. The Kings employed Muslim descendants in prestigious position.
From the religious perspective, ethnic Rohingya practice Sunni Islam combined with Sufi ideology. Majority of elderly Rohingyas have beards while women wear Hijab. Basically Madrasahs, religious school are there in almost every village in Rohingya areas. On the other hand, the Bengali Muslims practice moderate Islam wearing Bengali costumes.
It can be a boomerang for the Myanmar authority as they try to abolish an ethnic entity. Because history proves that no nation or identity can be abolished as has been tried with Hutu-Tutsi, Palestinians-Israelis or Bengalis-Pakistanis. The growth of complex situations centring on Rohingyas will only welcome different outsider actors to intervene in the region. Otherwise, the deprived Rohingyas may choose the way of terrorism and separatism if the persecution continues or the modern world has to unfortunately overlook the scream of the repressed Rohingyas, pushed to the edges of persecution!
(The writer is reachable at rakib_pacs@yahoo.com)
