1. MAHATMA GANDHI UNIVERSITY
School of International Relations and Politics
M A International Relations and Politics
Candidate
Navas M Khadar
Title
ETHINICITY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA: A CASE STUDY ON
MUSLIM MINORITY ISSUES IN MYANMAR
Supervisor
Prof. A.M Thomas
2013

2. ETHINICITY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA: A CASE STUDY ON
MUSLIM MINORITY ISSUE IN MYANMAR
INTRODUCTION
Southeast Asia, vast region of Asia situated east of the Indian subcontinent and south of
China. It consists of two dissimilar portions: a continental projection and a string of
archipelagos to the south and east of the mainland. Southeast Asia is divided into the
countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Vietnam, and the small city-state
of Singapore at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula; Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam,
which occupy the eastern portion of the mainland, often are collectively called the
Indochinese Peninsula.
Southeast Asia’s population includes a wide variety of
ethnic groups and cultures. The peopling of Southeast Asia took place through various
southward migrations. The initial peoples arrived from the Asian continental interior.
Successive movement displaced these initial settlers and created a complex ethnic pattern.
Burma also known as Myanmar is a sovereign state in Southeast Asia bordered
by China, Thailand, India, Laos and Bangladesh. The Christian and Muslim populations do,
however, face religious persecution and it is hard, if not impossible, for non-Buddhists to join
the army or get government jobs, the main route to success in the country. Such persecution
and targeting of civilians is particularly notable in Eastern Burma, Rohingya Muslims have
settled in Bangladesh, to escape persecution, over the past 20 years. 89% of the population
embraces Buddhism. Other religions are practiced largely without obstruction, with the
notable exception of some ethnic minorities such as the Muslim Rohingya people, who have
continued to have their citizenship status denied and treated as illegal immigrants instead, and
Myanmar has a Buddhist majority. The Muslim minority in Myanmar mostly consists of
the Rohingya people and the descendants of Muslim immigrants from India and China as
well as descendants of earlier Arab settlers. After independence, many Muslims retained their
previous positions and achieved prominence in business and politics. Burma has a population
75 million with the Muslim population being just 0.7 million.
So in this work briefly study about Ethnicity in Southeast Asia and issues of Muslim minority
in Myanmar.

3. Statement of the Problem
The racial tension in March 1997 between Buddhists and
Muslims and the attack on Muslim properties began during the renovation of a Buddha
statue. The bronze Buddha statue in the Maha Myatmuni pagoda, originally from the Arakan,
brought to Mandalay by King Bodawpaya in 1784 AD was renovated by the authorities. The
Mahamyat Muni statue was broken open, leaving a gaping hole in the statue, and it was
generally presumed that the regime was searching for the Padamya Myetshin, a legendary
ruby that ensures victory in war to those who possess it. On 16 March 1997, Buddhist monks
and others shouted anti-Muslim slogans. They targeted the mosques first for attack, followed
by Muslim shop-houses and transportation vehicles in the vicinity of mosques, damaging,
destroying, looting, and trampling, burning religious books, committing acts of sacrilege. The
area where the acts of damage, destruction, and lootings were committed was Kaingdan,
Mandalay. The unrest in Mandalay began after reports of an attempted rape of a girl by
Muslim men, although this was later disproved and led to speculation that the regime may
have orchestrated the incident to deflect anger from the damaged statue. At least three people
were killed and around 100 monks arrested.
In 2001 The Fear of Losing One's Race and many other anti-Muslim pamphlets were widely
distributed by monks. Many Muslims feel that this exacerbated the anti-Muslim feelings that
had been provoked by the destruction in Bamiyan, Afghanistan.On May 15, 2001, anti-
Muslim riots broke out in Taungoo, Pegu division, resulting in the deaths of about 200
Muslims, in the destruction of 11 mosques and the setting ablaze of over 400 houses. On May
15, the first day of the anti-Muslim uprisings, about 20 Muslims who were praying in the Han
Tha mosque were killed and some were beaten to death by the pro-junta forces. On May 17,
Lt. General Win Myint, Secretary No.3 of the SPDC and deputy Home and Religious
minister, arrived in Taungoo and curfew was imposed there until July 12, 2001.Buddhist
monks demanded that the ancient Hantha Mosque in Taungoo be destroyed in retaliation for
the destruction in Bamiyan. On May 18, however, Han Tha mosque and Taungoo Railway
station mosque were razed to the ground by bulldozers owned by the SPDC junta.The
mosques in Taungoo remained closed as of May 2002. Muslims have been forced to worship
in their homes. Local Muslim leaders complain that they are still harassed. After the violence,
many local Muslims moved away from Taungoo to nearby towns and to as far away as

4. Yangon. After two days of violence the military stepped in and the violence immediately
ended.
Since June 2012, at least 166 Muslims and Rakhine have been killed in sectarian
violence in the state. The 2012 Rakhine State riots are a series of ongoing conflicts primarily
between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in northern Rakhine State,
Myanmar, though by October Muslims of all ethnicities had begun to be targeted. The riots
came after weeks of sectarian disputes and have been condemned by most people on both
sides of the conflict. The immediate cause of the riots was unclear, with many commentators
citing the rape and murder of a Rakhine woman and the following killing of ten Burmese
Muslims by ethnic Rakhine as the main cause. The Myanmar government responded by
imposing curfews and by deploying troops in the regions. On 10 June, state of emergency
was declared in Rakhine, allowing military to participate in administration of the region. As
of 22 August, officially there had been 88 casualties – 57 Muslims and 31 Buddhists. An
estimated 90,000 people have been displaced by the violence. About 2,528 houses were
burned, and of those, 1,336 belonged to Rohingyas and 1,192 belonged to Rakhines. The
Burmese army and police were accused of playing a leading role in targeting Rohingyas
through mass arrests and arbitrary violence.
Importance and Need for the Study
In Myanmar Muslims were widely marginalized and there have faced many violations. The
Statement of Problem clear that Ethnicity is very active role in Southeast Asia. Myanmar
Ethnic Conflicts clearly show a dominant Ethnic group suppressed and oppressed the
minority one and the study of Muslim minority issue is very relevant in current Southeast
Asian Politics.

5. Review of Literature
In this field many work has attempted. Sri Milton Obron in his book “Southeast
Asia: An Introductory History” he briefly mention that A history of Southeast Asia
concentrates on the changes that have taken place since the eighteenth century and covers the
impact of social change and the roles played by ethnic minorities, immigrant groups, and
religion in the region. David Bradley, Joe Cummings is two important Southeast Asian
scholars. They published “South East Asia Phrasebook” was clearly mention about the
Essential words and phrases in Burmese, Khmer, Lao, Malay & Indonesian, Pilipino, Thai
and Vietnamese. “The Buddhist world of Southeast Asia” is a work of Donald K. Swearer.
He wrote it is a wide-ranging, readable account of the Theravada Buddhist thought and
practice in the Southeast Asian societies of Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Cambodia,
and Sri Lanka.
David Brown is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Politics at
Murdoch's University, Australia. He wrote a book “The State and Ethnic Politics in South
East Asia” it is mention that Ethnic tensions in Southeast Asia represent a clear threat to the
future stability of the region. David Brown's clear and systematic study outlines the patterns
of ethnic politics in: Burma, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand
The study considers the influence of the State on the formation of ethnic groups and
investigates why some countries are more successful in 'managing' their ethnic politics than
others.
Kusuma Sanitwong and Willard Scott Thompsons were edited a book “Ethnic
Conflicts in South East Asia” its examines different ethnic configurations and conflict
avoidance and resolution in five different Southeast Asian countries. Tin Maung Maung Than
traces the history and impossibility of the current Myanmar regime's quest to integrate the
various ethnic groups in the border regions while insisting on a unitary state with all real
power kept to themselves. Rizal Sukma divides conflicts in Indonesia into horizontal
(Kalimantan, Maluku and Sulawesi) and vertical ones (the Madurese versus the Dayaks) and
assesses the prospects for peaceful resolution if the country's fledgling democracy does not
properly address them. Miriam Coronel Ferrer examines the conflicts in Mindanao against
the apparent lack of willingness of Manila to come to terms with the root causes as well as
the infusion of arms and ideology from outside. Zakaria Haji Ahmad and Suzaina Kadir

6. analyse Malaysia's relatively successful handling of an ethnically divided society, which has
permitted impressive stability since 1969. Chayan Vaddhanaphuti focuses on the non-Thai
border peoples of northern Thailand, noting the legacy of the government's policy of selective
citizenship. Ethnic Conflicts in Southeast Asia will be an invaluable resource for scholars of
contemporary Southeast Asia as well as in other regions, policy-makers and others, who wish
to assess and develop strategies to prevent, modulate and resolve such conflicts.
Narayanan Ganesan and Kyaw Yin Hlaing are editors of “Myanmar: State,
Society and Ethnicity” they Focusing on some of the most important and topical questions
about Myanmar, contributors to this book look at issues of historical influence and political
considerations that have shaped the dominant thinking within the state and the military. There
are equally important studies of sensitive topics like the political economy of the state and the
level of human security in the country. The three ethnics groups--Karen, Kachin, and Shan--
are also studied in detail. Some of the negotiations between the Karen and Kachin ethnic
insurgent group representatives on the one hand, and the military junta on the other, are
spelled out in detail. An important corollary finding is the importance of religion and
religious personalities in brokering peace between the ethnic groups and the military
government. Finally, the book deals with how the various ethnic groups are trying to cope
with decades of conflict and reconstruct their communities.
Rianne ten Veen show to in his book “Myanmar's Muslims: The Oppressed
of the Oppressed” he says that all religious and ethnic minorities have suffered, it seems to be
the Muslims of Arakan who have borne the brunt of the resentment. Author Trevor Wilson
published in his book “Dictatorship, Disorder and Decline in Myanmar” he wrote that Mass
peaceful protests in Myanmar/Burma in 2007 drew the world's attention to the ongoing
problems faced by this country and its oppressed people. In this publication, experts from
around the world analyse the reasons for these recent political upheavals, explain how the
country's economy, education and health sectors are in perceptible decline, and identify the
underlying authoritarian pressures that characterise Myanmar/Burma's military regime.

7. Objective of Study
To explain the Ethnic diversity of Southeast Asia.
To evaluate major Muslim minority groups in Myanmar.
To examine Minority issues in Myanmar.
To study the major Anti-Muslim riots in Myanmar.
To analyse the reaction of international political community.
Hypotheses
Southeast Asia is a Multi Ethnic composite Region in the World.
Myanmar is an ethnically diverse nation with 135 distinct ethnic groups. These are grouped
into eight major national ethnic races: Kachin , Kayah , Kayin ,Chin ,Mon, Bamar ,
Rakhine , Sha.
In Myanmar minorities were widely marginalized.
The state of Myanmar showed many Anti-Muslim Riots during the period of British
rule. Later period accordingly 1997, 2001, 2012 Myanmar witnessed very conflict
nature anti-Muslims riots.
International Political Community especially the international organizations played a
vital role in the settlement of Ethnic conflict in Southeast Asia.

8. Methodology
A methodology is usually a guideline system for solving a problem, with specific components
such as phases, tasks, methods, techniques and tools. In this study Qualitative model of
research is using. Historical and Analytical methodologies are applied in this work.
Historically research means that systematic and objective location , evaluation and synthesis
of evidence in order to establishment facts and draw a conclusion about past events and
Analytically it is using to instead of examining records or artefacts , and it relies on
observation as means of collecting data.
Chapters
Chapter 1 : An Introduction to Ethnicity in Southeast Asia.
Chapter 2 : General History and Role of Ethnic groups in Myanmar.
Chapter 3 : Study of Muslim minority issues in Myanmar on the basis of various Riots.
Chapter 4 : Observation and Conclusion.
Bibliography
1. Anderson, Benedict. The Spectre of Comparisons: Nationalism, Southeast Asia and
the World. (Selections). 1998.
2. Osborne, Milton. Southeast Asia: An Introductory History. Allen & Unwin, 2010.
3. Bradley, David. Southeast Asia Phrasebook.1997.
4. Brown, David. The State and Ethnic Politics in Southeast Asia. Routledge , 1994.
5. Thompson, Willard Scott. Ethnic conflicts in Southeast Asia. 2005.
6. Britannica, Online Encyclopaedia: www.britannica.com
7. Wikipedia, encyclopaedia: www.wikipedia.org
8. Stanford, encyclopaedia of philosophy: www.stanford.edu