The Unfolding of Belonging, Exclusion and Exile: A Reflection on the History of Rohingya Refugee Crisis in Southeast Asia

The current Rohingya refugee crisis in Southeast Asia, which has become a ubiquitous topic at the global level, requires reflection on the multifaceted history of ethnicity, identity and growing nationalism in Myanmar. This paper looks at the complex interplay of colonial history, ethnic conflicts, absence of democracy and the subsequent political erasure of the Rohingya community from Burmese history, which shaped and aggravated the current crisis. It argues that while the British colonial rule was instrumental in shaping the troubled ethnic history of Myanmar, the political developments in post-colonial Myanmar equally contributed to such debate. In independent Myanmar, the militarisation of the country, economic challenges, the rise of political Buddhism and eventually, the new global post 9/11 order where Muslims have become the fearsome other, all led to a situation where the Rohingya community is engaged in a daily struggle to survive and sustain itself in Myanmar.