Why is the world's most persecuted minority denied existence in their own homeland?

Cultures · Published 30 September 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic group with roots in Myanmar dating back a millennium, are currently stateless. Despite their long history in Rakhine State, the Myanmar government refuses to recognize them as citizens, instead labeling them illegal immigrants and subjecting them to systematic state-sponsored persecution and forced displacement.

The Rohingya identity is deeply tied to the history of Arakan State, an independent coastal kingdom where Muslim settlers arrived as early as the 1430s. When Britain conquered Burma in 1824, it incorporated the region into British India. During this colonial period, the Muslim population expanded as migrant workers arrived from Bengal. Although Britain promised the Rohingya an autonomous state for their support during World War II, this pledge was never honored, leaving the community in a precarious position upon Myanmar’s independence in 1948.

The modern crisis began to solidify in 1982, when Myanmar enacted a citizenship law that explicitly excluded the Rohingya. While the state recognizes 135 distinct ethnic groups, the Rohingya are not among them. Following the transition to a military state in 1962, the government initiated various campaigns of exclusion and violence, such as 'Operation King Dragon' and 'Operation Clean and Beautiful Nation.' These efforts have included severe restrictions on movement, marriage, and birth control, alongside accusations of human rights abuses including mass arrests and the destruction of villages.

The situation escalated dramatically in 2017 after Rohingya militants attacked the Myanmar army, triggering a massive military crackdown. This led to a humanitarian catastrophe, with over 723,000 refugees fleeing to Bangladesh by August 2018. Many now reside in the Kutupalong refugee settlement, the largest of its kind globally. International bodies, including the United Nations and Amnesty International, have characterized the treatment of the Rohingya as ethnic cleansing and a 'dehumanizing apartheid regime,' highlighting the ongoing struggle of a people whose very name is rejected by the state that governs their ancestral home.

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