Banner Advertise

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Re: [chottala.com] JAMAT BRIBE BSF & INDIAN MEDIA !!!!!!!



Dear All
 
We should blame Jamat for all cyclone and floods in Bangladesh and credit BAL for the roosters call in the morning?
Those who do not want to see cannot be shown.
 
'You can fool some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, not all of the people all of the time'.
Abraham Lincon 16th President of the USA.
Best wishes in your endevour
Ataul Karim
(Free Thinker)

From: Muhammad Ali <manik195709@yahoo.com>
To:
Sent: Saturday, January 21, 2012 2:55 AM
Subject: [chottala.com] JAMAT BRIBE BSF & INDIAN MEDIA !!!!!!!

 
Vulnerable Jamat is very anxious now a days ! To survive as an organization and to disrupt the on going war crime trials , they are spending millions of dollars all over the world . Even BSF and Indian
media did not escape from their wide spread spending ! They are spending money for BORDER SHOOTING to fulfil the dirty politics . The latest beating of a Bangladeshi COW SMUGGLER is also a conspritual acts of the heinous JAMAT . They bribed both BSF and the Indian media to propagate this STAGED VIDEO drama to turnish the image of BD govt. and to create anti India atmosphere in BD.
 
Respectfully,
Dr. Manik




__._,_.___


[* Moderator�s Note - CHOTTALA is a non-profit, non-religious, non-political and non-discriminatory organization.

* Disclaimer: Any posting to the CHOTTALA are the opinion of the author. Authors of the messages to the CHOTTALA are responsible for the accuracy of their information and the conformance of their material with applicable copyright and other laws. Many people will read your post, and it will be archived for a very long time. The act of posting to the CHOTTALA indicates the subscriber's agreement to accept the adjudications of the moderator]




Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

Re: [chottala.com] AN ARTICLE ON THE FOILED COUP !!!!!!



Inefficient and dishonest politicians are not good people  they are creating in human disasters in Bangladesh and they are doing corruption they are creating money inflation money devaluation hiking high price everything   beyond the capacity of Bangladesh people. The Army of Bangladesh are good people of Bangladesh their duties are  to protect  Bangladesh and people of Bangladesh from external and internal enemy.



ssaini <shahadathussaini@hotmail.com>
To: Chottola yahoo <chottala@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, 22 January 2012 7:23 AM
Subject: RE: [chottala.com] AN ARTICLE ON THE FOILED COUP !!!!!!

 
Manik Roton, please read the following comments and give your comments on this.
 
1.
The last coup by General Moinuddin and Mr. Fakhruddin helped Sheikh Hasina immensely. These gentlemen served her very well and as a result, they were accorded a safe passage to the United States where they are now living comfortably. While the government is making an orchestrated and supposedly politically motivated International Tribunal to try a few opposition leaders in the name of the “crimes against humanity�, General Moinuddin and Mr. Fakhruddin are enjoying a good life in the United States. They have not been put on trial or implicated for their misdeeds into ruining Bangladesh during the 2 years of the military backed government.
2.
The government cannot be trusted with providing credible explanations to important issues and this report of a coup might also be an intelligence ploy and political posturing by a very weak and preposterous government.
3.
Strengthening relations with mighty neighbor India did not bring any dividends; rather woes. The perception is “Bangladesh gives and India takes�. While the Bangladeshi Prime Minister is getting pampered by the Indian authorities with all types of accolades, the vital sharing of water and other resources remain undermined. India appears to be sucking the air out of Bangladesh, subjugating it into a subservient vassal state while the Prime Minister gloats in self-aggrandizing glory.

 

To:
From: manik195709@yahoo.com
Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:47:38 -0800
Subject: [chottala.com] AN ARTICLE ON THE FOILED COUP !!!!!!

 

Amidst reports of a coup, I wonder what is left to trust

January 20, 2012 | Filed under: Opinions | Posted by: yazdan
By Jamaluddin Ahmed
 
The government of Bangladesh released news that a segment of the armed forces attempted a coup last week and advised the journalists not to spread fabricated news about this sensitive issue. It appeared to be a veiled threat to the news media not to spread and discuss the issue without government approval, and so far even foreign journalists are obeying the government directive.
 
Shortly after the present government took office, a massacre of unarmed army officers and families occurred in February of 2009. While the Prime Minister and all Chiefs of the forces were engaged in secret meetings, the killings were being perpetrated.  It was only after the killings were completed that the government emerged with plans for restoring order. Many in Bangladesh believe this was a planned action.
 
Many soldiers have been implicated in the mutiny. In jail, some witnesses died purportedly from heart attacks or something similar. Many in the media and the civil society do not subscribe to this explanation by the government.  They suspect severe torture preceded these witnesses’ deaths. The circumstances around that “mutinyâ€� appeared to have been fabricated by the administration. Therefore, it is doubtful if the government will really speak the truth about the current purported coup.
 
The current Bangladesh politics has been very destructive at best. Bangladesh claims to be a democratic country. Just having the people to vote does not define democracy. Participation of the people at all levels independently and transparently is what democracy is all about. Once any one of the two parties or alliances win elections, they immediately entrench into consolidating power using all available means including ancillary thuggish organizations like their student wings. This is getting worse every year. With the present trend, the Bangladeshi people cannot expect any single ray of hope in pursuit of happiness, prosperity and a life of quiet enjoyment. Intimidations by the ruling parties make people more nervous by the day.
 
Economy is in shambles. The fraudsters in the stock market have ruined investors’ confidence. Government borrowing is at record levels, and the currency is getting weaker. Buying electricity from private vendors at high prices and then selling to the consumers at half the cost is going to ruin the future of the country. They are trying to dazzle the electorates by fulfilling their election manifesto and achieving these goals by simply printing money to pay their bills. It is suspected that the Bangladesh currency may exceed 100 takas to a U.S. dollar soon, if that is any comfort to anyone.
 
Strengthening relations with mighty neighbor India did not bring any dividends; rather woes. The perception is “Bangladesh gives and India takes�. While the Bangladeshi Prime Minister is getting pampered by the Indian authorities with all types of accolades, the vital sharing of water and other resources remain undermined. India appears to be sucking the air out of Bangladesh, subjugating it into a subservient vassal state while the Prime Minister gloats in self-aggrandizing glory.
 
The last coup by General Moinuddin and Mr. Fakhruddin helped Sheikh Hasina immensely. These gentlemen served her very well and as a result, they were accorded a safe passage to the United States where they are now living comfortably. While the government is making an orchestrated and supposedly politically motivated International Tribunal to try a few opposition leaders in the name of the “crimes against humanity�, General Moinuddin and Mr. Fakhruddin are enjoying a good life in the United States. They have not been put on trial or implicated for their misdeeds into ruining Bangladesh during the 2 years of the military backed government.
 
The government cannot be trusted with providing credible explanations to important issues and this report of a coup might also be an intelligence ploy and political posturing by a very weak and preposterous government.

Related Posts :






__._,_.___


[* Moderator�s Note - CHOTTALA is a non-profit, non-religious, non-political and non-discriminatory organization.

* Disclaimer: Any posting to the CHOTTALA are the opinion of the author. Authors of the messages to the CHOTTALA are responsible for the accuracy of their information and the conformance of their material with applicable copyright and other laws. Many people will read your post, and it will be archived for a very long time. The act of posting to the CHOTTALA indicates the subscriber's agreement to accept the adjudications of the moderator]




Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

[chottala.com] Re: [notun_bangladesh] BANGLADESH'S AMBASSADOR TO BURMA , CHAKMA MILIT ARY GENERAL, AN AL POLITICAL APPOINTEE



Why creating a position of Vice President, where President has no practical power to execute, President acts as the HMV(His Masters Voice) of the Prime Minister.
Bangladesh's President has two main duty (1) Receive the credentials of Foreign Ambassadors and Attend State Funerals. and read government given success story in the Parliament. Where we have no power for President why we need another Vice President. Rather Bangladesh urgently needs a Deputy Prime Minister, If anything happens to the Prime Minister who will take care of the nation, Speaker or Deputy leader of the house ?
yes,  I agree a Hindu can be appointed Deputy Prime Minister or President of the republic. Will secular Hasina impliment that remains to be seen. If she can't do this chsange with two third majority in the Parliament no other party in power will do that. But interestingly Bangladeshi Hindu leaders specially Suronjeet Babu or Goyesshar Roy still not demanding this change.


---------- Original Message ----------
From: Abid Bahar <abid.bahar@gmail.com>
To: Mohiuddin Anwar <mohiuddin@netzero.net>
Cc: shahadathussaini@hotmail.com, shahanara.rahman@yahoo.com,  chottala@yahoogroups.com, nuromor@yahoo.com, hasimnur26@yahoo.ca,  jukhan@gmail.com, bd_journalists@yahoogroups.com, bd_mailer@yahoo.com,  zoglul@hotmail.co.uk, farukbd5@yahoo.com, rohingya@asia.com,  rohingyagermany@yahoo.com, jaro_japan@yahoo.com, aungparis@yahoo.com,  dg@arunion.org, brauae@gmail.com, yarakani@yahoo.co.uk,  rahajedcanada@gmail.com, brca99@yahoo.com.au, asarkani@gmail.com,  htwenu@gmail.com, Rohingya1@groups.facebook.com, modzaman@gmail.com
Subject: Re: [notun_bangladesh] BANGLADESH'S AMBASSADOR TO BURMA , CHAKMA MILIT ARY GENERAL, AN AL POLITICAL APPOINTEE
Date: Sat, 21 Jan 2012 17:14:07 -0500

Mr Mohiuddin,
It is not about religion but about Bangladesh's security issue in that region.
By the way after her recent Burma visit, Hasina, the PM without showing no reason removed Mr. Chaka as the ambassador to Burma. 
I agree with you, Bangladesh is a secular country, to appoint a Hindu Bangladeshi for Nepal is a great Idea and true Bangladesh should even have a vice president chosen from Hindu community but Burma's case is different and Mr. Chakma has a bad track record about his personal contacts with rebels.Hasina should have known that.  In addition, on Rohingya refugee matters Burma is technically at war with Bangladesh. Not long ago, it was reported that some Rakhine terrorist groups with arms were arrested from Chakma and Marma areas one in a buddhist temple and you know tribal groups  leading among them the Chakmas are in rebellion against the Bangladesh government. The tribals even wish to seperate Chittagong Hill Tracts from Bangladesh.
This Chakma traveler ( the reporter who didn't mention his name for some mysterious reason however mentioned the Chakma ambasadore's name and it is clear that the traveler was on a mission to make some secret contacts.
 Those people who are knowledgeable about what is happening in Chittagong Hill Tracts and in Arakan would prefer to send Mr. Chakma to a Buddhist country such as Cambodia, Laos, Thailand or even Bhutan or in any other country even to Saudi Arabia.
 On record India never appointed an Indian Muslim to Pakistan or Bangladesh; If it does, it will do a through check up of the person's background. We are now curious to know what prompted Hasina to cancel Major General Chaka's appointment!

On Sat, Jan 21, 2012 at 3:41 PM, Mohiuddin Anwar <mohiuddin@netzero.net> wrote:
Bangladesh should appoint a Hindu as High Commissioner to India. Sri Shtitangshu Guho of  Unity Council is a good candidate, I recommed him strongly to Jononetri 'Bharotbondhu' Hasina.
If we can appoint a Hindu Professor Nim Chadra Bhoumik a senior leader od Hindu Bouddha Christian unity c as Ambassador to Nepal (the only Hindu state outside India.
FYI India always appoint Muslim Ambassador to Islams holiest place Saudi Arabia and that is most appropriate I believe.
India also appoint either President or Vice President from Muslim commuinity, Why secular Bangladesh can't do that ?


---------- Original Message ----------
From: Abid Bahar <abid.bahar@gmail.com>
To: chottala@yahoogroups.com,  notun Bangladesh <notun_bangladesh@yahoogroups.com>, abid bahar <abid.bahar@gmail.com>,  Nurul Islam <nuromor@yahoo.com>, Nur Hasim <hasimnur26@yahoo.ca>,  Jalal Uddin Khan <jukhan@gmail.com>, bd_journalists@yahoogroups.com,  Isha Khan <bd_mailer@yahoo.com>, Zoglul Husain <zoglul@hotmail.co.uk>,  Faruk Ahmed <farukbd5@yahoo.com>, "Mr. Ronnie KSA" <rohingya@asia.com>,  Hussain Azmi <rohingyagermany@yahoo.com>,  ARAKAN ROHINGYA ORGANIZATION-JAPAN <jaro_japan@yahoo.com>, Hla Aung <aungparis@yahoo.com>,  "Dr. Wakar Uddin" <dg@arunion.org>, "Dr. Mohammed Ali UAE" <brauae@gmail.com>,  "Dr. Mohammed Yonus" <yarakani@yahoo.co.uk>, rashid ahmed <rahajedcanada@gmail.com>,  BRCA Australia <brca99@yahoo.com.au>, "Anwar S. Arkani" <asarkani@gmail.com>, Yasmine Ara <htwenu@gmail.com>,  Rohingya1@groups.facebook.com, modzaman@gmail.com
Subject: [notun_bangladesh] BANGLADESH'S AMBASSADOR TO BURMA , CHAKMA MILITARY GENERAL, AN AL POLITICAL APPOINTEE
Date: Sat, 21 Jan 2012 00:22:35 -0500

 

BANGLADESH'S AMBASSADOR TO BURMA IS A CHAKMA GENERAL, AN AL POLITICAL APPOINTEE

Bangladesh's ambassadore to Burma is a Chakma army personnel, an AL political appointee. It is a good idea to appoint people from minority background, but he seemes to have been working against Bangladesh interest. It appears that he sent a seperatist Chakma spy to find out about Arakan, perhaps to make contacts. The person (spy) for a mysterious reason doesn't give his name, like the Rakhines of Arakan finds Rohingyas as Bengalis (also the same called by the Rakhine Moghs). Like the Rakhine Moghs in his report he is also ignoring the centurie's of Rohingya Muslim past in Arakan. He also found similarities between the Rakhine and Chakmas of Bangladesh which is obvious but he finds them also politically similar which doesn't sound like a coincidence.

�The Visitor mentions at least highlights about the ambassador/ General. This is what Hasina is doing in appointing the ambassador (a political appointee) in a sensitive area like this where Bangladesh is as if in a state of war with Burma and separatist Chakmas are in rebellion with Bangladesh.� You will also notice in the description, there are army check posts to stop Rohingya and foreigner's movement. It is also noticeable that the Chakma man (visitor) was not allowed to visit Buthidong, the Rohingya area (where Rohingya genocide is taking place and Rakhine Moghs are reported to use some local and migrated Chakmas to carry out oppressions on the Rohingyas.)�

Hasina's government is also anti Rohingya and it is reported by the local NGOs that lately, the AL govt doesn't give clearance to the suffering Rohingya refugees in camps selected for resettlement in the West. We wonder who controls Bangladesh!

--------------------------------------------------------------

Please find below

(A Chakma) Account of Arakan

A Chakma girl on boat on Lemro river
 

I had been on a short visit to Arakan aka Rakhine state of Burma in January 2011. Rakhine state is home to more than 80,000 Chakmas. They mainly live in the northern part of the state near the borders of Bangladesh and India. The area is sensitive to the Burmese government and most of it is not accessible to the foreigners.

Yangon-Sittwe Flight

On 22 January 2011 I boarded a plane at 2:30pm at Yangon Airport bound for Sittwe. The Air Bagan flight was an hour late. But I was not overly worried about the delay. I was rather glad that finally I was going to Rakhine state. A year and half ago in August 2009 I came to Yangon to visit Rakhine state. But I had to abandon the trip due to bad weather. This time the weather is pleasant. I arrived in Yangon 2 days ago on 20 January 2011. Next day on 21st January I went out to meet my friends who were either from Rakhine state or had lived there for many years. My friends in Yangon gave me a list of Chakma villages in northern Rakhine. My initial plan was to visit Mrauk U. But my friends insisted I must visit Buthidaung.

The Air Bagan plane was a turbo prop aircraft. The plane flew low over the Irrawaddy delta and then headed north along the Rakhine coast. On the right hand side was the mountains of Rakhine Yoma and on the left was the Bay of Bengal. Even from the air the mountains of Rakhine Yoma looked mighty and indomitable. Until 1996 there was no road link between Burma proper and Rakhine state. Even from the air one can appreciate the hardship of building road across the mountains. Many rivers and streams originate from Rakhine Yoma. The flat plain of the coast is a labyrinth of rivers, canals and bays. After 1:45 hours of scenic flight we arrived at Sittwe Airport.

Sittwe

Sittwe is surrounded by murky water on 3 sides. Like many other Myanmar cities, Sittwe is dotted with bell shaped golden pagodas. There was one huge pagoda between the airport and the city. The city is only 3 km from the airport. I hired a taxi to go to the city. Soon after I checked into the hotel I went out to explore the city. The city is smaller than I expected. The mouths of Kaladan and Lemro rivers formed a huge bay and harbour just east of Sittwe. The harbour is much bigger than Chittagong, but there were not many ocean going ships. The land has very low elevation from the sea and there was no high ground where people could take refuge in case of tsunami or cyclone. 30% of the population is Bengali aka Rohingya. The city has a relaxed atmosphere where Rakhine girls ride on bikes and roam around without any fear.

Freedom Fighter

At dusk I went to the Strand Road like many Sittwe residents to enjoy the sea breeze. At foreshore an Indian company was building an all weather jetty to transport goods between Kolkata and Mizoram via the Kaladan River. Almost all labourers were Bengalis aka Rohingyas. I asked a group of about 6 Rakhine men why there was no Rakhine among the labourers. One of them spoke in clear English and told me that no Rakhine would work for $2 a day. Rohingyas were undercutting the labour market and the Indian company was happy to exploit it. He told me that he was from Teknaf of Bangladesh and he migrated to Rakhine state 21 years ago in 1990. His name is Mr. T. He was a freedom fighter during the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971. After the liberation war he realized that Rakhine people had no security in Bangladesh. After the birth of his eldest daughter he decided to migrate to Rakhine state of Myanmar.

Attempt to Reach Buthidaung

On 23rd January 2011, at 2:00pm I went to the ferry terminal to board a boat bound for Buthidaung. The ferry operator could speak very good English and he assured me that I could go to Buthidaung. Then he left me at the ticket counter to buy a ticket. He went to a police check post to re-confirm that there was no restriction for foreigners. I almost bought a ticket. The ferry operator came back with 2 police officers. One of them was uniformed and the other was in plain cloth. None of them could speak English. The ferry operator acted as an interpreter. They asked me why I wanted to visit Buthidaung. I told them I wanted to meet a friend. They asked what his name was. I could not remember the name, so I showed them the name written by my friend in Yangon. Finally they told me that I would not be allowed to visit Buthidaung.

Maramagyi aka Barua Family

I decided to go to Mrauk U next day on 24th January 2011. In the mean time I had to kill time and went to the golden pagoda between the airport and city. In the pagoda I met an Indian looking lady with 3 children. I thought they might be Baruas. The Baruas are known as Maramagyis in Rakhine state. How did the Baruas acquire a strange sounding name? I don�t know. They are one of the 135 recognized ethnic groups in Myanmar. I asked them whether they could speak Bengali. They could not speak any Bengali. Maramagyis are completely assimilated into the Rakhine culture.

Rohingya Trishaw Driver

It was dusk. I hailed a trishaw to go back to the hotel. The trishaw driver wore a hat and had fair complexion. I asked him whether he was a Rakhine. He was a Rohingya aka Bengali. Because he could not speak English, I spoke with him in Chittagong dialect. I asked him whether he was happy living in Burma. He told me living in the Mogh (or Magh) country was like living in prison. The Rohingyas refer to Rakhines as Moghs. I asked him whether he had ever tried to escape. He told me he escaped to Bangladesh twice. But both time he was caught by the Bangladeshi border guards and sent back to Myanmar.

Sittwe Bazaar

In the morning of 24th January 2011, I went to Sittwe bazaar with Mr. T. The bazaar was divided into different sections for rice, jewellery, hardware, dry fish etc. I saw many imported goods from Bangladesh like water containers, Bata shoes etc. Most of the businesses are owned by the Rakhines. Mr. T. introduced me with a businessman by the name of Mr. Hlaing. Mr. Hlaing extensively travels northern Rakhine. Chakmas or Shaks as he calls them are his main clients. He sells shrimp paste and dry fish to the Shaks or Chakmas of northern Rakhine and only way to reach them is on foot.

Kaladan River

The boat for Mrauk U departed Sittwe terminal at 3:00 pm on 24th January 2011. Every port or terminal in Rakhine state has a police check post. Their job is to make sure that foreigners do not venture into restricted areas and Rohingyas do not travel from one port to another without permission. The Kaladan River at Sittwe is huge and rather looked like sea. It might be very dangerous to travel during the monsoon. The land surrounding the Kaladan River is mostly flat with very low elevation. However there are some scattered hills. The lofty mountains of the Rakhine Yoma are visible in the distant horizon. After about 1 hour of travel, the boat enters a stretch of river where it looks more like river with visible banks on both sides. There are Rakhine villages on the bank of the river. Kaladan is one of many rivers that crisscross Rakhine state. The boat arrived at Mrauk U port at 6:00 pm. A member of hotel staff was waiting for me at the port.

Mrauk U

Mrauk U (also spelled Mrauk Oo) was the capital of Rakhine Kingdom from 1433 to 1784. Rakhine royals built temples and pagodas to earn merit. Mrauk U is a tourist destination for these ancient temples. Mrauk U period of 1433-1784 was the most glorious period in Rakhine history. From Mrauk U, the Rakhine kings used to control half of modern day Bangladesh including Dhaka and Chittagong. They had the most formidable navy in the region. The Rakhine navy controlled the waters from the Gulf of Martaban to the Bay of Bengal. In Bengali language 'Mogh' or 'Magh' is almost synonymous with pirate. Rakhines were the finest sailors. In 1666, the Rakhine Kingdom suffered a serious setback after it lost Chittagong to the Mughals. Rakhine Kingdom lost nearly 200,000 soldiers in the battle. Rakhine Kingdom was weakened by the loss of large number of men. The Rakhine kings could have encouraged high birth rate to recover manpower. Yet the Rakhine kings did nothing to recover manpower. Instead there was bitter infighting. A hundred years later, when the Burmese army attacked the kingdom the Rakhine army was hopelessly outnumbered. The kingdom fell to the Burmese in 1784. There were many Rakhine refugees who fled to Chittagong then a British territory. British had to intervene and in the 1st Anglo-Burmese war of 1824-1826, Burma lost the territory to British. The British brought many Bengalis farm labourers from the neighbouring Chittagong without taking into account cultural difference and long term consequence. The descendents of the Bengali labourers later adopted the Rohingya identity as if to deny their Chittagong Bengali root and claim Rakhine root.

Search of Chakma Village

In the morning of 25th January 2011, I hired a bicycle from the hotel and went on to explore Mrauk U's ancient temples. After visiting 4 or 5 temples, I decided to find out the Chakma villages near Mrauk U. I asked a young tourist guide about the Daignet villages. But he could not tell me, it might be due to my pronunciation. The Rakhines know the Chakmas as Daignets. Frustrated, I headed to the Mrauk U bazaar. I saw 6 men and women in their 30s were basking in front of a shop. I opened the list given to me by my friends in Yangon and asked them whether they knew the villages in the list. One of them told me he knew some villages and one of them by the name of Nankya was only 4 miles from Mrauk U. He told me the village was inhabited both by Rakhines and Daignets. I asked him whether he could take me there. He could take me there with his motor cycle, but he would charge me US $60. I decided I would go there myself with my bike. He dismissed my plan as impossible because of bad and unpaved road. Besides, he told me the people along the road and in the village do not speak English. I thanked him and told him that I might come back if I changed my mind. To be sure that Nankya was really 4 miles and was a Daignet village I went to a nearby restaurant. One of the girls in the restaurant could speak English and she told me that Nankya was 6 miles from Mrauk U and it was really a mixed village of Rakhines and Daignets. Immediately I decided to go there with my bicycle. It was 11:00am and very sunny day. I went to the bazaar and bought a hat. I set off for Nankya with my push bike and headed to the eastern exit of Mrauk U, because that was how the man showed me the direction of Nankya by waving his right hand to the east. Within the city perimeter and not far from the bazaar I met 2 Rohingya boys in their teens. I asked them in Chittagong dialect the direction of Nankya. They described in excellent detail how to reach Nankya. I asked them whether there were Chammos. They assured me there were indeed Chammos.

Maze of Names

Bengalis aka Rohingyas refer to Rakhines as Moghs and Chakmas as Chammos. The Rakhines refer to Rohingyas as Muslims and among themselves more derogatory term Kulas which literally mean blacks. The Rakhines refer to Chakmas of Rakhine state as Daignets which literally mean armoured warriors. They refer to Chakmas who live in hills for Jhum or shifting cultivation as Taungchongyas. They also use the generic term Shaks which includes the Chakmas, Taungchongyas and Daignets. The ethnic Burmans refer to Chakmas as Thit or Thet, however it should not be mistaken with a small tribe Thet in Rakhine state who number less than 500. The Baruas in Rakhine state are known as Maramagyi. They mainly live in the urban areas of Sittwe, Buthidaung and Maungdaw. The Kuki tribes in Rakhine state are known as Chin (pronounced Shin). The Kuki/Chin tribes in both Mizoram and Chin states are Christians. The same tribes in Rakhine state are exclusively Buddhists. The Tripuras in Rakhine state are known as Mros and they should not be mistaken with Murongs or Murungs of Chadigang aka CHT. The Tripuras of Tripura state are predominantly Hindus. The Mros or Tripuras of Rakhine state are predominantly Buddhists.

Bike ride to Nankya

I found the eastern exit of Mrauk U city and the road to Nankya. The road was unpaved and pebbled. It was very uncomfortable to ride bike on pebbled road. There were rice fields on both sides of the road. Occasionally there were agricultural tractors loaded with people, there were bull driven carts loaded with huge hay stacks as if I had gone back in time for many years. I met a Rohingya aka Bengali woman with few young children. I asked her in Chittagong dialect how far the Nankya village was. She told me it was another 4 miles. I asked her if there was police check post and if the police would stop me. She told me there was a police check post ahead after a bridge. She advised me not to stop at the check post, because if I did the police might prevent me from going beyond the bridge. After riding on bike for another two miles, I came across a Bengali aka Rohingya village named Paungdok. After the village I came across the bridge and the check post was on the left hand side of the road. Fortunately there was no sentry at the check post and there were 3 men in civilian clothes chatting on the right hand side of the road. After riding for another mile I arrived at Nankya village. At the beginning of the village, there was a fig tree on the right hand side of the road. There was a small Rakhine shop under the fig tree. I asked them in sign language where the Daignets were. They advised me to go further ahead and then turn left. I followed their instruction and after few more enquiries I found a group of 10 young men. They were playing pool or billiard type game under a shade. Half of them were Daignets aka Chakmas. I introduced myself to the Chakmas and told them the reason for my visit. They carried my bike and guided me to the front yard of a house.

Nankya

After riding on bike for an hour and travelling for 6 miles finally I found the village at 12:00 noon. They tried to gather as many villagers as possible. Some of them squatted on ground and some of them sat on traditional stools. We had discussion on various issues. I asked them the number of households in the village, their livelihood, their nearest school, their nearest hospital, the location of other Chakma villages in Mrauk U region etc. Nankya is a mixed village. Rakhines live in the northern half and Chakmas live in the southern half. There are 96 households in the southern half alone. The villagers of Nankya are mainly traders and farmers. Their village is located on the western bank of Lemro River. There are several Chakma villages on the eastern bank of the river. They mainly studied up to primary level in Burmese in the local primary school. They had 2 graduates, one of them was unemployed and the other was working as teacher in the local primary school. Their nearest hospitals are in Mrauk U and Myaungbwe. I asked them why they were so far away from the core Chakma population in Buthidaung. The answer I expected was nomadic life of jhum or shifting cultivation brought them there. The response I got was chilling. Soon after the British granted independence to Burma in 1948, there was a big riot between the Rohingyas aka Bengalis and the indigenous people in Buthidaung-Maungdaw area. The Rohingyas aka Bengalis did not want to live under Buddhist dominated Burma. They wanted a separate dominion or join Pakistan. The Rohingyas were armed and supported by their coreligionists of the British Indian Army. According to them half of the Chakma population vanished in that riot and they were forced out of their land. They had to leave behind their ancestral land in Buthidaung and settle in Lemro valley. What surprised me was the mutual ignorance, scant knowledge we had about them and they had about us. For example they don�t know the name of the current Chakma king. I told them it was Raja Devashish Roy.

I told them my desire to visit other Chakma villages on eastern bank of Lemro River. I would come back next day, hire a boat and visit other villages. They invited me to have lunch in their village next day. I told them that I would only eat vegetables with rice and no meat or fish should be cooked. I left Nankya for Mrauk U at 3:00 pm.

Mejelegung

On 26 January 2011, I went back to Nankya with the bike. I arrived there at 10:00 am. I had lunch in the village. The cooking style is very similar to ours. Vegetables are cooked in low heat with sprinkle of dry fish. The meal also included mashed green chilli and dry fish salad. After lunch we set off on boat for villages on the eastern bank. Unlike Kaladan which is saline up to Mrauk U, Lemro is a fresh water river. The water is unpolluted and moderately clean at Nankya. We headed north ward. There are mainly farms on the western bank. The eastern bank is interspersed with Rakhine, Chakma and Rohingya aka Bengali villages. There are also some mixed villages of Rakhines and Chakmas. Most of the fishermen in Lemro tend to be Rohingyas aka Bengalis. Religious conviction forbids Rakhines and Chakmas from fishing or hunting. Lemro originates in Chin state and its mouth is at the bay east of Sittwe. After about 45 minutes of boat ride we stopped at a village named Mejelegung. Lemro at Mejelegung is very clear and unpolluted. It had more than 100 households. There was another Chakma village east of Mejelegung and on the foothills of Rakhine Yoma. Just like in Nankya, the villagers gathered in the front of a house. The villagers are mainly farmers. We had discussion on various issues like where they sell their farm produce, what their total population was in Rakhine state etc. They mainly sell their farm produce in Mrauk U. They have only one graduate in the whole village and he is unemployed. On population they told me, a retired Chakma officer of the Burmese Army conducted an internal census 15 years ago in 1996 and the number returned 60,000. By now they are convinced the number had grown to at least 80,000. I saw large number of children in every Chakma village I had visited. Chakmas of Rakhine state have high birth rate. I am sure the number 80,000 is not only possible it's rather a conservative estimate. They asked me if I could bring Alaam or formula for making Chakma costume Pinon/Khadi in future visit. I found that all Chakma women wear sarong like Burmese dress Thami and men wear Lungi. Unlike in Tripura, Mizoram, Arunachal and Chadigang it�s very difficult to distinguish the Chakmas from the Rakhines.

Lappangung

After more than an hour at Mejelegung we set off for another village Lappangung. Just like Mejelegung, Lappangung is on the bank of Lemro and halfway between Mejelegung and Nankya. The village had 60 households. The villagers are mainly farmers. We had similar conversation like at Mejelegung. I was very amazed by the fact that we could still speak in the same language after many centuries of separation. However there are also some differences between their and our vocabularies. I was careful not to use Bengali words while speaking with them. They still use original Chakma words in numbering system. For example the number 21 is kuri ek not ekush, 96 is nobboi chhoi not chhia nobboi. Education is aagar not legha-para. Village is ruwa not aadam. After about an hour we left the village and arrived at Nankya around 5pm. I bade goodbye to my friends and left Nankya at 5:30pm. I wanted to return to Mrauk U while there was still day light.

Return to Sittwe and Yangon

I left Mrauk U at 7:30am on 27 January 2011. It was the same private boat that I used for my trip from Sittwe to Mrauk U. The boat arrived at Sittwe jetty at 10:30am. I went to the Air Bagan office to change my flight date from 29/01/2011 to 27/01/2011. I met my new friend Mr. T. the freedom fighter. We had discussion on various issues of Rakhine state. Later the merchant Mr. Hlaing who sells dry fish to Chakmas in northern Rakhine state also joined the discussion. My flight to Yangon was at 3:00pm. Mr. T. and his son accompanied and saw me off at the airport. I Arrived in Yangon at 5 pm. That evening I met my friend in Yangon and together we went to meet Gen. Anup K. Chakma, the Bangladesh's ambassador to Myanmar.

Conclusion

Chakmas of Chadigang and Rakhine state have been living under different dominions for more than 800 years. Long ago northern Rakhine state was part of the Chakma kingdom. The Chakma king lost the territory to the Rakhine king in 13th century AD and they became the subjects of Rakhine kingdom. After 8 centuries of separation we still speak the same language, profess the same religion and have the same food habit. It's a miracle that they did not assimilate into the Rakhine culture. Over the centuries their language did not remain static. They added many Rakhine and Burmese words just like we did many Bengali words. They retain many Chakma words we lost. They lost the skill to weave traditional Chakma clothes which we still retain. They are very interested to learn how to weave traditional Chakma clothes pinon, khadi and burgi. A cultural exchange will rejuvenate and benefit both communities.

Compared to Rakhines and Bengalis, the Chakmas are economically very backward. They excessively depend on agriculture for livelihood. They need to diversify their economy to transport, fishing, food processing etc. The Bengalis are the most discriminated community in Rakhine state, yet they control the transport, fishing and construction business. The Chakmas of Rakhine state need capital, guidance and 'can do' attitude in business.

Historically northern Rakhine state had always been highly contentious place. Chakmas of Rakhine state had suffered horrific violence, discrimination and neglect in the past. Underlying ethnic tension for the 1948 riot is still there. Underlying weakness that exposed the Chakmas to massacre in 1948 is still there. It's only a matter of time before conflict between competing parties flare up again. They need to rapidly build up their number. Numerical strength will give them the ability defend themselves, wield political influence and maintain vibrant culture. We will always wish them best.



On Wed, Jan 18, 2012 at 11:20 PM, Mohd. Abdul Matin <memory14@agni.com> wrote:

Dear Heartiest thanks to Dr. Abid and Ms. Sonia

 
for your generous deliveries on the historical aspects of Myanmar and other related matters. I learned much from you both. Actually for unknown reason, I do have an inquisitiveness on Myanmar and wish to visit this country any time in my life, possible.�
 
Thank you very much again for your efforts of offering such good information.�
 
Regards.
 
Dr. Mohd. Abdul Matin
General Secretary
Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA)
Dhaka�

 


On Tue, Jan 17, 2012 at 2:12 PM, Sonia Jahan <sonia_jahan@rocketmail.com> wrote:

 

Dear Dr. Abid,

Thank you very much for your scholarly write up on Arakan's history. Arakan is now under Myanmar (former Burma). As history tells, during medieval period of history of Bengal and pre-Moghul period of this sub-continent, greater Chittagong (including Hill Tracts districts up to Cox's Bazar) was the part of sovereign Arakanese empire. It was an affluent, rich kingdom. Ancestors or predecessors of many family in Chittagong at that time went to Arakan and Rangoon (Yangoon)for earning much before their successors went to Calcutta to change their lot. Our economic, cultural and political ties with the then Arakan were very strong and close. However, in course of time, Arakan was grabbed by Buddhist ruler of Burma and later, by Moghuls,as you have nicely narrated. In present perspective,rebuilding relation with Myanmar has been more important in view of dominating attitude of our DADA India- who surrounds us from three side our frontier lines. The previous government felt the priority and planned to connect the Asian Highway with the east side of Asia. Our present government have been doing boundlessly to appease India serving their economic interests; but in return, Dada has been showing their miserly attitude and a kind of apathy and antipathy towards our geo-econo-political interests. Arakan-now part of Myanmar is affluent in rice and livestock. Why our policymakers go for importing low quality of rice at higher price from India rather where there is an advantage of comparative costs in our eastern neighbours?
 
Giving all concessions to our Dada, we have not been able to fill our hands with anything from India. At last, our present Prime Minister also realized that fact and she made a crucial state visit to Myanmar at the end of last year.
 
Not only that, while the rich western part of the world is now gripped in recession and showing grim picture, the eastern part has already emerged as Tiger and thriving day by day.
 
People shut their doors to a setting sun. Why shouldn't we open to the rising frontier?
Let the sense dawn in us!
 
Thank you again, Sir.
Regards, Sonia.
 

Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 11:23 PM
Subject: [chottala.com] A Brief History of Arakan: From Kingdom to a Colony

A Brief History of Arakan: From Kingdom to a Colony
Abid Bahar PhD
On December 31st 2011, Arakanese Diaspora marked its 227th anniversary of the fall of the famous Arakanese medieval kingdom. Arakan's powerful kingdom was established by King Noromikhla. Arakanese nationals didn�t forget that�in 1784 Burmese king Budapaya sent a large army led by his son who mercilessly razed the city to ground and took away the Arakanes symbol of pride - the Mohamini to the Burmese heartland. It was a genocide pure and simple, it was also the end of a kingdom which was known far across the land upto Europe. It was a kingdom that was built by artisans that Noromikhla brought from Gour of Bengal. It was a liberal, civilized kingdom and its citizens prided themselves to be called as the citizens of the great Mrohaung city. The ruling people were known as the Moghs now Rakhine Mogh and others were called as the Kula (Hindus and Muslims) now Rohingya.
In our time, the splandor of Arakan, its people, glorious architects and foreign visitors were all gone, what is left is only its ruines and memories. Arakan continued to have its kingdom for centuries but the end was sudden. It first lost its colonies to the Moghuls then its heartland to the Burmese. The end came as if like a landslide. Till today Rakhine Moghs and Muslims ponder and eager to know why? What went wrong? Some blame that it was it�s lack of unity.
The beginning of the end came when Arakanese king assured the Govornor of Bengal Shah Suja to come to take assilum in Arakan but on his arrival seeing his immense wealth, and his young daughters he wanted to possess them. When Suja refused, the entire family and the associates were mercilessly killed�using axe. The Arakanese queen mother previously warned the king that this act might invite disaster on the kingdom. The king didn�t comply. The queen mother was a debout Buddhist and a historian who also knew that when the founder of the kingdom (Noromikhla) needed a shelter, it was Bengal where he was given a safe heaven. Not only that Bengali king helped Noromikhla to recover his kingdom twice, first by sending General Wali Khan then by General Sindhi Khan. She thought killing Shah Suja was a bad example set by the king.
The king also earned his fame for collecting revenue by piracy on lower Bengal with help from the Portuguage pirates. Moghul emporor Aurangozev wanted to bring an end to this illegal activities by the king. His forces driven the Mogh pirates out from lower Bengal.
The pirates came back home with their maruding holligan culture. Instead of a buddhist faith in nonviolence, anarchy and lawlessness and killing were brought�into its core cultural belief system. They found their scapegoat in the Muslim population. The Arakanes Moghs finding the end of piracy now engaged themselves in harming its nonbuddhist citizens. Thus began the Rohingya Muslim tragedy in Arakan. Alaol, the Arakanese Muslim poet had to escape Arakan to settle in�Chittagong during this period.
Beginning of the Rohingya influx to Bengal
---------------------------------------------------
�In the Arakanese society where Muslims use to be the king-makers now�after the return of the pirates, they are�seen as suspects and on a regular basis they were driven out of Arakan. Every year Muslims would migrate to Southern Chittagong to escape Mogher Upodrop (the lawlessness of the Moghs).
�This state of anarchy and the division in the Arakanese society was closely observed by the Burmese king across the Arakan Yoma. There were Mogh spies of Budapawa in whose alliance a date was set on the calender. It was December 31. 1784 AD�slated to bring�the end�to the�Arakanese kingdom. A large number of people both Buddhist, Hindus and Muslims fleed and took shelter in Chittagong. The invasion cost both the Buddhist and Muslims to lose their very own Arakanesekingdom. After the tragedy of Shah Suja and Burmese invasion of Arakan, the flow Mogh, Muslim and Hindu refugee movement continued to Chittagong and Chittagong Hill Tracts on one hand, on the other, Muslim migration to Arakan was brought to a complete hault.�Eversince Muslim population hardly wanted to settled in the "lawless Arakan." Even during the British period, beginning from 1824,�Arakan, the�deserted land of the Mogh and the�Muslims�while some people (Mogh and Muslims)�returned back to reposses their lands and others�simply preferred�to work as the "seasonal workers."�
In Arakan today, unlike king Noromikhla tolerance to diversity, the ultranationalist Rakhine Moghs using Islamphobia and a race card against the Rohingya people now triumped into power. Through propaganda in Arakan and Burma, Muslim Rohingyas were�made to believe as the�"illegal immigrants from Chittagong." There is only despare and there is no unity in the Arakanes civil society.�We collectively wonder�why?
In 2011, Ko Tin Wai, an organizer for the event of 227 anniversary of the lose of the kingdom said, "Arakan was a sovreign country�Since then, our people have fallen in one colony after another. Even though Burma regained independence in 1948, our land is s till a colony under Burmese rulers. Our people call it a hidden colony. Because of this, we came to in front of the UN building to demand decolonization of our land."
He said, "We have no right to use our own natural resources for our state development. The Burmese government sells the gas to China and there is not any reserve or revenue for our state. It is colonial-style exploitation by the Burmese government."
True,Burma is grabing�Arakanese land and natural resources and its Buddhist population helplessly wonder why.
�Ko Zar Ni, an Arakanese leader in Malaysia who led a ceremony in Kuala Lumpur, said, "The Burmese government has no concern for Arakan as a state of Burma and it rules our state as if it is a territory like a defeated colony because there is much discrimination and no equal rights. Because of this we need to fight unitedly against the imperialism practiced by Burma's central government.�
�U Pho Hla, chairman of the Arakan freedom movement, urged the people of Arakan to unite in fighting against the Burmese junta in order to reach the national goals of Arakan. He also remarked to attendees that Arakan lost its sovereignty in 1784 as a result of disunity among the Arakanese people, so Arakanese today must unite in achieving their goals. He added that without unity, "we can not achieve our goal."
In emphasizing�the Arakanese unity Arakan observers wonder, is it the unity within the Buddhist majority, or in the society in general? To bring unity among its people, Rakhine Moghs have lately changed their name from Mogh to Rakhine. They also unilaterally Changed Arakan�s historic names into Rakhine-Mogh sounding names. And every trace of Muslim names were removed. It was done as if there were no Muslim existence in Arakan. The Muslim Rohingyas are only foreigners or even "Influx Viruses." The existence of Muslim presence in names were removed such as Arakan, Akyab, Kaladan, Kalapanjar etc. Muslims in 1978, 1992-93 were exterminated in large numbers. Some historic mosques were razed to the ground. Historic sufi centres, Jamei mosques were turned into Burmese�military camps. Muslim man were restricted from movement, marriage and having children were restricted by law. In his article �The Burma I love� Aye Kyaw confessed that he convinced the Burmese military junta to officially declare the Arakanese Rohingya Muslims as non citizens of Burma.
While during the late medieval period,�Arakan ruled the Bay through alliance with the Portuguage to carry on slave trade, now in alliance with the much hated Burmese military it carries out the ethnic cleansing and genocide on the Rohingya people and grabbing their lands.
Contrary to its medieval time of glory and splendar, now the name Arakan has become notoriously famous for producing refugees. While Burmese military does the darty laundry for the ultranationalist Rakhine Moghs like Aye Kyaw, Aye Chan or Ashin Nayaka to exterminate the Rohingyas, the former finding no unity in the Arakanese society among its people, extracts its rich resources and takes it to Burma; it is as if Burma robs Arakanese Mohamuni repeatedly and will continue to do so for lack of unity among its people.
Historically speaking, mentioned earlier Arakan�s end came at the heel of a historic murder; a senseless killing, the�slaughter of Shah Suja and his family. Thus, Arakanese Buddhist people�s historic loss of their kingdom should not be blamed on the Burmese king but on the loss of Arakanese Buddhist�s supreme civilizational values (first established in Arakan by king Noromikhla) He wanted people to be gentle, kind to�their fellow�citizens, and to show�tolerance to differences. In not learning to gain the lost values, we wonder how much more is there for Arakan and its citizens to lose? A Rohingya deadbody of Rohingya boatpeople, flooting on the shore of Arakan, crows landing on it, Immum Ahamed in exile in a poem he wrote remembering the lose of his home and citizenship rights and reminacing the loss and his nostalgia to return back to his village and the prospect of it perhaps has the answer. Here Arakanese Buddhist majority will have to decide whether they would like to allow Immam Ahamed to return to his village, whether they would like to handover Aye Chan to the ICC like Maloslovick was handed over (by Servia) and make�a transition�in Arakan from a Mogher mulluk (lawless land of the Moghs) into a civilized, united Rakhine and Rohingya people�s Arakan! The international community aware of the ongoing genocide in Arakan is impatiently eager to know when those changes will be made!��
(Abid Bahar is a playright and a public speaker specializes in Burma, and teaches in Cannada)��


 

 

 

 

 

 

 



__._,_.___


[* Moderator's Note - CHOTTALA is a non-profit, non-religious, non-political and non-discriminatory organization.

* Disclaimer: Any posting to the CHOTTALA are the opinion of the author. Authors of the messages to the CHOTTALA are responsible for the accuracy of their information and the conformance of their material with applicable copyright and other laws. Many people will read your post, and it will be archived for a very long time. The act of posting to the CHOTTALA indicates the subscriber's agreement to accept the adjudications of the moderator]




Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

[chottala.com] BCCDI"s 7th Pitha Utshob, more exciting and more social involvement just 7 days ahead [2 Attachments]

[Attachment(s) from Mizanur Bhuiyan included below]

Dear

Community Folks and Pitha Lovers,

   

Please Come and enjoy the Taste of 

EXCLUSIVE PITHA MELA 

On 

SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 2012 

Time: 5-10:30 PM 

Chief Guest: His Excellency Ambassador Akramul Qader

 

*****Raffle Draw Attractions*****

Free Round Trip Ticket Washington DC to Dhaka on Qatar Airline

AND

Diamond Ring

 

West Springfield High School 

6100 Rolling Road, Springfield VA 22152 

 

For Stall and business Sponsor Contact

703-828-1952

Pitha-Utshob Sponsors: 

·            Dish Network

·            AQRA TRAVEL

·            HOME TOWN PROPERTIEWS LTD

·            DATA GROUP USA

·            FRONT TECH

·            WWW.BADRULKHAN.COM

·            PROFUND RADIANCE GROUP

·            ASR CORPORATION

·            DR. FAIZUL ISLAM/INARA ISLAM

·            MOZHARUL HAQUE

·            Attorney Sudeep Bose

·            Mohammad Ali- Nationwide insurance

·            NURUL AMIN

·            ABUL HOSSAIN

·            INAM HAQUE

  

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4kPoo2UGNw

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Teui_8kHa_0

http://www.dcbanglaschool.org/

 

MEDIA PARTNERS:

ATN BANGLA

&

WWW.NEWS-BANGLA.COM

 

                             Sincerely

                    Mizanur Bhuiyan

On behalf of BCCDI Board of Directors

            703-828-1952


Attachment(s) from Mizanur Bhuiyan

2 of 2 File(s)


__._,_.___


[* Moderator's Note - CHOTTALA is a non-profit, non-religious, non-political and non-discriminatory organization.

* Disclaimer: Any posting to the CHOTTALA are the opinion of the author. Authors of the messages to the CHOTTALA are responsible for the accuracy of their information and the conformance of their material with applicable copyright and other laws. Many people will read your post, and it will be archived for a very long time. The act of posting to the CHOTTALA indicates the subscriber's agreement to accept the adjudications of the moderator]




Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

[chottala.com] Re: [notun_bangladesh] BANGLADESH'S AMBASSADOR TO BURMA , CHAKMA MILIT ARY GENERAL, AN AL POLITICAL APPOINTEE



Mr Mohiuddin,
It is not about religion but about Bangladesh's security issue in that region.
By the way after her recent Burma visit, Hasina, the PM without showing no reason removed Mr. Chaka as the ambassador to Burma. 
I agree with you, Bangladesh is a secular country, to appoint a Hindu Bangladeshi for Nepal is a great Idea and true Bangladesh should even have a vice president chosen from Hindu community but Burma's case is different and Mr. Chakma has a bad track record about his personal contacts with rebels.Hasina should have known that.  In addition, on Rohingya refugee matters Burma is technically at war with Bangladesh. Not long ago, it was reported that some Rakhine terrorist groups with arms were arrested from Chakma and Marma areas one in a buddhist temple and you know tribal groups  leading among them the Chakmas are in rebellion against the Bangladesh government. The tribals even wish to seperate Chittagong Hill Tracts from Bangladesh.
This Chakma traveler ( the reporter who didn't mention his name for some mysterious reason however mentioned the Chakma ambasadore's name and it is clear that the traveler was on a mission to make some secret contacts.
 Those people who are knowledgeable about what is happening in Chittagong Hill Tracts and in Arakan would prefer to send Mr. Chakma to a Buddhist country such as Cambodia, Laos, Thailand or even Bhutan or in any other country even to Saudi Arabia.
 On record India never appointed an Indian Muslim to Pakistan or Bangladesh; If it does, it will do a through check up of the person's background. We are now curious to know what prompted Hasina to cancel Major General Chaka's appointment!

On Sat, Jan 21, 2012 at 3:41 PM, Mohiuddin Anwar <mohiuddin@netzero.net> wrote:
Bangladesh should appoint a Hindu as High Commissioner to India. Sri Shtitangshu Guho of  Unity Council is a good candidate, I recommed him strongly to Jononetri 'Bharotbondhu' Hasina.
If we can appoint a Hindu Professor Nim Chadra Bhoumik a senior leader od Hindu Bouddha Christian unity c as Ambassador to Nepal (the only Hindu state outside India.
FYI India always appoint Muslim Ambassador to Islams holiest place Saudi Arabia and that is most appropriate I believe.
India also appoint either President or Vice President from Muslim commuinity, Why secular Bangladesh can't do that ?


---------- Original Message ----------
From: Abid Bahar <abid.bahar@gmail.com>
To: chottala@yahoogroups.com,  notun Bangladesh <notun_bangladesh@yahoogroups.com>, abid bahar <abid.bahar@gmail.com>,  Nurul Islam <nuromor@yahoo.com>, Nur Hasim <hasimnur26@yahoo.ca>,  Jalal Uddin Khan <jukhan@gmail.com>, bd_journalists@yahoogroups.com,  Isha Khan <bd_mailer@yahoo.com>, Zoglul Husain <zoglul@hotmail.co.uk>,  Faruk Ahmed <farukbd5@yahoo.com>, "Mr. Ronnie KSA" <rohingya@asia.com>,  Hussain Azmi <rohingyagermany@yahoo.com>,  ARAKAN ROHINGYA ORGANIZATION-JAPAN <jaro_japan@yahoo.com>, Hla Aung <aungparis@yahoo.com>,  "Dr. Wakar Uddin" <dg@arunion.org>, "Dr. Mohammed Ali UAE" <brauae@gmail.com>,  "Dr. Mohammed Yonus" <yarakani@yahoo.co.uk>, rashid ahmed <rahajedcanada@gmail.com>,  BRCA Australia <brca99@yahoo.com.au>, "Anwar S. Arkani" <asarkani@gmail.com>, Yasmine Ara <htwenu@gmail.com>,  Rohingya1@groups.facebook.com, modzaman@gmail.com
Subject: [notun_bangladesh] BANGLADESH'S AMBASSADOR TO BURMA , CHAKMA MILITARY GENERAL, AN AL POLITICAL APPOINTEE
Date: Sat, 21 Jan 2012 00:22:35 -0500

 

BANGLADESH'S AMBASSADOR TO BURMA IS A CHAKMA GENERAL, AN AL POLITICAL APPOINTEE

Bangladesh's ambassadore to Burma is a Chakma army personnel, an AL political appointee. It is a good idea to appoint people from minority background, but he seemes to have been working against Bangladesh interest. It appears that he sent a seperatist Chakma spy to find out about Arakan, perhaps to make contacts. The person (spy) for a mysterious reason doesn't give his name, like the Rakhines of Arakan finds Rohingyas as Bengalis (also the same called by the Rakhine Moghs). Like the Rakhine Moghs in his report he is also ignoring the centurie's of Rohingya Muslim past in Arakan. He also found similarities between the Rakhine and Chakmas of Bangladesh which is obvious but he finds them also politically similar which doesn't sound like a coincidence.

�The Visitor mentions at least highlights about the ambassador/ General. This is what Hasina is doing in appointing the ambassador (a political appointee) in a sensitive area like this where Bangladesh is as if in a state of war with Burma and separatist Chakmas are in rebellion with Bangladesh.� You will also notice in the description, there are army check posts to stop Rohingya and foreigner's movement. It is also noticeable that the Chakma man (visitor) was not allowed to visit Buthidong, the Rohingya area (where Rohingya genocide is taking place and Rakhine Moghs are reported to use some local and migrated Chakmas to carry out oppressions on the Rohingyas.)�

Hasina's government is also anti Rohingya and it is reported by the local NGOs that lately, the AL govt doesn't give clearance to the suffering Rohingya refugees in camps selected for resettlement in the West. We wonder who controls Bangladesh!

--------------------------------------------------------------

Please find below

(A Chakma) Account of Arakan

A Chakma girl on boat on Lemro river
 

I had been on a short visit to Arakan aka Rakhine state of Burma in January 2011. Rakhine state is home to more than 80,000 Chakmas. They mainly live in the northern part of the state near the borders of Bangladesh and India. The area is sensitive to the Burmese government and most of it is not accessible to the foreigners.

Yangon-Sittwe Flight

On 22 January 2011 I boarded a plane at 2:30pm at Yangon Airport bound for Sittwe. The Air Bagan flight was an hour late. But I was not overly worried about the delay. I was rather glad that finally I was going to Rakhine state. A year and half ago in August 2009 I came to Yangon to visit Rakhine state. But I had to abandon the trip due to bad weather. This time the weather is pleasant. I arrived in Yangon 2 days ago on 20 January 2011. Next day on 21st January I went out to meet my friends who were either from Rakhine state or had lived there for many years. My friends in Yangon gave me a list of Chakma villages in northern Rakhine. My initial plan was to visit Mrauk U. But my friends insisted I must visit Buthidaung.

The Air Bagan plane was a turbo prop aircraft. The plane flew low over the Irrawaddy delta and then headed north along the Rakhine coast. On the right hand side was the mountains of Rakhine Yoma and on the left was the Bay of Bengal. Even from the air the mountains of Rakhine Yoma looked mighty and indomitable. Until 1996 there was no road link between Burma proper and Rakhine state. Even from the air one can appreciate the hardship of building road across the mountains. Many rivers and streams originate from Rakhine Yoma. The flat plain of the coast is a labyrinth of rivers, canals and bays. After 1:45 hours of scenic flight we arrived at Sittwe Airport.

Sittwe

Sittwe is surrounded by murky water on 3 sides. Like many other Myanmar cities, Sittwe is dotted with bell shaped golden pagodas. There was one huge pagoda between the airport and the city. The city is only 3 km from the airport. I hired a taxi to go to the city. Soon after I checked into the hotel I went out to explore the city. The city is smaller than I expected. The mouths of Kaladan and Lemro rivers formed a huge bay and harbour just east of Sittwe. The harbour is much bigger than Chittagong, but there were not many ocean going ships. The land has very low elevation from the sea and there was no high ground where people could take refuge in case of tsunami or cyclone. 30% of the population is Bengali aka Rohingya. The city has a relaxed atmosphere where Rakhine girls ride on bikes and roam around without any fear.

Freedom Fighter

At dusk I went to the Strand Road like many Sittwe residents to enjoy the sea breeze. At foreshore an Indian company was building an all weather jetty to transport goods between Kolkata and Mizoram via the Kaladan River. Almost all labourers were Bengalis aka Rohingyas. I asked a group of about 6 Rakhine men why there was no Rakhine among the labourers. One of them spoke in clear English and told me that no Rakhine would work for $2 a day. Rohingyas were undercutting the labour market and the Indian company was happy to exploit it. He told me that he was from Teknaf of Bangladesh and he migrated to Rakhine state 21 years ago in 1990. His name is Mr. T. He was a freedom fighter during the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971. After the liberation war he realized that Rakhine people had no security in Bangladesh. After the birth of his eldest daughter he decided to migrate to Rakhine state of Myanmar.

Attempt to Reach Buthidaung

On 23rd January 2011, at 2:00pm I went to the ferry terminal to board a boat bound for Buthidaung. The ferry operator could speak very good English and he assured me that I could go to Buthidaung. Then he left me at the ticket counter to buy a ticket. He went to a police check post to re-confirm that there was no restriction for foreigners. I almost bought a ticket. The ferry operator came back with 2 police officers. One of them was uniformed and the other was in plain cloth. None of them could speak English. The ferry operator acted as an interpreter. They asked me why I wanted to visit Buthidaung. I told them I wanted to meet a friend. They asked what his name was. I could not remember the name, so I showed them the name written by my friend in Yangon. Finally they told me that I would not be allowed to visit Buthidaung.

Maramagyi aka Barua Family

I decided to go to Mrauk U next day on 24th January 2011. In the mean time I had to kill time and went to the golden pagoda between the airport and city. In the pagoda I met an Indian looking lady with 3 children. I thought they might be Baruas. The Baruas are known as Maramagyis in Rakhine state. How did the Baruas acquire a strange sounding name? I don�t know. They are one of the 135 recognized ethnic groups in Myanmar. I asked them whether they could speak Bengali. They could not speak any Bengali. Maramagyis are completely assimilated into the Rakhine culture.

Rohingya Trishaw Driver

It was dusk. I hailed a trishaw to go back to the hotel. The trishaw driver wore a hat and had fair complexion. I asked him whether he was a Rakhine. He was a Rohingya aka Bengali. Because he could not speak English, I spoke with him in Chittagong dialect. I asked him whether he was happy living in Burma. He told me living in the Mogh (or Magh) country was like living in prison. The Rohingyas refer to Rakhines as Moghs. I asked him whether he had ever tried to escape. He told me he escaped to Bangladesh twice. But both time he was caught by the Bangladeshi border guards and sent back to Myanmar.

Sittwe Bazaar

In the morning of 24th January 2011, I went to Sittwe bazaar with Mr. T. The bazaar was divided into different sections for rice, jewellery, hardware, dry fish etc. I saw many imported goods from Bangladesh like water containers, Bata shoes etc. Most of the businesses are owned by the Rakhines. Mr. T. introduced me with a businessman by the name of Mr. Hlaing. Mr. Hlaing extensively travels northern Rakhine. Chakmas or Shaks as he calls them are his main clients. He sells shrimp paste and dry fish to the Shaks or Chakmas of northern Rakhine and only way to reach them is on foot.

Kaladan River

The boat for Mrauk U departed Sittwe terminal at 3:00 pm on 24th January 2011. Every port or terminal in Rakhine state has a police check post. Their job is to make sure that foreigners do not venture into restricted areas and Rohingyas do not travel from one port to another without permission. The Kaladan River at Sittwe is huge and rather looked like sea. It might be very dangerous to travel during the monsoon. The land surrounding the Kaladan River is mostly flat with very low elevation. However there are some scattered hills. The lofty mountains of the Rakhine Yoma are visible in the distant horizon. After about 1 hour of travel, the boat enters a stretch of river where it looks more like river with visible banks on both sides. There are Rakhine villages on the bank of the river. Kaladan is one of many rivers that crisscross Rakhine state. The boat arrived at Mrauk U port at 6:00 pm. A member of hotel staff was waiting for me at the port.

Mrauk U

Mrauk U (also spelled Mrauk Oo) was the capital of Rakhine Kingdom from 1433 to 1784. Rakhine royals built temples and pagodas to earn merit. Mrauk U is a tourist destination for these ancient temples. Mrauk U period of 1433-1784 was the most glorious period in Rakhine history. From Mrauk U, the Rakhine kings used to control half of modern day Bangladesh including Dhaka and Chittagong. They had the most formidable navy in the region. The Rakhine navy controlled the waters from the Gulf of Martaban to the Bay of Bengal. In Bengali language 'Mogh' or 'Magh' is almost synonymous with pirate. Rakhines were the finest sailors. In 1666, the Rakhine Kingdom suffered a serious setback after it lost Chittagong to the Mughals. Rakhine Kingdom lost nearly 200,000 soldiers in the battle. Rakhine Kingdom was weakened by the loss of large number of men. The Rakhine kings could have encouraged high birth rate to recover manpower. Yet the Rakhine kings did nothing to recover manpower. Instead there was bitter infighting. A hundred years later, when the Burmese army attacked the kingdom the Rakhine army was hopelessly outnumbered. The kingdom fell to the Burmese in 1784. There were many Rakhine refugees who fled to Chittagong then a British territory. British had to intervene and in the 1st Anglo-Burmese war of 1824-1826, Burma lost the territory to British. The British brought many Bengalis farm labourers from the neighbouring Chittagong without taking into account cultural difference and long term consequence. The descendents of the Bengali labourers later adopted the Rohingya identity as if to deny their Chittagong Bengali root and claim Rakhine root.

Search of Chakma Village

In the morning of 25th January 2011, I hired a bicycle from the hotel and went on to explore Mrauk U's ancient temples. After visiting 4 or 5 temples, I decided to find out the Chakma villages near Mrauk U. I asked a young tourist guide about the Daignet villages. But he could not tell me, it might be due to my pronunciation. The Rakhines know the Chakmas as Daignets. Frustrated, I headed to the Mrauk U bazaar. I saw 6 men and women in their 30s were basking in front of a shop. I opened the list given to me by my friends in Yangon and asked them whether they knew the villages in the list. One of them told me he knew some villages and one of them by the name of Nankya was only 4 miles from Mrauk U. He told me the village was inhabited both by Rakhines and Daignets. I asked him whether he could take me there. He could take me there with his motor cycle, but he would charge me US $60. I decided I would go there myself with my bike. He dismissed my plan as impossible because of bad and unpaved road. Besides, he told me the people along the road and in the village do not speak English. I thanked him and told him that I might come back if I changed my mind. To be sure that Nankya was really 4 miles and was a Daignet village I went to a nearby restaurant. One of the girls in the restaurant could speak English and she told me that Nankya was 6 miles from Mrauk U and it was really a mixed village of Rakhines and Daignets. Immediately I decided to go there with my bicycle. It was 11:00am and very sunny day. I went to the bazaar and bought a hat. I set off for Nankya with my push bike and headed to the eastern exit of Mrauk U, because that was how the man showed me the direction of Nankya by waving his right hand to the east. Within the city perimeter and not far from the bazaar I met 2 Rohingya boys in their teens. I asked them in Chittagong dialect the direction of Nankya. They described in excellent detail how to reach Nankya. I asked them whether there were Chammos. They assured me there were indeed Chammos.

Maze of Names

Bengalis aka Rohingyas refer to Rakhines as Moghs and Chakmas as Chammos. The Rakhines refer to Rohingyas as Muslims and among themselves more derogatory term Kulas which literally mean blacks. The Rakhines refer to Chakmas of Rakhine state as Daignets which literally mean armoured warriors. They refer to Chakmas who live in hills for Jhum or shifting cultivation as Taungchongyas. They also use the generic term Shaks which includes the Chakmas, Taungchongyas and Daignets. The ethnic Burmans refer to Chakmas as Thit or Thet, however it should not be mistaken with a small tribe Thet in Rakhine state who number less than 500. The Baruas in Rakhine state are known as Maramagyi. They mainly live in the urban areas of Sittwe, Buthidaung and Maungdaw. The Kuki tribes in Rakhine state are known as Chin (pronounced Shin). The Kuki/Chin tribes in both Mizoram and Chin states are Christians. The same tribes in Rakhine state are exclusively Buddhists. The Tripuras in Rakhine state are known as Mros and they should not be mistaken with Murongs or Murungs of Chadigang aka CHT. The Tripuras of Tripura state are predominantly Hindus. The Mros or Tripuras of Rakhine state are predominantly Buddhists.

Bike ride to Nankya

I found the eastern exit of Mrauk U city and the road to Nankya. The road was unpaved and pebbled. It was very uncomfortable to ride bike on pebbled road. There were rice fields on both sides of the road. Occasionally there were agricultural tractors loaded with people, there were bull driven carts loaded with huge hay stacks as if I had gone back in time for many years. I met a Rohingya aka Bengali woman with few young children. I asked her in Chittagong dialect how far the Nankya village was. She told me it was another 4 miles. I asked her if there was police check post and if the police would stop me. She told me there was a police check post ahead after a bridge. She advised me not to stop at the check post, because if I did the police might prevent me from going beyond the bridge. After riding on bike for another two miles, I came across a Bengali aka Rohingya village named Paungdok. After the village I came across the bridge and the check post was on the left hand side of the road. Fortunately there was no sentry at the check post and there were 3 men in civilian clothes chatting on the right hand side of the road. After riding for another mile I arrived at Nankya village. At the beginning of the village, there was a fig tree on the right hand side of the road. There was a small Rakhine shop under the fig tree. I asked them in sign language where the Daignets were. They advised me to go further ahead and then turn left. I followed their instruction and after few more enquiries I found a group of 10 young men. They were playing pool or billiard type game under a shade. Half of them were Daignets aka Chakmas. I introduced myself to the Chakmas and told them the reason for my visit. They carried my bike and guided me to the front yard of a house.

Nankya

After riding on bike for an hour and travelling for 6 miles finally I found the village at 12:00 noon. They tried to gather as many villagers as possible. Some of them squatted on ground and some of them sat on traditional stools. We had discussion on various issues. I asked them the number of households in the village, their livelihood, their nearest school, their nearest hospital, the location of other Chakma villages in Mrauk U region etc. Nankya is a mixed village. Rakhines live in the northern half and Chakmas live in the southern half. There are 96 households in the southern half alone. The villagers of Nankya are mainly traders and farmers. Their village is located on the western bank of Lemro River. There are several Chakma villages on the eastern bank of the river. They mainly studied up to primary level in Burmese in the local primary school. They had 2 graduates, one of them was unemployed and the other was working as teacher in the local primary school. Their nearest hospitals are in Mrauk U and Myaungbwe. I asked them why they were so far away from the core Chakma population in Buthidaung. The answer I expected was nomadic life of jhum or shifting cultivation brought them there. The response I got was chilling. Soon after the British granted independence to Burma in 1948, there was a big riot between the Rohingyas aka Bengalis and the indigenous people in Buthidaung-Maungdaw area. The Rohingyas aka Bengalis did not want to live under Buddhist dominated Burma. They wanted a separate dominion or join Pakistan. The Rohingyas were armed and supported by their coreligionists of the British Indian Army. According to them half of the Chakma population vanished in that riot and they were forced out of their land. They had to leave behind their ancestral land in Buthidaung and settle in Lemro valley. What surprised me was the mutual ignorance, scant knowledge we had about them and they had about us. For example they don�t know the name of the current Chakma king. I told them it was Raja Devashish Roy.

I told them my desire to visit other Chakma villages on eastern bank of Lemro River. I would come back next day, hire a boat and visit other villages. They invited me to have lunch in their village next day. I told them that I would only eat vegetables with rice and no meat or fish should be cooked. I left Nankya for Mrauk U at 3:00 pm.

Mejelegung

On 26 January 2011, I went back to Nankya with the bike. I arrived there at 10:00 am. I had lunch in the village. The cooking style is very similar to ours. Vegetables are cooked in low heat with sprinkle of dry fish. The meal also included mashed green chilli and dry fish salad. After lunch we set off on boat for villages on the eastern bank. Unlike Kaladan which is saline up to Mrauk U, Lemro is a fresh water river. The water is unpolluted and moderately clean at Nankya. We headed north ward. There are mainly farms on the western bank. The eastern bank is interspersed with Rakhine, Chakma and Rohingya aka Bengali villages. There are also some mixed villages of Rakhines and Chakmas. Most of the fishermen in Lemro tend to be Rohingyas aka Bengalis. Religious conviction forbids Rakhines and Chakmas from fishing or hunting. Lemro originates in Chin state and its mouth is at the bay east of Sittwe. After about 45 minutes of boat ride we stopped at a village named Mejelegung. Lemro at Mejelegung is very clear and unpolluted. It had more than 100 households. There was another Chakma village east of Mejelegung and on the foothills of Rakhine Yoma. Just like in Nankya, the villagers gathered in the front of a house. The villagers are mainly farmers. We had discussion on various issues like where they sell their farm produce, what their total population was in Rakhine state etc. They mainly sell their farm produce in Mrauk U. They have only one graduate in the whole village and he is unemployed. On population they told me, a retired Chakma officer of the Burmese Army conducted an internal census 15 years ago in 1996 and the number returned 60,000. By now they are convinced the number had grown to at least 80,000. I saw large number of children in every Chakma village I had visited. Chakmas of Rakhine state have high birth rate. I am sure the number 80,000 is not only possible it's rather a conservative estimate. They asked me if I could bring Alaam or formula for making Chakma costume Pinon/Khadi in future visit. I found that all Chakma women wear sarong like Burmese dress Thami and men wear Lungi. Unlike in Tripura, Mizoram, Arunachal and Chadigang it�s very difficult to distinguish the Chakmas from the Rakhines.

Lappangung

After more than an hour at Mejelegung we set off for another village Lappangung. Just like Mejelegung, Lappangung is on the bank of Lemro and halfway between Mejelegung and Nankya. The village had 60 households. The villagers are mainly farmers. We had similar conversation like at Mejelegung. I was very amazed by the fact that we could still speak in the same language after many centuries of separation. However there are also some differences between their and our vocabularies. I was careful not to use Bengali words while speaking with them. They still use original Chakma words in numbering system. For example the number 21 is kuri ek not ekush, 96 is nobboi chhoi not chhia nobboi. Education is aagar not legha-para. Village is ruwa not aadam. After about an hour we left the village and arrived at Nankya around 5pm. I bade goodbye to my friends and left Nankya at 5:30pm. I wanted to return to Mrauk U while there was still day light.

Return to Sittwe and Yangon

I left Mrauk U at 7:30am on 27 January 2011. It was the same private boat that I used for my trip from Sittwe to Mrauk U. The boat arrived at Sittwe jetty at 10:30am. I went to the Air Bagan office to change my flight date from 29/01/2011 to 27/01/2011. I met my new friend Mr. T. the freedom fighter. We had discussion on various issues of Rakhine state. Later the merchant Mr. Hlaing who sells dry fish to Chakmas in northern Rakhine state also joined the discussion. My flight to Yangon was at 3:00pm. Mr. T. and his son accompanied and saw me off at the airport. I Arrived in Yangon at 5 pm. That evening I met my friend in Yangon and together we went to meet Gen. Anup K. Chakma, the Bangladesh's ambassador to Myanmar.

Conclusion

Chakmas of Chadigang and Rakhine state have been living under different dominions for more than 800 years. Long ago northern Rakhine state was part of the Chakma kingdom. The Chakma king lost the territory to the Rakhine king in 13th century AD and they became the subjects of Rakhine kingdom. After 8 centuries of separation we still speak the same language, profess the same religion and have the same food habit. It's a miracle that they did not assimilate into the Rakhine culture. Over the centuries their language did not remain static. They added many Rakhine and Burmese words just like we did many Bengali words. They retain many Chakma words we lost. They lost the skill to weave traditional Chakma clothes which we still retain. They are very interested to learn how to weave traditional Chakma clothes pinon, khadi and burgi. A cultural exchange will rejuvenate and benefit both communities.

Compared to Rakhines and Bengalis, the Chakmas are economically very backward. They excessively depend on agriculture for livelihood. They need to diversify their economy to transport, fishing, food processing etc. The Bengalis are the most discriminated community in Rakhine state, yet they control the transport, fishing and construction business. The Chakmas of Rakhine state need capital, guidance and 'can do' attitude in business.

Historically northern Rakhine state had always been highly contentious place. Chakmas of Rakhine state had suffered horrific violence, discrimination and neglect in the past. Underlying ethnic tension for the 1948 riot is still there. Underlying weakness that exposed the Chakmas to massacre in 1948 is still there. It's only a matter of time before conflict between competing parties flare up again. They need to rapidly build up their number. Numerical strength will give them the ability defend themselves, wield political influence and maintain vibrant culture. We will always wish them best.



On Wed, Jan 18, 2012 at 11:20 PM, Mohd. Abdul Matin <memory14@agni.com> wrote:

Dear Heartiest thanks to Dr. Abid and Ms. Sonia

 
for your generous deliveries on the historical aspects of Myanmar and other related matters. I learned much from you both. Actually for unknown reason, I do have an inquisitiveness on Myanmar and wish to visit this country any time in my life, possible.�
 
Thank you very much again for your efforts of offering such good information.�
 
Regards.
 
Dr. Mohd. Abdul Matin
General Secretary
Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA)
Dhaka�

 


On Tue, Jan 17, 2012 at 2:12 PM, Sonia Jahan <sonia_jahan@rocketmail.com> wrote:

 

Dear Dr. Abid,

Thank you very much for your scholarly write up on Arakan's history. Arakan is now under Myanmar (former Burma). As history tells, during medieval period of history of Bengal and pre-Moghul period of this sub-continent, greater Chittagong (including Hill Tracts districts up to Cox's Bazar) was the part of sovereign Arakanese empire. It was an affluent, rich kingdom. Ancestors or predecessors of many family in Chittagong at that time went to Arakan and Rangoon (Yangoon)for earning much before their successors went to Calcutta to change their lot. Our economic, cultural and political ties with the then Arakan were very strong and close. However, in course of time, Arakan was grabbed by Buddhist ruler of Burma and later, by Moghuls,as you have nicely narrated. In present perspective,rebuilding relation with Myanmar has been more important in view of dominating attitude of our DADA India- who surrounds us from three side our frontier lines. The previous government felt the priority and planned to connect the Asian Highway with the east side of Asia. Our present government have been doing boundlessly to appease India serving their economic interests; but in return, Dada has been showing their miserly attitude and a kind of apathy and antipathy towards our geo-econo-political interests. Arakan-now part of Myanmar is affluent in rice and livestock. Why our policymakers go for importing low quality of rice at higher price from India rather where there is an advantage of comparative costs in our eastern neighbours?
 
Giving all concessions to our Dada, we have not been able to fill our hands with anything from India. At last, our present Prime Minister also realized that fact and she made a crucial state visit to Myanmar at the end of last year.
 
Not only that, while the rich western part of the world is now gripped in recession and showing grim picture, the eastern part has already emerged as Tiger and thriving day by day.
 
People shut their doors to a setting sun. Why shouldn't we open to the rising frontier?
Let the sense dawn in us!
 
Thank you again, Sir.
Regards, Sonia.
 

Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 11:23 PM
Subject: [chottala.com] A Brief History of Arakan: From Kingdom to a Colony

A Brief History of Arakan: From Kingdom to a Colony
Abid Bahar PhD
On December 31st 2011, Arakanese Diaspora marked its 227th anniversary of the fall of the famous Arakanese medieval kingdom. Arakan's powerful kingdom was established by King Noromikhla. Arakanese nationals didn�t forget that�in 1784 Burmese king Budapaya sent a large army led by his son who mercilessly razed the city to ground and took away the Arakanes symbol of pride - the Mohamini to the Burmese heartland. It was a genocide pure and simple, it was also the end of a kingdom which was known far across the land upto Europe. It was a kingdom that was built by artisans that Noromikhla brought from Gour of Bengal. It was a liberal, civilized kingdom and its citizens prided themselves to be called as the citizens of the great Mrohaung city. The ruling people were known as the Moghs now Rakhine Mogh and others were called as the Kula (Hindus and Muslims) now Rohingya.
In our time, the splandor of Arakan, its people, glorious architects and foreign visitors were all gone, what is left is only its ruines and memories. Arakan continued to have its kingdom for centuries but the end was sudden. It first lost its colonies to the Moghuls then its heartland to the Burmese. The end came as if like a landslide. Till today Rakhine Moghs and Muslims ponder and eager to know why? What went wrong? Some blame that it was it�s lack of unity.
The beginning of the end came when Arakanese king assured the Govornor of Bengal Shah Suja to come to take assilum in Arakan but on his arrival seeing his immense wealth, and his young daughters he wanted to possess them. When Suja refused, the entire family and the associates were mercilessly killed�using axe. The Arakanese queen mother previously warned the king that this act might invite disaster on the kingdom. The king didn�t comply. The queen mother was a debout Buddhist and a historian who also knew that when the founder of the kingdom (Noromikhla) needed a shelter, it was Bengal where he was given a safe heaven. Not only that Bengali king helped Noromikhla to recover his kingdom twice, first by sending General Wali Khan then by General Sindhi Khan. She thought killing Shah Suja was a bad example set by the king.
The king also earned his fame for collecting revenue by piracy on lower Bengal with help from the Portuguage pirates. Moghul emporor Aurangozev wanted to bring an end to this illegal activities by the king. His forces driven the Mogh pirates out from lower Bengal.
The pirates came back home with their maruding holligan culture. Instead of a buddhist faith in nonviolence, anarchy and lawlessness and killing were brought�into its core cultural belief system. They found their scapegoat in the Muslim population. The Arakanes Moghs finding the end of piracy now engaged themselves in harming its nonbuddhist citizens. Thus began the Rohingya Muslim tragedy in Arakan. Alaol, the Arakanese Muslim poet had to escape Arakan to settle in�Chittagong during this period.
Beginning of the Rohingya influx to Bengal
---------------------------------------------------
�In the Arakanese society where Muslims use to be the king-makers now�after the return of the pirates, they are�seen as suspects and on a regular basis they were driven out of Arakan. Every year Muslims would migrate to Southern Chittagong to escape Mogher Upodrop (the lawlessness of the Moghs).
�This state of anarchy and the division in the Arakanese society was closely observed by the Burmese king across the Arakan Yoma. There were Mogh spies of Budapawa in whose alliance a date was set on the calender. It was December 31. 1784 AD�slated to bring�the end�to the�Arakanese kingdom. A large number of people both Buddhist, Hindus and Muslims fleed and took shelter in Chittagong. The invasion cost both the Buddhist and Muslims to lose their very own Arakanesekingdom. After the tragedy of Shah Suja and Burmese invasion of Arakan, the flow Mogh, Muslim and Hindu refugee movement continued to Chittagong and Chittagong Hill Tracts on one hand, on the other, Muslim migration to Arakan was brought to a complete hault.�Eversince Muslim population hardly wanted to settled in the "lawless Arakan." Even during the British period, beginning from 1824,�Arakan, the�deserted land of the Mogh and the�Muslims�while some people (Mogh and Muslims)�returned back to reposses their lands and others�simply preferred�to work as the "seasonal workers."�
In Arakan today, unlike king Noromikhla tolerance to diversity, the ultranationalist Rakhine Moghs using Islamphobia and a race card against the Rohingya people now triumped into power. Through propaganda in Arakan and Burma, Muslim Rohingyas were�made to believe as the�"illegal immigrants from Chittagong." There is only despare and there is no unity in the Arakanes civil society.�We collectively wonder�why?
In 2011, Ko Tin Wai, an organizer for the event of 227 anniversary of the lose of the kingdom said, "Arakan was a sovreign country�Since then, our people have fallen in one colony after another. Even though Burma regained independence in 1948, our land is s till a colony under Burmese rulers. Our people call it a hidden colony. Because of this, we came to in front of the UN building to demand decolonization of our land."
He said, "We have no right to use our own natural resources for our state development. The Burmese government sells the gas to China and there is not any reserve or revenue for our state. It is colonial-style exploitation by the Burmese government."
True,Burma is grabing�Arakanese land and natural resources and its Buddhist population helplessly wonder why.
�Ko Zar Ni, an Arakanese leader in Malaysia who led a ceremony in Kuala Lumpur, said, "The Burmese government has no concern for Arakan as a state of Burma and it rules our state as if it is a territory like a defeated colony because there is much discrimination and no equal rights. Because of this we need to fight unitedly against the imperialism practiced by Burma's central government.�
�U Pho Hla, chairman of the Arakan freedom movement, urged the people of Arakan to unite in fighting against the Burmese junta in order to reach the national goals of Arakan. He also remarked to attendees that Arakan lost its sovereignty in 1784 as a result of disunity among the Arakanese people, so Arakanese today must unite in achieving their goals. He added that without unity, "we can not achieve our goal."
In emphasizing�the Arakanese unity Arakan observers wonder, is it the unity within the Buddhist majority, or in the society in general? To bring unity among its people, Rakhine Moghs have lately changed their name from Mogh to Rakhine. They also unilaterally Changed Arakan�s historic names into Rakhine-Mogh sounding names. And every trace of Muslim names were removed. It was done as if there were no Muslim existence in Arakan. The Muslim Rohingyas are only foreigners or even "Influx Viruses." The existence of Muslim presence in names were removed such as Arakan, Akyab, Kaladan, Kalapanjar etc. Muslims in 1978, 1992-93 were exterminated in large numbers. Some historic mosques were razed to the ground. Historic sufi centres, Jamei mosques were turned into Burmese�military camps. Muslim man were restricted from movement, marriage and having children were restricted by law. In his article �The Burma I love� Aye Kyaw confessed that he convinced the Burmese military junta to officially declare the Arakanese Rohingya Muslims as non citizens of Burma.
While during the late medieval period,�Arakan ruled the Bay through alliance with the Portuguage to carry on slave trade, now in alliance with the much hated Burmese military it carries out the ethnic cleansing and genocide on the Rohingya people and grabbing their lands.
Contrary to its medieval time of glory and splendar, now the name Arakan has become notoriously famous for producing refugees. While Burmese military does the darty laundry for the ultranationalist Rakhine Moghs like Aye Kyaw, Aye Chan or Ashin Nayaka to exterminate the Rohingyas, the former finding no unity in the Arakanese society among its people, extracts its rich resources and takes it to Burma; it is as if Burma robs Arakanese Mohamuni repeatedly and will continue to do so for lack of unity among its people.
Historically speaking, mentioned earlier Arakan�s end came at the heel of a historic murder; a senseless killing, the�slaughter of Shah Suja and his family. Thus, Arakanese Buddhist people�s historic loss of their kingdom should not be blamed on the Burmese king but on the loss of Arakanese Buddhist�s supreme civilizational values (first established in Arakan by king Noromikhla) He wanted people to be gentle, kind to�their fellow�citizens, and to show�tolerance to differences. In not learning to gain the lost values, we wonder how much more is there for Arakan and its citizens to lose? A Rohingya deadbody of Rohingya boatpeople, flooting on the shore of Arakan, crows landing on it, Immum Ahamed in exile in a poem he wrote remembering the lose of his home and citizenship rights and reminacing the loss and his nostalgia to return back to his village and the prospect of it perhaps has the answer. Here Arakanese Buddhist majority will have to decide whether they would like to allow Immam Ahamed to return to his village, whether they would like to handover Aye Chan to the ICC like Maloslovick was handed over (by Servia) and make�a transition�in Arakan from a Mogher mulluk (lawless land of the Moghs) into a civilized, united Rakhine and Rohingya people�s Arakan! The international community aware of the ongoing genocide in Arakan is impatiently eager to know when those changes will be made!��
(Abid Bahar is a playright and a public speaker specializes in Burma, and teaches in Cannada)��


 

 

 

 

 

 




__._,_.___


[* Moderator�s Note - CHOTTALA is a non-profit, non-religious, non-political and non-discriminatory organization.

* Disclaimer: Any posting to the CHOTTALA are the opinion of the author. Authors of the messages to the CHOTTALA are responsible for the accuracy of their information and the conformance of their material with applicable copyright and other laws. Many people will read your post, and it will be archived for a very long time. The act of posting to the CHOTTALA indicates the subscriber's agreement to accept the adjudications of the moderator]




Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___