Rakhine State

Rakhine State (Burmese: ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်; formerly Arakan) is a state of Burma. Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State in the north, Magway Division, Bago Division and Ayeyarwady Division in the east, the Bay of Bengal to the west, and the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh to the northwest. It is located approximately between latitudes 17°30' north and 21°30' north and east longitudes 92°10' east and 94°50' east. The Arakan Yoma mountain range, which rises to 3,063 m at Victoria Peak, separates Rakhine State from Burma Proper. Its area is 36,762 km² and its capital is Sittwe.

The estimated population in 2000 was 2.75 million of which the ethnic Arakanese or Rakhine make up the slight majority. The Rohingya make up approximately 25% of the state's population but are not counted as citizens by the military government.

Etymology

The term Rakhine (pronounced Ra-Khaing) is believed to have been derived from the Pali word Rakkhapura meaning “Land of Ogres”, possibly a pejorative referring to the original Negrito inhabitants. Another possibility is from the Pali word "Rakkhapura" > "Rakkhita" meaning the land of the people of Rakhasa (Rakhasa > Rakkha > Rakkhaing > Rakhaing) who were titled this name in honor of preservation on their national heritage and ethics or morality.

Arakan, used in British colonial times, is believed to be a Portuguese corruption of the word Rakhine and still popularly used in English as a gesture of political opposition to the current government. Arakan might be the land the Romans called Argyre, located somewhere near India.

In the Rakhine language, the land is called Rakhaingpray, the ethnic Rakhine are called Rakhaingthas.

Demographics

Rakhine State like Myanmar has a diverse ethnic population. The estimated population in 2000 was 2.75 million. The ethnic Rakhine make up the slight majority. The Rakhine reside mainly in the lowland valleys as well as Rambye (Ramree) and Manaung (Cheduba) islands. The Rohingya make up approximately 25% of the state's population but are largely confined to the border regions with Bangladesh. The Rohingya, whose population according to a 2009 UN estimate numbered about 723,000, are not counted as citizens by the military government. A number of other ethnic minorities like the Chin, Mro, Chakma, Khami, Dainet, and Maramagri inhibit mainly in the hill regions of the state.

Administration

Rakhine State consists of four districts: Sittwe, Maungdaw, Kyaukphyu and Thandwe. Combined, these districts have a total of 17 townships and 1,164 village-tracts. Sittwe is the capital of the state.

Transport

Separated by the Arakan Yoma mountain range, Rakhine State is essentially cut off from the mainland. Air travel still is the most popular mode of transport to Sittwe and Ngapali, the popular beach resort. Only in 1996 was a highway from Sittwe to the mainland constructed. The state still does not have a rail line (although Myanmar Railways has announced a 480-km rail extension to Sittwe from Pathein via Ponnagyun-Kyauttaw-Mrauk U-Minbya-Ann).

Economy

Rakhine State receives much rain, so rice is the main crop, occupying around 85% of the total agricultural land. Coconut and nipa palm plantations are also important. Fishing is a major industry, with most of the catch transported to Yangon, but some is also exported. Wood products such as timber, bamboo and fuel wood are extracted from the mountains. Small amounts of inferior-grade crude oil are produced from primitive, shallow, hand-dug wells, but there is yet unexplored potential for petroleum and natural gas production.

Tourism is slowly being developed. The ruins of the ancient royal town Mrauk U and the beach resorts of Ngapali are the major attractions for foreign visitors, but facilities are still primitive, and the transportation infrastructure is still rudimentary.

While most places in Myanmar suffers from chronic power shortages, in rural states like Rakhine the problem is disproportionately more so. In 2009, the electricity consumption of a state of 3 million people was only 30 MW, or 1.8% of the country's total generation capacity. In December 2009, the military government added three more hydropower plants, Saidin, Thahtay Chaung and Laymyomyit, at a cost of over US$800 million. The three plants together can produce 687 MW but the surplus electricity will be distributed to other states and divisions.

Education

See also: List of universities in Rakhine State

Educational opportunities in Myanmar are extremely limited outside the main cities of Yangon and Mandalay. The following is a summary of the public school system in the state in academic year 2002-2003.

AY 2002-2003	Primary	Middle	High
Schools	2515	136	49
Teachers	8600	2100	700
Students	264,000	76,000	25,000

Sittwe University is the main university in the state.

Health care

The general state of health care in Myanmar is poor. The military government spends anywhere from 0.5% to 3% of the country's GDP on health care, consistently ranking among the lowest in the world. Although health care is nominally free, in reality, patients have to pay for medicine and treatment, even in public clinics and hospitals. Public hospitals lack many of the basic facilities and equipment. In general, the health care infrastructure outside of Yangon and Mandalay is extremely poor but is especially worse in remote areas like Rakhine State. The entire Rakhine State has fewer hospital beds than the Yangon General Hospital. The following is a summary of the public health care system in the state.

2002-2003	# Hospitals	# Beds
Specialist hospitals	0	0
General hospitals with specialist services	1	200
General hospitals	16	553
Health clinics	24	384
Total	41	1137

History

Main article: History of Rakhine

File:Rakhinecivilisationperiods.png

Rakhine's ancient kingdoms are divided into four separate periods.

Past dynasties included Danyawady, Vesali, Laemro and Mrauk-U. The golden days of Mrauk-U in 16th and 17th centuries were contemporary to the days of Tudor kings and the Moguls from India, the Ayudya kings of Thailand and Ava, Taungoo and Hanthawaddy kings of Burma. Arakan has an over 5000-years old language and rich culture.

The natives of Arakan trace their history as far back as 3325 B.C., and give a lineal succession of 227 native princes down to modern times. According to them, their empire had at one period far wider limits, and extended over Ava, part of China, and a portion of Bengal. This extension of their empire is not, however, corroborated by known facts in history. According to recorded history, a kingdom called Dhanyawadi arose in the Arakan region between the 34th century BC to 4th Century AD. The famous Mahamuni Buddha (located in Mandalay) was cast in Dhanyawady in around 554 B.C.

The kingdom of Waithali (Rakhine: Wai-tha-li) was the successor to Dhanyawady from the 4th century AD.

Arakan reached the zenith of its power in the Bay of Bengal during the Waithali (Vesali), Lemro and Mrauk U periods, but the country steadily declined from the seventeenth century onwards. Chittagong, which was part of Arakan, was invaded and occupied by the Mughal Empire in 1666. Internal instability and dethroning of kings was very common. The Portuguese, during the era of their greatness in Asia, gained a temporary establishment in Arakan.

On the last day of 1784, the kingdom was finally conquered by the Burmese. The famous Mahamuni Buddha image was taken as a war trophy by Crown Prince Thado Minsaw to Amarapura. (The image was relocated to Mandalay by King Mindon in 1853 when he relocated the capital to Mandalay). The Burmese, after conquering Arakan, came directly into contact with British interests in east India. Burmese seizures of Arakan's neighbouring states of Assam and Manipur and the assault on Shinmaphyu Isle, which was a British outpost in Bengal, were the instigating causes of the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824 to 26). Under the Treaty of Yandabo (1826), Burma ceded Arakan and Tenasserim to British India. Arakan was thus one of the first Burmese territories to be ceded to the British. The British made Akyab capital of Arakan, and retained the traditional divisions of the country into the districts of Akyab, Kyaukpyu and Sandoway (Ramree) with a district officer in charge of each.

With independence and the formation of the Union of Burma in 1948, the three districts became Arakan Division, on equal footing with the majority Burmese administrative divisions.

From the 1950s, there was a growing movement for secession and restoration of Rakhine independence. In part to appease this sentiment, in 1974, the Burmese government of Ne Win constituted Rakhine State from Arakan Division giving at least nominal acknowledgment of the majority Rakhine ethnic group, the Arakanese nationalities.

See also

• List of Arakan Kings
• Arakan Campaign 1942-1943 (for the World War II campaign)

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links

• Buddhist Missionary Society
• Arakan Social Association Japan
• Arakan Literature

Rakhine independence-affiliated

• Rakhapura
• Arakan Internet Journal

Arakanese News/Information

• Narinjara News (NN) - independent