View source for Bengali Hindus in Myanmar

[[File:Bengali Hindus diaspora gather for Durga Puja festival in Rangoon, c.1941-42.jpg|thumb|[[Bengali Hindu diaspora|Bengali Hindus]] gather for [[Durga Puja]] festival in [[Yangon|Rangoon]], c.1941-42]]
The history of the '''Bengali Hindus in Myanmar''' dates back to the Middle Ages, when the [[History of Rakhine |Arakanese kings]] brought [[Brahmin]]s from [[Bengal]] as astrologers and [[Dom (caste)|Dom]]s as cleaners of the [[pagoda]] compounds in [[Arakan]].<ref>{{cite conference|url=http://www.kaladanpress.org/index.php/seminar-and-event-mainmenu-38/58-arakan-historical-seminar/195-islam-in-arakan-an-interpretation-from-the-indian-perspective-history-and-the-present.html|title=Islam in Arakan: An interpretation from the Indian perspective: History and the Present|last1=Bhattacharya|first1=Swapna|date=22–23 November 2005|pages=20|location=Bangkok|conference=Arakan Historical Conference|access-date=9 September 2017|archive-date=1 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170901161626/http://www.kaladanpress.org/index.php/seminar-and-event-mainmenu-38/58-arakan-historical-seminar/195-islam-in-arakan-an-interpretation-from-the-indian-perspective-history-and-the-present.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> After the annexation of Burmese kingdom by the British, the Bengali Hindus arrived in [[British rule in Burma|British Burma]] in various capacities. A large section came as white collared executives in the administration, while a smaller proportion came as labourers in various projects. By the 1920s, the Bengali Hindus constituted a thriving community in the urban centres like Rangoon, [[Mandalay]], [[Mawlamyine]], Bassein and [[Sittwe]]. Starting with the [[Anti-Indian sentiment|anti-Indian movements]] in the late 1930s, the Bengali Hindus began to leave British Burma in hundreds. After the independence and especially the 1962 coup, large numbers of Bengali Hindus left for India.
At present, the [[Bengali Hindu]] population is concentrated in the cities of [[Yangon]] and [[Sittwe]] and in some of the semi-urban and rural areas of [[Rakhine State]]. The estimated population quoted in various source range between 10,000 and 56,000. The [[Bengali Hindus]] are not recognized as full citizens as per the 1982 law, but are entitled to hold the ID Card for National Verification.
== Identity ==
In [[Myanmar]], the citizenship issue of the [[Rohingyas]] has led to identity crisis among the Bengali Hindu population. While the Rohingyas prefer to use the term Rohingya to identify themselves, the Myanmar authorities insist on using the term Bengalis for the Rohingyas. As the Rohingyas are considered as illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, the Bengali Hindus in Rakhine State shun the usage of the term Bengali to identify themselves. They prefer to identify themselves as [[Hinduism in Myanmar|Burmese Hindus]].
In the recent times, the [[Bengali Hindus]] have started wearing small armbands to distinguish themselves from the Rohingya.<ref name="rfp">{{cite web|url=https://rfp.org/sites/default/files/pubications/Advancing%20Peacebuilding%20in%20Myanmar%20.pdf|title=Advances Reconciliation and Peacebuilding in Sittwe, Rakhine State, Myanmar|publisher=Religions for Peace|accessdate=9 September 2017}}</ref> The Bengali Hindu women have started wearing bindis to distinguish themselves from the [[Rohingyas]].<ref name="aj09082012">{{cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/08/201288114724103607.html|title='Mass graves' for Myanmar's Rohingya|date=9 August 2012|work=Al Jazeera|accessdate=9 September 2017}}</ref>
== Persecution ==
In 1962, after the coup, an estimated 300,000 Indians were forced to leave Burma. The repatriates included a significant number of Bengali Hindus of East Bengal origin. The Bengali Hindu returnees were settled in four camps in [[Kamarhati]], [[Barasat]], [[Bongaon]] and [[Hasnabad]], in the 24 Parganas district of [[West Bengal]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mcrg.ac.in/rw%20files/RW37/9.Report3.pdf|title=Collective Memories of Repatriates from Burma: A Case Study of West Bengal|publisher=Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group|accessdate=9 September 2017}}</ref>
== See also ==
* [[Kha Maung Seik massacre]]
* [[Bengali Hindu diaspora]]
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Myanmar]]
[[Category:Bengali Hindus]]
[[Category:Hinduism in Myanmar]]