RAKHINE STATE OVERVIEW |
| Geography |
Demographics |
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Capital:Sittwe
Location: West coastal
Area: 36,780 km2
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Population: 2,698,000
Density: 73/ km2
Ethnicities: Rakhine,Bamar,Rohingya,Chin |
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| Town and Districts |
| Sittwe, Maungdaw, Buthidaung, Kyaukpru and Thandwe |
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| General Information
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The Rakhine State (formerly Arakan) is a state of Myanmar. Situated 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 17o30' north and 21o30' north and east longitudes 92o10' east and 94o50' east.
The Arakan Roma mountain range, which rises to 3,063 m at Victoria Peak, separates Rakhine State from Myanmar proper. Its area is 36,762 kmē and its capital is Sittwe (formerly Akyab). The estimated population in 1985 was 2,698,000 and it is inhabited primary by two groups of people the Rakhine ethnic group and Rohingyas ethnic group. The remaining ethnic groups are Mro, Khami (Khumi), Kaman Muslim, Dienet, Marmagri and a few others. The majority of people are Buddhists, and second being Muslims.
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History
The natives of Arakan trace their history as far back as 2666 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 Dhanyawady arose in the Arakan region in the 1st century AD. The famous Mahamuni Buddha (located in Mandalay) was cast in Dhanyawady in around 150 AD. The kingdom of Wethali (Rakhine: Wai-tha-li) was the successor to Dhanyawady from the 3rd century AD.
Arakan reached the zenith of its power in the Bay of Bengal during the Waithali, 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; but on December 28th 1784 the province was finally conquered by the Burmese.
The famous Mahamuni Buddha image was taken as a war trophy to his capital of Amarapura (The image was relocated to Mandalay in 1853 when King Mindon 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 assult on Shinmaphyu Isle, which was a British outpost in Bengal was 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. Akyab district originally included the Arakan Hill Tracts, which were detached 1865 and made into a separate district (and which is now Chin State).
With independence and the formation of the Union of Burma in 1948, the three Arakan 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 acknowledgement of the majority Rakhine ethnic group. Pro-independence movements have been highly fragmented, and the Burmese military has capitalised on the existing tension between the majority Buddhists and minority Muslims Rohingyas. |
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RAKHINE STATE PEOPLE |
| The Rakhine and Bamar live in valleys and on Rambye and Manaung islands. The Chin inhabit the mountain regions of the north. The Mro, Thet, Khami, Dainet, Maramagri, Khumi, and Kaman live on mountain ranges in the west and north. Each group is also known by more than one name, and data on the smaller ethnic groups is insufficient. Ethnicity in Rakhine State is a complex issue, made more complex by the current political situation. |
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GETTING IN - OUT
RAKHINE STATE |
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There are daily fights from Yangon to Sittwe and daily flights from Yangon, Heho and Bagan to Thandwe (Ngapali Beach). Private express coaches are running from Yangon via Pyay to Thandwe, but the road from Pyay to Thandwe is not good and it takes at least 16 hours to get there. |
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GETTING AROUND
RAKHINE STATE |
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RAKHINE STATE RESOURCES |
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TRAVEL TIPS |
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RAKHINE STATE ECONOMY |
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The 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 transportation infrastructure is still rudimentary.
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