Burmese Indians; Culture

Culture

India has been particularly influential in Burmese culture as the cradle of Buddhism, and ancient Hindu traditions can still be seen in brahmins presiding over important ceremonies such as weddings and ear-piercings but most notably in Thingyan, the Burmese New Year festival.^[5] Traditions of kingship including coronation ceremonies and formal royal titles as well as those of lawmaking were also Hindu in origin.^[5] Many Burmese dishes and breads came as a result of Indian influence, prominently reflected in the Burmese version of Indian biryani (ဒန္ပောက္).

The Japanese invasion led to an exodus of half a million Indians mostly by overland route enduring great suffering and loss of life so there was a dramatic drop after Burma gained independence from Great Britain in 1948.^[7]

[edit] Economic roles

Burmese Indians had made their livelihoods as merchants, traders and shopkeepers as well as manual labourers such as coolies, dockers, municipal workers, rickshaw men, pony cart drivers, malis and durwans. They were also heavily represented in certain professions such as civil servants, university lecturers, pharmacists, opticians, lawyers and doctors. They had virtual monopolies in several types of businesses such as auto parts and electrical goods, ironmongery and hardware, printing and bookbinding, books and stationery, paper and printing ink, tailoring and dry-cleaning, English tuition, and money lending. They traded in textiles, gold and jewellery where the market was traditionally dominated by Burmese women. However, Ne Win’s rise to power in 1962 and his relentless persecution of “resident aliens” (immigrant groups not recognised as citizens of the Union of Burma) led to an exodus of some 300,000 from racial discrimination and particularly after wholesale nationalisation of private enterprise a few years later in 1964.^[7]

[edit] Religion

The Bengali Sunni Jameh Mosque, built in the colonial era, is one of many mosques in Yangon.

More Burmese Indians practise Islam (Mahamaydin – Muhammadan pronounced in Myanmar language) than any other religion, perhaps indicating a preponderance of people who had come from East Bengal, although there are large numbers of Hindus. Burmese Muslims, some of them of mixed blood born of Burmese mothers, call themselves Bama Musalin (ဗမာမူစလင္) and the majority belongs to the Sunni sect with small numbers of Shi’as. The Burmese call them Zaydabayi or Pathi kala (ပသီကုလား). Other religions practised by Burmese Indians include Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Bahá’í.

[edit] Muslims

Myanmar Indian Muslims formed one of the definite group among Myanmar Muslims or Burmese Muslims.

Myanmar’s Muslims are descendents of the following countries – a more appropriate and accurate term should be South Asian” Burmese as they consist of groups originating from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. Also, an even smaller minority claim descent from Arabs, Persians, Turks, Moors, various groups of Indian-Muslims, Pakistanis, Pathans, and Bengalis intermarried with local Burmese and many ethnic Myanmar groups such as, Rakhine, Shan, Karen, Mon etc.

The various sub groups of Burmese Indian Muslims are; Soorti, Meimans, Chulia. Tamil, Bengali, Pakistan, Shia (originated from Iran), Dawoodi-Bhora community, Isaili Community, Malabar group,Hydrabud Muslims, Madarasi depending from their origin in India subcontinent.

Many of the Pakistani affiliated groups including the Rakhine have been resettled to Pakistan.

Nationalization

Most of the South Asians who arrived during the time of British India went back to their respective countries in the subcontinent after General Ne Win took over and nationalized all the business. So who decided to continue to stay in Burma cut off the umbilical cord and have shown love to the new home, Burma. Now most of them are second and third generation or some of them were married to locals and almost totally assimilated into mainstream Myanmar Muslims. ^[103] Now they lost contact with their roots and most of them are even not interested at all to trace their origin.^{[104] [105]}

Myedu Muslims

Some of the earliest Myanmar Muslims or Zerbardi or Kala Pyo or Myedu Muslims or Myedu Kalas or Thone Thaung Khunhit Yar (=3700) were also actually from the Indian subcontinent of Asam and Manipura, brought in by the Burmese Kings as prisoners of wars.^[106] Some of the most assimilated or Burmanized Muslims in Burma took the name Pathi as the race and even try to put infront of their name as a prefix e.g. Pathi Ko Lay.

In the 1930 Census, British enlisted Muslims as Zerbardi Race. But most of the Muslims did not know the origin of the word and refused to accept that name. Moshe Yegar solved the problem by the following finding. He searched for the source and found out in the library in Singapore that the Arab sailors called themselves, people above the wind. (Orang atas angin, in Malay) and called the Muslims from Burma, Thailand, Malaya and Indonesia as, people under the wind (Orang bawah angin, in Malay). That is Zerbard in Persian. So Zerbardi referred to Muslims from Burma, Thailand, Malaya and Indonesia.^[107]

[edit] Racial Discriminations

[edit] Anti-Indian Riots

British Official White Paper

This paragraph’s basic facts are taken from Maurice Collis’ “Trials in Burma”. He was the judge in Rangoon, eye witnessed the riots and wrote his book based on the British Official White Paper given by, The Simon Commission. (The Royal Statutory Commission, appointed according to the Law of the Government of India1919, The Montague-Chelmsford Law.) ^[108]

Anti Indian sentiments

Anti Indian sentiments started after the First World War during the British rule. ^[109] In Burma there were half million Muslims in 1921. More then half of Indians were Indian Muslims. ^[110] Although Myanmar Muslims are different from the Indian Muslims and Indian Myanmar Muslims, Burmese Buddhists put them together even mixed with Hindu Indians, and called them Kala.^[111]

The root of this hatred was_ ^{[112] [113]}

1. Different in religion.

2. Basic anti foreigner feelings.

3. Low standard of living of the recent migrants.

4. Recent migrants willingness to do, Dirty, Difficult and Dangerous jobs.

5. Indians took over the Burmese lands especially Chittiers.

6. Indians had already filled up and monopolized the government services when the Burmese were later ready for those jobs.

7. Professional competition.

8. World economic recession of 1930 aggravated the competition for the reduced economic pie.

1930 anti-Indian riots

In 1930 there was an anti-Indian riots in Burma under British rule.

The problem started in Yangon port, because of the irresponsible action of the British firm of Stevedores. It had employed hundreds of Indian labourers. While those Indians were on strike, that firm had employed the Burmese workers just to break the strike. So the Indians had to give in and ended the strike. Next morning when the Burmese workers came and report for work they were told by the British firm that their service was no more needed. Some of the Indian workers who were angry because they had to end the strike at failure because of these Burmese workers laughed at them. Some Burmese workers were angry and started the fight and Indians retaliate. It grew rapidly into anti Indian (including anti Muslims) riots. Even within the first half-hour at least two hundred Indians were massacred and flung into the river. Authorities ordered the police to fire upon any assembly of five or more who refuse to lay down the arms, under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code. That was a black day of 26 May. Within two days it spread to the whole country and no one knew the exact causality. ^[114]

Anti Muslim riots in 1938

There was another anti Muslim riots in 1938, while still under British rule. The real basic hidden agenda was aimed at British Government but the Burmese dare not show this openly. The growing Nationalistic sentiments fanned by the local media disguised as anti Muslim to avoid the early detection and notice followed by the full blown force of mighty British Government machinery.Throughout the Burmese struggles against British rule, all the political issues, movements, meetings, demonstrations, riots, rebellions and even the revolutions were instigated, inspired, influenced and led by newspapers. ^{[115] [116]}

Burma for Burmese Campaign

Burmese started the Burma for Burmese only Campaign. Then marched to the Muslim (Surti) Bazar. ^[117] While the Indian Police broke the violent demonstration, three monks were hurt. Burmese Newspapers use the pictures of Indian police attacking the Buddhist monks to further incite the spread of riots.^[118] Muslim properties: shops, houses and mosques were looted, destroyed and burnt to ashes. They assaulted and even massacred the Muslims. It spreads to all over Burma and recorded that 113 mosques were damaged. ^[119]

The Inquiry Committee by British

On 22.9.38. British Governor set up the Inquiry Committee. ^[120] They found out that the real cause was the discontent in the government regarding the deterioration in sociopolitical and economic conditions of Burmans. ^[121] The book was used as an inciting factor by the irresponsible Burmese newspapers. ^[122] They use the anti Muslim propaganda as a disguise to cover up for the political struggle to gain independence.So the Buddhist used the Muslims as a scapegoat, for the first time, to fight against the British.

The Simon Commission (The Royal Statutory Commission, appointed according to the Law of the Government of India1919, The Montague-Chelmsford Law) to inquire the effects of Dyarchy system of ruling Burma, had recommended that special places be assigned to the Myanmar Muslims in the Legislative Council.

It recommended that full rights of citizenship should be guaranteed to all the minorities: the right of free worship, the right to follow their own customs, the right to own property and to receive a share of the public revenues for the maintenance of their own educational and charitable institutions. It recommended Home Rule or independent government separate from India or the status of dominion.

But the British Government refused to accept all those recommended except the separation, at the round table committee on India held in London in 1930.

[edit] After Independence

King Dragon expelling Rohingyas

While preparing for that Citizenship Act, General Ne Win expelled some of the Arakan Rohingya Muslims in an operation, code named-‘King Dragon’. There are still some refugees in Bangladesh and some of them have set up anti-Rangoon groups to fight for self-determination. About 60,000 of Muslims have since migrated to Saudi Arabia where they were greeted with open arms as brothers-in-Islam.^[123]

[edit] Massacre of Indian Shans

— the sort of fighting and bloody killings that took place between 1812-19 when the Burmese kings of Mandalay tried to conquer and subdue the Shan Ahom kingdom in Assam, India, where the Burmese General Maha Bandula’s troops committed indescribable cruelties and barbarities as to decimate something like 2/3 of the population and certainly 1/3 of the men and boys – disemboweling them, eating their flesh and burning them alive in cages to intimidate and suppress the Shan Ahom of Assam,India.^[124]

This event so weakened and disorganized the Shan Ahom that by 1839 the kingdom was completely annexed by the British. Before that from about 1220 – 1812 AD they maintained themselves under one Dynasty, (that of Mong Mao 568-1604 AD when its descendants ruled Hsenwi or Theinni in Burmese). Indeed the Shan Ahom resisted conquest by the Mughals who had conquered much of India before the British incursion.^[125] [2] Burmese translation of above interview_ [3]