Last Updated on Saturday, 07 July 2007 01:13
Wednesday, 11 October 2006 05:05
Dr. Swapna Bhattacharya (Chakraborti),
Introduction and Problematic: Reflections from Indian Perspectives
The
history of Arakan or the Rakhine State ofMyanmar is matchless due to
various, partly, very complex, factors. The foremost among the factors
which makes the history of Arakan so complex, at the same time, unique,
is the region's close contact with the Indian civilization. Unless the
pulse of the interaction between the Buddhist world of Arakan and the
Hindu-Buddhist civilization of India (especially Eastern India) with Islam of India in between is not felt, Arakan remains unintelligible.
Further,
to estimate the nature of Islam in Arakan in the medieval period, we
have to place Arakan in the context of Bengal-Delhi ( Bengal regionalism
versus Mughal imperialism) tussle for power in the Bay of Bengal
region. The epic Padmavati by poet Sayyid Alol has so far been read as a
masterpiece of a romantic literature of A class; however, it has been studied mostly by literature experts from West Bengal, and
discussed in the context of Bengali literary tradition only. It is
often stated in the numerous books ( all written by literature experts)
that the Padmavati is unique since in this epic for the first time, the
change of theme—from religious to secular ( romance) - is directly
visible. The theme of divine love between Ratnasena of Chitor and
Padmavati of Simhala makes a landmark, besides all others, alone for the
selection of the theme. Prior to that, Gods and Goddesses and religious
matters made the bulk of the Bengali literature. According to my
understanding, thestory otPadmavati is only an occasion. The complex
political background behind its translation in the Arakanese court,
however never attracted any attention of scholars. In my earlier
contribution " Myth and History of Bengali identity in Arakan "
(Amsterdam 2002) I tried to discover the political implication behind
this so called Bengali Renaissance at the court of Arakan, under
Arakanese patronage. It is strange that in India, the perception about
the might of this kingdom is very vague. But, who can deny that in the
16th and 17th centuries it was only Arakan which had the courage
and means to challenge the Mughals. I am happy that my humble research
on Arakan has drawn some attention among experts whose knowledge on the
Arakanese history is no match to my limited knowledge on this region.
Now
coming back to the subject of flourishing of Bengali literature in
Arakan, I have to tell that we should not miss the fact that Padmavati
is a work of translation of a very important Hindusthani epic written by
Malik Mohammed Jayasi— an eminent Chisthi Sufi poet from North India.
Jayasi' s name is always remembered in great respect since he was the first to have used Persian script for
writing Hindusthani. This he did in Padumavat itself. We will go into
the details of symbolism and syncretism drawn from the religious
-cultural milieu of Indian tradition as reflected in this work. The same
kind of symbolism is visible in the work Sati Mayna 0 Lor Chandrani
written by Daulat Quazi, another court poet who enjoyed
similiar patronage in the Arakanese court.. The later part of Sad Mayna 0
Lor Chandrani was written by Alol. The scope of my contribution is
wide, covering the medieval period, the British period and
also the present crisis. I will argue that lack of knowledge about
Bengal's contact with Arakan among the Myanmar scholars is responsible
for all sorts of misunderstanding. The post colonial state's identity
with a single religion is also a source of much confusion, though the
history itself shows that in India as well as in Myanmar during the
pre-colonial periods religious identity was in a fluid stage. There was
also no bar for a single person to worship at a time Gods and Goddesses
from various beliefs. One nation, one identity, one state is a colonial
gift, which has its both, good and bad, sides.
It is interesting to note that even as late as in early 1990s, quite often, Muslims
of Arakan (northern Arakan) were described as "Indians". Occasionally
they were described as "Bengalis", and from time to time as
"Chittagongians".Further, the name, "Rohingya", is quite justifiably
"rejected" by the Myanmar people and Government, as there exists no such
minority in Myanmar. According to the same opinion though, Islam is one
of the most important religions of Myanmar. Indeed, visitors of Myanmar
among the erudite audience have seen that the Muslims in various parts
of Myanmar enjoy equal rights and privileges with other religious and
ethnic groups. Islam in Burma/Myanmar has never been
perceived as a religion of alien origin. Kings of medieval Burma needed
Muslims for not only wars, but also for peace and stability of the
economy. A large number of inter marriages and social interactions are
visible all around. Indeed, quite interestingly, it was the Hindus, who
quite often felt isolated in Burma. After the formal separation of
British Burma from British India in 1937, a large number of Hindus left
Burma permanently and joined their relatives in India, whom they might
have not seen over generations. This happened during 1940s, 1950s and
again with the advent of military rule in Burma in 1962. While in the
case of the Muslim population of Indian origin in Burma, in spite of the
fact that they were (like in British India) not awarded any special
status, they peacefully, were accepting their positions within the
Union. Even then, in the case of Arakan, as we will see, things took a
different turn.
As
the organization of the present seminar itself speaks for, the Muslims
of Arakan makes a special case. In all the British sources, Arakan's
historic link with Bengal, and Chittagong in particular, are upheld.
Immigration in Arakan from Chittagong, Noakhali, Comilla always added to
the rise of the population figure of Indian origin in British Burma. Even
after the formal restriction of immigration by the Indians into Burma
in early 1940s, Arakan had to be treated as a special case. It was
decided to allow 20,000 Chittagingian labourers to reap the paddy of the
fields of Arakan.. What is known further is that, during the period of
the Japanese occupation, a large number of Muslims of Arakan extended
their support to the British with the hope of award of a kind
"Arakistan" ( parallel to Pakistan), or, at
least a "National Area" for the Muslims of northern Arakan. The story of
this has been told by Moshe Yegar in his book The Muslims of Burma as
well as by Klaus Fleischman in his book Arakan Konfliktregion zwischen
Birma and Bangladesh. In the repeated exodus of people from Arakan to
Bangladesh, Fleischman saw a formidable genesis of, whether or not, a
large scale conflict in this area where South Asia meets Southeast Asia.
True, such no conflict has broken out in last 25 years, but this entire
region remains one of the most sensitive areas of South and Southeast
Asia in terms of refugee generation, poverty, arms smuggle, trafficking of human beings and goods ( rice in
particular).Twice in recent past, in 1977-78 and again in 1992-96 the
north Arakanese townships saw exodus of an unprecedented nature ( S.
Bhattacharya, 2002) Interestingly, the historical backdrop of such a
spectacular reftigee problem has remained little studied, just like the
origin of the Rohingya language and culture has also remained shrouded
in mystery. In his otherwise very informative and well argued article "
The Origin of the name Rohingya" , U Khin Maung Saw vehemently rejected
the name. staling that Ba Tha is the only cultural advocate for this
rather marginal group of people, who are actually in large
part "illegal immigrants" from Bengal (now Bangladesh). U Khin Maung
Saw is of the opinion that this name "Rohingya" was "founded" jointly by
the Red Flag communists and the Mujahids. The Mujahids of northern
Arakanese villages of Buthidaung, Maungdaw and partly Rathedaung, were
fighting for their separate homeland and were getting support from the
Red Flag communists. U Nu's Government of course was not in a position
to show any mercy to these separatists. This piece of information became
available to U Khin Maung Saw courtesy the eminent journalist, Kyemon U
Thaung ( U Khin Maung Saw in J.Lorenz & U Gaertner eds, 1996, 96).
This journalist, Kyemon U Thaung worked for the famous newspaper
Bumakhit in 1950s. The creation of a name connecting the northern Arakanese people in the historical experience of Arakan and Burma as a whole was a need of those days. The Muslims of Northern Arakan wanted to justify their fight for more autonomy and perhaps total independence from Burma( U Khin Maung Saw, 96).
In
this writing I do not intend to support one view against the other, as
every contribution that fell to my attention has some kind of truth and
is helpful towards understanding of this remote region of
Myanmar. The nations of South and Southeast Asia have come a long way in
their struggle for survival as individual nation. Cultural plurality
and religious diversity have made the foundation of all
the nations, rich or poor, solid. No one wants to go back to the
colonial past, nor any one wants to ignore the factor " peace " and
"stability". The relations between the nations ( though ASEAN may be
seen more successful than the SAARC) , is extremely cordial. No country
wants to loose her integrity. As a result, the parallel existence of
tensions and peace is perceived as more natural than unnatural. The
periodic exodus of people from north Arakan to Bangladesh's Cox Bazar
remains to me as problem to be dealt by the Governments of Bangladesh
and Myanmar bilaterally and if they want, with involvements of other
countries and agencies. I am much more interested to deal with certain
neglected facts of Indian history which are equally important for
Bangladeshi and Myanmar historical researches. In recent years two
scholars, Mujtava Razvi and Dr. Md. Akhtaruzzsaman (Dr. Md.
Akhtaruzzsaman 2003 pub. in the proceedings of the Conference of UHRC,
2001) have shed some lights on Islam in Arakan and Burma as a whole. The
present contribution aspires to uphold the importance of Bengali
linguistic and religious traditions as experienced in Buddhist Arakan
within the Indian context. The opinions of western scholars about the
expansion of Bengali population in Arakan as a result of the slave
trade, wars and occasional ship wreckages - are all well-founded and may
be true. But, what remains to be stressed is that Bengali language and
religion (Islam) spread to Arakan also in a most natural way. Bengal's
highly synchretic and rich religious tradition turned to be an asset,
the patronage of which enhanced the prestige of the Arakanese kingdom
itself, at the height of their glory—a fact for which all
the Rakhines of present Myanmar ( no matter Muslims or Buddhists) can
feel proud. On the other hand, the Indian people can also take pride on
the fact that their Padumavat which sang the song of tolerance and love
reached as an asset, worthy to be translated, by as remote a country as
by Arakan. Modern people have only to look back to history to learn the
message of tolerance. The Myanmar people can also feel proud of their
liberal approach to life and eagerness to promote knowledge. After all,
all the Indians living in medieval Arakan were not slaves; there were
astrologers, singers, priests, poets, ministers and advisors, a milieu
which made Rosanga ( Mrohaung) was popular a destination. The present
contribution drew a lot of inspiration from a wide number of Bangladeshi
and Indian scholars. Many of them successfully located an intermediary
stage between Hindu-Buddhist period and Islamic period. The fertile
ground for such unique stage was made by Mahayna Buddhism, Vaishsanvism
and Nathasim. Bengal, the closest neighbour of Arakan, absorbed the best
out of the Indian traditions. Orthodoxy in any religion had been and
will continue to be "a man-made" trouble. And all the orthodox schools
from all three religions. Buddhism, Islam and Hinduism, were challenged
by their own co-religionists. Therefore the mantra of
Reconciliation was found immediately, since over thousands of years, the
people of Southern part of Asia have been living in peace and
prosperity. Unless one hears this message, one will be searching for a black cat in a dark room only.
Bengal and Arakan: Past and the Present
In
Bengal, various Sufi saints preached the message of their simple "love
to the next" and "Finding of the universal soul within". Their wide
acceptance made the religion Islam acceptable to a wide range of people
in Bengal. The word "Sufi" is synonymous to “mystic", though the
derivation is still debated. It is however widely accepted that the word
comes from "Suf (wool). The Muslim ascetics used to wear rough woolen
cloth in imitation of Christian hermits. Apparently in the beginning
there was no difference between the Sufis and the orthodox Mahommedans.
However, the Sufis attached extra importance to the certain Koranic
doctrines. Reynold A Nicholson, one of the leading authors on Sufism has
stated that the "Before the Mohammedan conquest of India in the
eleventh century, the teaching of Buddha exerted considerable influence
in Eastern Persia and Transoxania. We hear of teaching of flourishing
Buddhist monasteries in Balukh, the metropolis of ancient Bactria, a
city famous for the number of Sufis who resided in it." (Nicholson,1963,
16ff). Further Nicholson, referring to Professor Goidziher, called
attention to the story of the Sufi ascetic lbrahim lba Adham who was
described in a Muslim legend as the prince of Balukh, who, like
Sidhharta abandoned his throne and turned himself to be a wandering
Dervish ( Nicholson, 17). With this subject of "wandering Dervish" we
come to the theme of the Bauls of Bengal. Bauls wearing yellow robes (
Sufis were believed to be wearing the same, which are also used by the
Hindu Sadhus and Buddhist monks) sing the songs of a revolutionary
religion, which reject all orthodoxies. In the songs of
the Bauls of Bengal we find the typical Sufi concept of the soul within:
"Maner Manush. One of the achievements of the Sufi sadhana is the
passing away ( fana) of individual seif into universal Being. The
identification or passing away of Jivatma with Paramatma is the essence
of Indian philosophy, Vedanta. Nirvana, according to
Nicholson is purely negative and therefore cannot be fully identified
with fana, for fana is accompanied by baqa, another Sufi stage. Baqa
means an active life in God. Even then, the origin of Sufism in the
erstwhile Buddhist cetres of Eastern Persian and Bactria remained a
source of Nicholson's thesis of the Buddhist origin of the Sufis.
In
view of the above discussion our present engagement with Buddhist
Bengal and Buddhist Arakan get a special dimension. The Bauls are an
unique descendents of the mixed Bengali tradition, to which I had
already stated my opinion above. When Islam first appeared in Bengal in the 13th -14th centuries, it could meet Hinduism
(Vaishnavism and Saiva-Sakta Nath traditions) and Buddhism (Mahayanism)
in the fertile ground of Buddhist Arakan. One may also argue it other
way around, which is perhaps more appropriate: Hinduism and Islam met
most successfully on the borderland of unorthodox popular cults arising
out of the ghost of late Buddhism, Tantricism, Mahayanism and such other
liberal lines, which were not only preached and practiced in Bengal,
but also in Arakan. Scholars like Enarnul Huq and Kalika Ranjan (Enarnul
Huq 1972, K.RQuannungo, 1968,) argue in more or less same way. Had
there been a very orthodox thinking and priesthood controlling all
social and economic orders, there would never have been such creative traditions as Arakan patronized in the 16th -17th century.
In the recent years Pamela Gutman's works have established it before
the entire scholarly world that Arakan cannot be understood unless the
region's close contact with Indian civilization is properly followed.
Arakan's importance within the realm of the Indian
Civilization-influenced Bay of Bengal region has also been taken note of
by scholars like Michael Chamey, Jacque Leider, Katherin Remond and Don
Stadtner. Among the scholars of Bangladesh, whose writings I have
consulted in the past, I must mention the names of Dr. Enarnul Huq,
Abdul Karim, Sahitya Visharad, M. Islam, Dulal Chaudhuri, Arnritalal
Bala, Abdul Mabud Khan, Ali Ahasan and Abdul Huq Chauduri.
In
this part of Bengal (West Bengal, India), Arkan has been lost in the
memories of the people. It is brought to the notice of the Indian people
only in recent years when there was coverage in the newspapers about
the "Rohingya Refugees" or "Rohingya Separatists" . The general public
in India who have very little knowledge about Myanmar in general are
informed that there is a religious/linguistic minority with the name
"Rohingya" who for some political and economic reasons crossed over to
Bangladesh and occasionally extremists sneaked or tried into India. No
one comes to the idea of tracing the origin of these people back in the
Indian history though they know that in the Bengali Padmavati Rosaga (
Mrohaung) was praised for its cultural liberalism and tolerance. The
scholarly public in West Bengal is much more occupied to study Islam in
mainland India, the story of communal hatred between the Hindus and the
Muslims than such a "minor" story from a fringe and remote land, i.e.,
Arakan of Burma.
Least
known is the fact that the Bengali Vaishnavas migrated from orthodox
Vaishnav centers like Navadvipa, to Arakan, not only driven by the Islam
invaders, but with genuine impulse. Nevertheless, we should not forget
that once widely read Bengali journals like Bangiya Sahitya Parishad
Patrika and Pravasi and Bengal Past and Present published articles on
the Bengali influence in Arakan. However, for me Arakan has been
immortalized through poet and philosopher (Nobel Leurate in 1913)
Rabindrariath Tagore through his writings, especially, the short story,
Dalia. Of all the Indians, it was Tagore who saw in the history and
civilization of Arakan a tremendous potentiality for unifying the three
religions, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. Who else could otherwise it be?
After all, it was Tagore who heard the core of Bengal and felt the
pulse of Bengal and India as a whole in the songs of Bauls of Bengal,
the only surviving school of Bengali religious traditions, which successfully crashed the futility of Hindu-Muslim chasm. No
one else in this world has understood Islam in the context of Buddhism
and Indian traditions of Vaishnavsim and a numerous Sahajiya faiths,
better than Tagore. In my earlier writing on Arakan 'Myth and History of
Bengali Identity of Arakan' I have stated very clearly that the history
of Arakan offered Tagore the necessary inspiration to understand strong
regionalism of Bengal within the Indian context. One of the objectives
of my present contribution is to uphold the spirit in which Tagore
looked at Arakan, especially its religious traditions. It would however
be wrong on my part if I do not state here that a number of Bengali
writers, both from East (Bangladesh) and West (Indian State of West
Bengal) have estimated the civilization of Arakan in the same way. These
researches, details into which I will come later, should be taken up as
complementary to what historian Tagore had to say about Arkan. In
tagore's yet another work Mukut ( Crown) the strong message of the
Arakanese pride has been upheld.
The
emergence of nation states with their boundaries is a modern
phenomenon. The river Naaf which separates Arakan from Chittagong is
seen only as a formal boundary between two nations. Such standoffish
boundaries were crossed several times in the past not only by the
British colonial compulsions of laissez fare, but also by human
emotions. One only has to turn the pages of ballads and folk literature
of Bengal. Ohidul Alam in his book Chattagramer Loksahitya ( Ohidul
Alam, 1985) quotes how the young boys from Chattagram seeing the
beautiful Burmese and Arakanese women used to forget their partners at
home. The hymns he quotes say that the mothers of Chittgaongian youth
were discouraging their sons to go to Rangon and Arakan. Obviously for
the mother, the separation was as painftil as it was for the newly
married wives. The Burmese women knew the art of attracting the youth,
and, thus come the lamentation (Ohidul Alam, 8-9). The association of
Arakan with Bengal is also very apparent in the Ballad tradition of
Eastern Bengal. For generations these ballads were sung in the remotest
villages of Eastern Bengal. One such ballad Suja Tanayar Vilapa - i.e.
lamentations of Suja's daughter – has been included in the benchmark
work of Dinesh Chandra Sen ( D.C Sen, 1930, 495-513). The daughter of
the Mughal Prince Shah Suja who was apparently forcefully married to the
king of Arakan, had to eat ngapi, a strong flavoured fish paste, which
she apparently did not like (Sen, 1930, 504-505). It sounds that the
idea of forcible marriage of Suja's daughter and therefore lamentation
by the people of Bengal was widely spread among the rural population of
present Bangladesh. The omnipresence of words like Magh and Barma and so
forth in Chittagong folk poems, and indeed across entire Bengal, may be
seen as another indication of the central role of Arakan in the
construction of Bengali identity. Interestingly, the mood of Vilapa is
just the opposite to what Tagore wanted to say in his Dalia. Instead of
interpreting the usual story that Suja was murdered by the Arakanese
king, Tagore drew a love story of an unprecedented character the prince
of Arakan and the daughter of Suja, who actually wanted to take revenge
of her father's death. Those who are interested to know the details of
this short story can refer to my earlier contribution. Suffice to say
that the spiritual atrophy in Bengal and India in general so deeply
disturbed Tagore that he shaped his own way the Shah Suja legend where
he drew a love story between Dalia (his given name to the prince of
Arakan) and Tinni (his given name to one of the two daughters of Shah
Suja Ameena or Julekha). Here one sees that Buddhist
Arakan gave him the mantra of solution of ever growing Hindu-Muslim
schism in colonial India. I mention here that Tagore was a deeply
committed Buddhist who wrote a number of drams, short stories songs and
poems spreading the message of Buddhism. One of the intensions of his
visits to countries like Siam, Burma , Island Southeast Asia, Japan and
China was to bind those countries deeper with India where Buddhism could be the torchbearer.
During
1950s there was a resurgence in the consciousness about Arakan in
India, where people of our country after reaching a point of political
and social stability, looked back at their history, perhaps with a
feeling of detachment, and also lamentation for the partition, for the
religious discords among Hindus and Muslims, for mental separation
between India and Burma (large scale exodus of people of Indian origin
from Burma) and for all other wrongs of history for which they alone
could not be made responsible. In those days, again Dalia was played to
remind the people of India that both. Buddhism as well as Islam are
religions of India and that the Indian civilization does not recognize
any boundary. Back in 1915, a British author George Calderon had already
made a translation of Dalia and gave the title The Maharant of Arakan.
In the 1950s the Indian Art and Dramatic Society in London staged that
drama even in the soil of London.
Glimpses into Bengali religion and political lives placing Arakan in the middle
As
I have repeatedly stressed, Islam in Arakan, no matter how little
influence it has within the Buddhist dominated Arakan, has to be
interpreted within the larger context of Indian civilization. It hardly
needs to be stressed that towards achievement of that goal. North Arakan
has to be placed within the historical orbit of Bengal. Bengal's
religious tradition has always been unorthodox. Neither good quality
Buddhism, nor first quality Islam, nor pure Hinduism could set its foot
upon Bengal. The reason was obviously political, topographical, social
and economic. The dynastic rulers' political boundary was interrupted by
numerous rivers. The political centers had to be shifted frequently due
to constant threat of invasion from various from various parts of
India. Through my earlier work on the classical Hindu-Buddhist period
Landschenkungen und Staatliche Entwickhungen in mittelaletrlichen
Bengalen 5-12 Jh. N. Chr. ( S. Bhattacharya 1985) I have shown that the
political structure of the great Buddhist Pala kingdom was so fragile
that the capitals of the Palas had to be shifted from one corner to the
other. Though preaching and teaching Buddhism, the monasteries across
Bihar and Bengal allowed liberal practices, highly esoteric in nature,
to grow relentlessly. The Buddhism could not be confined within the
yellow robes of the Theravada monks. It had to cross the boundary of the
orthodoxy.. Was the penetrating influence of Islam as a political force
in other parts of India also a factor? The answer can only be
hypothetical.
The
bearers of such traditions of esoteric Buddhism were me Siddhacaryas.
All the Gurus had the title pa, indicating Tibeto-Burmese origin of
these Gurus. TheCharyapadas, the hymns written by them are regarded as
the oldest specimens of the Bengali language. The discovery of these
manuscripts go back to 1915 when the famous Buddhist scholar
Mahamahopadhyay Haraprasad Shastri discovered the manuscripts from the
Darbar library of Nepal. These Buddhist Gurus or Enlightened leaders
were ready to accommodate their philosophies along the line in direction
of which the religious mood of the then Bengali people was blowing. In
the Bengali scholarship the word "Sahajiya" is used to denote the temper
of this period, which I have already described above as an intermediary
period. One would think that the period should be starting in 13th
century when Buddhism declined in Bengal. But, interestingly the period
of writing of such Buddhist hymns were covering the entire range from
9th to 14th centuries. This includes the
pala period substantiating thereby that the Thervada and Mahayana
Buddhism existed side by side in eastern India. We have to shift
ourselves from the conventional ideas of step by step progress ( or
retrograde? ) of Theravada, then Mahayana , decadent Tantric
scholls and then advent of Islam. Rather, we have to appreciate that
various ideas existed at a time. No other Bengali word than Sahajiya can
express this liberal tradition of Bengal.
The word Sahajiya comes from Sahaja, meaning simple,
and thus the work Sahajiya connotes "of simple nature". A large
majority of the names of these Sahajiya sects ( Charyagurus) are seen as
ofTibeto-Burmese origin. They are described to be in union with women from lower castes of Bengali society. According
to Huq Chaudhuri a large number of the words of the Charyapadas are
also found in the Chittagongian dialect a sign, attesting to the
unrestricted movements of the Siddhyacaryas across Bengal. The
Chittagong area itself harboured a large number of Vaishnavas and other
liberal schools of thoughts within Hindu fold and thus become a
confluence of ideas. These mixed character of Chittagongian culture has
been reflected in the social lives, numerous customs and beliefs.
The
political history of Hindu-Buddhist Bengal came to an end when the last
Hindu king Lakshman Sena of the Sena dynasty of Bengal surrendered to
the invading army of the Turkish ruler Baktiar Khilji. It was a very
easy and spontaneous event; Bengal's political defeat to the Muslim
conquerors however did not indicate end of social interactions between
various people who came to Bengal. As Richard Baton has
described in his book Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, spread of
Islam was a very smooth and natural process; certainly transfer of
ownership of land and emergence of local Muslim gentry gave the fillip.
Initiatives were then taken to clear jungles, built mosques, and to
establish Trustees. Introduction of money into the Bengali economy additionally
brought necessary social movements. According to Eaton ( Baton, 252),
there were "three means by which the religious gentry acquired their
land rights: donation, purchase, and pioneering" . The
title of these gentry classes were Chaudhuri, Sardar and Zamindars.
Quite often Hindus patronized mosque building while Muslims patronized
temple building. As Eaton states, quite often gentry class emerged out
of the remained Mughal troopers who came to Bengal whenever sent by the
respective Mughal rulers. A turning point in the history of Bengal is
the conquer of Chittagong by the Mughals in 1666. In the context of
Bengal's relation with Arakan, it meant a deep movement downward for the
proud Arakanese, so far their relation with Bengal was concerned. It is
quite natural that north Arakan which is an extension of Bengal from
geographical point of view, received the impact of this social
transformation.
In
my earlier work I raised a point regarding the justification of
patronization of the Bengali talents in the court of the Arakanese
kings. The Arakanese kings wooed the Bengali regional sentiments to
counter the Mughal expansion in Bengal. The bearing of Islamic names and
using of Kalima in their coins by the Arakanese kings had already been
in practice. The dimension of this regional Bengali sentiment can only
be appreciated if we turn to the event of translating the Padumavat of
Malik Mohammed Jayasi by Alaol into Bengali Padmavati. Have we ever
thought under whose patronage Jayasi wrote Padumavat? It was Sher Shah
Sur ( 1472-1545) who not only ousted the Mughal Emperor
Humayun from Bengal, but dared to capture the throne of Delhi, causing a
break in the continuity of the Mughal rule in North India. Sher Shah,
rose from a local ruler to the emperor of India. Sher Shah was of Afghan
origin and showed his sympathy to the Hindus, who occasionally felt
suppressed by Mughal supremacy. It was the decision of the Arakanese
court which Kavya or Mahakavya should be translated into Bengali for the
resident Bengali population of Arakan. The writing of court poetry had a
long tradition in India, where the author had to sing the glory of his
patron and had to act as one of the agents of fulfilling of the
political ambitions of the ruler-patron. This was no exception in
Arakan. We should not try to identify those Bengalis for whom Hindustani
literatures were translated, by their religious affiliations. Rather we
should try to stress the linguistic identity, (i.e., the
speakers of Bengali language) of the target population for which such
translations were made. After all, Bengal's most valuable cultural asset
is its language, which of course bears the evidence of the mixed
religious traditions of Bengal. I may mention here that
when former East Pakistan was fighting for her autonomy trom west
Pakistan, it was the language ( Bangla) which became the real weapon for
the Bengali/Bangladeshi nationalism. The king Ratnasena of Chitor
symbolized the Hindu rule, while Padmavati, Princess of
Sri Lanka, symbolizes the Buddhist rule, while the story itself is full
of Indian ( sufistic , Hindu and Buddhist) thoughts, legends from
Mahabharat, Ramayan, and Purana. Actually it champions the
cause of love between a Hindu prince and princes from Buddhist land.
The siege of Chitor by Alauddin and the downfall of the Hindu kingdom
are very symbolically projected in the work of Jayasi. One of the last
verses of Jayasi's Padumavat is:
Jauhar bhaim saba istiripurusha bha e samgrama
Badsah gara cura chitour bha Islam
Women did Jaharbrato, men fought the wars, Badshah destroyed the fort and Chitor became an Islamic State.
Scholars have rightly said that Arakan saw waves of Muslim immigration from an early period. For
example it is said that the Kaman Muslims of present Arakan are
descendants of those archers ( soldiers ) who accompanied Shah Suja in
his flight to Arakan. It is no wonder that the prudence of the Arakanese
kings led them to woo the Bengali Muslims against perhaps Muslims of
north Indian origin living in Arakan.
We
have just to connect the oft quoted imprisonment of Alol in the hands
of the Arakanese king, the reason for which was alleged involvement of
Alol in an apparent conspiracy to dethrone the king. Suja legend has so
much of versions that it is better not to enter in to it; nevertheless
it has to be accepted that Arakan had a wide number of population of
ethnic Bengalis, no matter we call them Muslims or Hindus or of a
intermediary stage who believed in all sorts ofyogic and eclectic
practices, indulged in various psycho-physical practices and magic. We
encounter in both, Padamavati, as well as in Sati Mayna,
on several occasions the word Yogi. In fact Ratnasena took the
appearance of a Yogi, left Chitor to find out Padmavati. In similar way
Lor also took the Yogi dress and aimed at uniting with Chandrani. In
both the works the constant struggle between Bhoga ( enjoyment) and
Tyaga ( sacrifice) went on, ultimately however the message of Tyga,
though in an unique way exceeded.
Daulat
Quazi was a contemporary of the Arakanese king Sirisudhammaraja
(1622-1638). Daulat Quazi composed Sati Mayna otherwise known as Lor
Candrani, at the request ofAsharaf Khan, the lashkar Wazir of the king.
This was a period in which the Arakanese dominance over Chittagong was
waning, but Arakanese endeavours to encourage court poets of
Chittagongian origin were in full swing. Ashrafs were a class by
themselves. Noted Indian anthropologist Nirmal Bose is of the opinion
that Ashrafs were high caste Brahmins who were converted to Islam "One
wonders whether these upstart ashrafs of Bengal are not really
descendants of the Brahmins! ( N. Bose, 1994, 166). Ashraf Muslims'
attitude towards the fish-eating rural masses of Bengali Muslims
strengthens Bose's theory about the origin of Ashraf Muslims. It is
believed that the Muslim converts in Bengal were recruited from the poor
masses of the low caste Hindu society. Ashraf Khan however was
extremely tolerant towards all the communities who flocked to Arakan: Sayyids,
Shaikhs, Mughals and Pathans (Sukumar Sen, 1975, 283). Ashraf Khan was
described to be well acquainted with Niti Vidya (Hindu Science in
Polity) and Kavy Shastra (Classical Science of Literature). Even, low
caste Hindus were welcome in the court of Arakan. All castes and classes
sat side by side.
It
is stated that the necessity of translating the Indian folk tales into
Bengali was created by the fact that a large number of indigenous people
wanted to hear the romantic love stories in the Desibhasa and also in
the Panchali form. Ashraf Khan, for example, having heard the story of
Lor and Chandrani written in Gohari, ordered Magan Thakur to translate
it into Bengali Panchali style so that it could reach the lowest strata
of the resident Bengali society in Arakan. I quote Sukumar Sen from his
Bengia Sahityer Itihasa (Sen, 1975, 284):
Thetha caupaiycl doha kohila sadhane
No bhuJhe gohari bhasa kono konoJane
Deshi Bhase kaha takapanchaUr chanda
Sakale shuniyajena bujhaye sananda
(Thetha
caupaiya Doha has been sued, but Gohari is not understood by some. So
please give a pancali form of the story in indigeneous language, so that
many people enjoy the story).
This
particular style made a deep impact on the Bengali society, no matter,
Hindu or Muslim, to maintain the rich oral tradition by generations. It
was a style developed as a result of the Vaishnava influence in Bengal.
Vaishnaism flourished in Bengal during the period of the independent
Sultanat of Bengal (14th_16th century). For example, Sree Chaitanya
(1486-1533) enjoyed the patronage of Sultan Hussain Shah. Vijaya Gupta
wrote Mansha Mongol during the same period. Hymns in praise of Lakshmi
(Goddess of wealth), Satya Narayan, Satya Pir and such other Gods and
Goddesses were written in this form. The Panchali in praise of Satya Pir
is still read by Muslims and Hindus alike, even today.
So,
Bengali was widely spoken in Arakan in the 16th and 17th centuries.
This corroborates the view of S. Subramaniam when he states "Whether or
not the early Mrauk U rulers brought back Muslim troops from Bengal to
aid them, it is certain that the spread of Firdausi and Qadifi sufi
practices in the coastal regions of Arakan can be witnessed from the
fifteenth century"(Subramaniam, in J. Gomman & J. leider eds, 2002,
11). However, the Bengali milieu in Arakan should not be seen restricted
to orthodox Muslims. A large number of Deoole believed in a "religion"
which was highly mixed in characters. This particular Islamic culture
was deeply committed to Yogic Sufism and Vaishanvism. Enarnul
Haque explains this mixed character of Islam in his book History of
Sufism in Bengal. For example he mentions about a work called Yoga
kalandar ( Yoga of the Sufis). The author of this Muslim Yoga is Sayyid
Martaza. One Sayyid Murataza was also the composer of many lyrics on
vaishanva themes. Murtaza was an inhabitant ofChittagong ( Huq, 1975,
374).
As
Subraminam like my other scholars, rightly pointed out, the most
visible sign of a mixed religious culture along the coastal regions is
the building of numerous symbolic tombs (badr maqam) from Assam to
Mergui. Richard Temple's article on badr cult published in the JBRS is
as usual referred by this eminent Bay of Bengal scholar. In various
parts of Bengal, the Pir Badr is known by various names. Pandits differ
about whether they all indicate the same person or they were different
persons. However, suffice to add that the wide range isms that developed
during the period between the fall of Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms in Bengal
and consolidation of Islam show remarkable similarities in ideas. A
person is believed to be the envoy or ambassador of the God - no matter
Allah, Lord Buddha or Vishnu.
Quite often we ignore the fact that the religious plurality opened the door for linguistic interactions between various people, giving rise to birth of
mixed languages, like the Rohingya Bengala. Existence of three
languages, Bengali, Persian and Arakanese is not a new phenomenon in the
region of Chittagong-Arakan. All three languages were used in the coins
of the provincial Governors of Chittagong functioning under the
administration of Arakanese governors. They used the title anauk-bhuran-
meaning 'king of the west' on their trilingual coins (Chaudhury
1997,150). Using of Bengali, besides Arakanese and Persian, indicates
the importance of the Bengali language (Bhattacharya, 2002). About this
language Ba Tha wrote in as early as in 1960s that it is lost language.
Ba Tha, to whom I had mentioned before, referred to a book with the
title Keyamatnama. He said that he had received it from his father. Ba
Tha printed a page from this book in his article Rohingya Fine Arts.(The
Guardian, Rangoon, February 1961, vol. 8, 20-22), The
script shows the popularity of Nask stile. Ba Tha deplores that the
Rohingyas lost their language, their art, their music and many other
elements of their cultural life.
We
have to understand the writing of the Bengali literature by Alaol,
Magan or Daulat Quazi in the context of the Mughal quest for subduing
Bengal and Arakan's hold over the Twelve landlords (Baro Bhuiyas) of
Bengal. After all, it was these Twelve Lords who dared to oppose the
Mughals. Alol's landing at Arakan was also the same tragedy as that of
Suja's. Alol's father was a Minister of Majlis Qutb, one of the Baray
Bhuyans of Bengal (Mirza Nathan, 1936, 2: 799-800). He was ruling in
Fatehabad which is described as a city of Gaur. When Islam Khan was the
Mughal Governor in Bengal, Alol's father was defeated and killed by the
Portuguese freebooters. Alol also translated Sikandernama. It is a
translation of Nizami's lskandarnama. Nizamai's another work Sapta
Paykar was also translated by Alaol. The Bengali title became Sapta
Paykar. Five years later Tuhfa-i-Nasa'ih of the Indo- Iranian poet
YusufGoda was translated into Bengali. Goda wrote this on the Islamic
social and religious norms in the year 1393-94 (Ahmed Sherifs
translation of Tuhfa 1977). Tuhfa is the only work on Islamic social
norms. It was one Sayyid Musa from Arakan who inspired Alol to translate
Tuhfa as well as the incomplete part of Daulat Quazi's Sati Mayna.
Sayful Muluk Baduizzaman and Ragatalanama, in two more works of Alol,
Alol praised the Muslims of Rosanga as seekers of knowledge and trainers
in the arts. Alol said that he trained sons of many elite families of
Rosanga.
Rosangete Musalmanayatheka achanata
Talim alim bali adar karanta
Bahu mohanter putra maha maha nara
Patha gita sangita suikhailam bahutara
(Muslims
of Rosanga were patronized as seekers of knowledge and as trainers in
the arts. I (Alol) have educated sons of many elite families of Rosaga
(Sarif 1958, 1958, 111). One of the leaders of this sect, Muhiuddin, had
been Jayasi's Guru. The popularity of this Guru of the Chisthi sects
among the Bengali Muslims can be witnessed even today.
British and the Muslim of Arakan
When
the British occupied Arakan they divided the people of Arkan into four
categories. Muslims. Hindus, Buddhists and Hill Tribes. The Hindus were
described as the descendants of the Brahmans and astrologers who were
brought by the Arakanese kings. Their origin was traced in Indian state
of Manipur while other Brahman descendants in Arakan are said to be the
descendants of the "colonists" from Bengal. The Doms (one of the lowest
castes among the Hindus) were brought from Bengal to act as Phra Ky\von
(bhoora Kywon) or Pagoda slaves. Later, the British administrators
released them from their perpetual servitude and were then employed as
cultivators (Gazetteer, vol. 2, 16-17). As for the Muslims or
Mahomedans, there had always been an attempt to create aloyal class from
among the Muslims of Arakan. The Gazetteer, vol. 2 says
that out of the 58,255 Mahomedans many are seasonal workers who came
down from Chittagong, only to work for a limited period. Though they are
included in the Census return, but are truly speaking not "inhabitants
of the country". Those who are bonafide residents are actually
descendants of the slaves who were captured by the Arakanese and Burmese
kings. Further, the same Gazetteer states that a large number is
believed to be brought by Meng Radza-gyee in course of his expedition to
Sundeep Island. There existed still another story of immigration of
Muslims: it is believed that several ships were wrecked on the Rarnree
Island and the Mussulman crews landed in Arakan and started living
there permanently. In making a dividing line between the Arakanese and
these Muslims, the Gazetteer states that the latter's integration with
the Arakanese Buddhist society was so perfect that though Muslims by
their religious conviction, they differed but very little from the
Arakanese. They could write and speak Burmese, but
“amongst themselves employ colloquially the language of their ancestors"
(Gazetteer, vol. II, p.16). Now the question arises what this language
was? Was it the Chittagongian dialect, or Rohingya Bengala? Or, any
other mixed dialect having words from Bengali, Persian and Burmese in
their fold? We do not know whether mixing of languages and word
borrowing are distinct features of this region. The Buddhist Chakmas
have also taken a wide number of words from Burmese, Persian and Bengali
languages while their script has directly been derived from Burmese
script.
The
Indian population in Arakan, a large part of which were Muslims from
Southeastern Bengal, saw a steady rise, as is evidenced in the works of
many scholars. Nalini Ranjan Chakravarty is one of them. The following
table taken from his book indicates the usual trend in rise. In 1911,
the Indian population ofAkyab town was 63.6% of the total of 37, 893. In
Rathedaung it was 18.9% of a total of 56,789. Remarkably high was the
figure 53.2% in Buthidaung out of 63,673 and in Maungdaw 77% out of
101,134. In 1917, Smart was describing the situation in Maungdaw as
having 77 percent of the population as Chittagongians. He warned, if the
immigration of Muslims continued, then the whole of Akyab would be in
the hands of the Chittagongians as it happened in the case of Mungdaw
Township (Fleishmann, 1981, 41). In some of the villages in Maungdaw,
the population was exclusively Indians, more precisely Chittagongians.
The indigenous Arakanese population felt cornered by the ever increasing
number of such immigrants. Mr. S.G. Grantham in his Census Report of
1921 stated "Actually of the 201,000 Indians shown against Akyab, 78,000
males and 76,000 females were born in the district: the phenomenon is
as much an annexation of part of India by Burma as an invasion of Akyab
by Indians (as found in N.R. Chakravarty, 17-180).
Mr.
J.J. Benison in his Census report of 1931 said that in parts of Akyab
District Indians were so numerous that they should perhaps be regarded
as indigenous (N.R. Chakravarty, p. 18). By the term "Indian" Bennison
meant Moslem residents of the bordering areas. The Baxter report of 1941
gives the following detailed picture of Indian population in Arakan (U.
Mahajani, 9) : Chittagongian, Bengalis, Hindusthanis and Tamils.
Whereas the Chittagongian unskilled labour was 12, 877, in the same
year, the Chittagongian unskilled labour was 29,684. According
to Baxter Commission recommendation, the Government of India sent
Girija Shankar Bajpai as its sole delegate. The Burmese government
wanted a termination of Indian labour migration to Burma,
but in the case of Arakan, Burma showed its interest in having 20,000
Indian Chittagongian labourers to reap paddy during harvest time. This
arrangement appeared to be necessary as Burmese peasants were unwilling
to move into remote areas bordering East Bengal.
The
1940s makes a sad chapter for Arakanese history. A region of Burma
which in her history demonstrated the highest degree of tolerance in
adapting streams of ideas and customs, became a place of horror and
massacre. We may mention here that from mid 1930s there appeared to be a
succinct polarization between Buddhists and Muslims of Burma, which
left its repercussion on Arakan. The Indian Muslims' demand for a
separate state left its dark shadow on the political atmosphere of
Burma. The Burmese nationalists (neither the Pongyis, nor the Thakins or
any other group) and the Burmese people never accepted the idea of a
'nation within nation". The Dobama movement gave a concrete shape to
Burmese national identity which did not accept any divisions along any
line, ethnic, religious or otherwise. On the other hand, the rise of
Muslim demand gave rise to Hindu nationalism which in certain platforms
joined hands with Buddhist nationalists from Burma. For example U
Ottama, the leading Pongyi activist and friend of India who led the
entire Pongyi movement during 1920s, became twice the President of Hindu
Mahasabha in 1930s. We should however restrain ourselves to stamp out
this revolutionary monk as orthodox and anti-Muslim. But in the eve of
rising Muslim demands for a separate state this Pongyi saw the need for
reforms within Hinduism, and closer cooperation between Hindus and
Buddhists. We know that he came from Arakan.
The
year 1942, when the British withdrew from Burma, there was total chaos
in Arakan. The Muslim-Buddhist polarization had reached such a point of
nadir that Muslims in large numbers had to leave Arakan. Japanese took
control of Buthidaung and half of Maungdaw. The Muslims of Northern
Arakan formed peace committees with the help of the Japanese
(Bhattacharya, 1995, 545). Field Marshall Viscount Slim gave a very grim
picture of Arakan in which he said that it was only total chaos that
reigned in Arakan. This was also the time when Indians in thousands were
living Burma apprehending the outbreak of the War, and Arakan and
Manipur were the only two routes. With the Japanese occupation and
entering of the British into Arakan, the Magh-Muslim hatred had taken a
clear communal shape. Arakan was divided into Buddhist South and Muslim
North.After 1942 massacre the Muslims had to turn to Eastern Bengal.
But, later went back. They found their land occupied by the Arakanese.
When the British reoccupied Arakan, they got extreme support from the
northern districts of Buthidaung and Maungdaw. Muslims of northern
Arakan had already started dreaming of their Homeland.
Antony
lrwin went to Arakan in 1944 and praised the Arakanese Muslims as the
most loyal people who "fought and died with the British". Thus he
justified his recruitment of "boys", "scouts" and "guides" from such
loyal and obedient people (Antony lrwin 22). In his book Burmese Outpost
Antony lrwin published two letters from one Haji Ullah Arakani who sent
the letters from Calcutta in June 1945. Arkani praised the British for
the help they extended to the Arakanese Muslims. During those days of
1940s there was also an attempt to free Arakan by monks like U Sein Da.
He was leading an anti-Japanese guerilla partisan movement. He possessed
documents showing the evidence of cooperation between the Muslims and
Buddhists of Arakan (Cady, p. 543, F.N. 16). Thus, Arakanese regionalism
made the ground fertile for Muslims of Arakan for their struggle. Both
the scholars, Moshe Yegar and K. Fleischmann gave examples of how in the
penultimate phase of the Burmese nationalist movement, Aung Sen and Mohammed Ali Jinnah came to an
understanding that they would ignore the demand of the north Arakanese
Muslims for any kind of autonomy, let alone independence!
If we look at the process of emergence of nation states and the positions of Muslims in the 20th century,
we find that it is only in south Asia that the Muslims have succeeded
in recording successfully their claim that as a minority community they
must have their own state to fulfill their political, social, cultural
aspirations. The Enzyclopaedia of Religion (Macmillan, 1987, . 391)
notes that this is a contribution of the South Asian Muslims to world
Islam. However, this opinion can be a subject of debate. In the case of
Burma, though it was part of the British Empire of India until 1937,
development never showed any such trends, though a large number of
Muslims had been living in Burma before the British came. In mainland
Burmese politics during the British period, neither have the Muslims
demanded any special right nor have the colonial rulers favoured the
Muslims with any special right as they did in the case of India ( M.
Hasan, 1994, P. Hardy, 1972). The Muslims of Burma lived as an integral
part of the society. Marriages between Muslim men and
Burmese women was seen more as a rule than as an exception. The Burmese
society is a genuine liberal society.
Moshe
Yegar in his book Muslims of Burma has mentioned about his interview
with a Rohingya leader whom he met while in Burma. This Rohingya leader
stated that the British promised a "National Area" to the Muslims of
Arakan. The idea of national area is not altogether unknown among the
AFPFL circle (Maung Maung, Constitution of Burma, 167, ):
Union State, Autonomous State and National Area. The National Area
should have its own territorial limit and also linguistic identity.
Certainly a tiny part of Arakan did not have that.
The
post colonial period saw in Burma (1948-1951) a formidable civil war
and separatist movements across the country. Those who posed the most
formidable challenge were the karens. But it is also known that the
Mujahids of North Arakan wanted to separate Buthidaung and Maungdaw from
Burma. A person called kassern gave leadership to this movement. With
Kassem's death in Chittagong the movement experienced ajolt. However,
that the relation between Pakistan and Burma was put to a very sharp
test over these years is known to us from the works of Mujtaba Razvi
(Razvi in Grover, 2000).. Sporadic exodus of fugitives from Northern
Arakan over the decades of 1940s and 1950s continued to be a baulk in
the relation between Burma and Pakistan. These unsatisfied lot also
showed sympathy to those Pakistanis (then East Pakistani) who did not
accept the aspiration of Bengal nationalism and birth of Bangladesh.
Therefore those who were against the Makti juddha ( liberation movement)
found asylums in north Arakan.
These
and many other developments made Arakan an extremely difficult state.
The Prime Minister of Burma U Nu had lot of trouble with Arakan and had
to postpone the demand for separate statehood. Like in India or any
other country of South Asia, the ethnic and religious upsurge gets
fragmented by its own weakness. So was the case with the Muslims of
Arakan. Suddenly there appeared a schism between the bona fide residents
( Rohingyas) and the Chittagongian immigrants. The mayu Frontier
Administrative area had to be created so that the bona fide residents
felt protected by the Rangoon Government and not swamped over by the
immigrant Chittagongians. The Rohingya leaders pleaded for such an
arrangement ( M. Yegar, 105). When the military Government took charge
in 1962 the Mayu district was a part of the central administration. The
statehood of Arakan was also delayed again. In one of the recent books
on Southeast Asia, the author Beeson sees a formidable potential for a
large scale conflict in this region. We can only hope that the Muslims
of Arakan will learn from their past and discard the path of
confrontation and conflict.
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This paper was submitted by Dr. Swapna Bhattacharya (Chakraborti),
Reader & Head, Department of South & Southeast Asian Studies, Calcutta University, India
At "Arakan
History Conference", Bangkok 23.11 - 25.11.2005, organised by the
Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
(Draft only. Please don't quote)
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