In this report submitted to the Governor of Burma in early 1947, the Advisor on Indian Affairs makes the recommendation to group together anyone who spoke one of the six recognized Indian languages, including Urdu and Bengali, into one political minority. It was suggested, this new political minority in Burma be named, the ‘National Indian Minority’ of Burma.
Many Muslim and Hindu communities, like the Rohingya, had lived in Burma for generations, long before the British colonized Burma. Regardless, discrimination and prejudice was embedded in the term ‘Indian’ as well as the accusation of being a ‘foreigner’. The recommended categorization of ‘Indian’ would influence voter registration and political representation. It would also require one to submit written claims before being included as a registered voter in the upcoming general election for the Constituent Assembly.
At the same time of the release of this report, Rohingya from Maungdaw and Buthidaung gathered for a mass meeting in Maungdaw. They considered their community to be indigenous to Burma like others and protested being categorized as ‘Indians’.
The Rohingya at the mass meeting claimed this to be a ‘gross injustice’ and demanded to be recognized as ‘Burman’ or people belonging to Burma, not ‘Indians’ or ‘foreigners’. The mass meeting was led by Rohingya leader M.A. Gaffar.
Here is an original cable telegraph informing the Secretary of State of Burma in London of this meeting and the demands of the Rohingya attending the meeting. Chairman of the mass meeting: Abdul Ghaffar, Feb 19, 1947