Dr. Abid Bahar Ph.D.
Historically speaking, due to its location on a racial faultline, Arakan has remained an epicentre of refugee production in the region until our present time. In understanding these phenomena, for historians in particular, I think several dates are significant in the history of Arakan, beginning from 957 AD, through the 1430, 1660, 1666, 1784, 1824 and 1982. In consideration of the above premise, when I say most of the Rohingyas have historically similar background as was with people of Bengal until the 11th century, I mean several things:
1. Like in Arakan, Bengal was first Hindu then became Mahayana Buddhist. In Arakan, the Mohanuni statue was by the Mahayana Buddhists of the Chandra time and racially people were 100% of Indo-Aryan stock. “The coins of Wasali had the image of Siva engraved on it.” Arakan was known to Indian missionaries as the “Kalamukha” (land of the dark-skinned people). “The second phase of Indianization of Arakan occurred between the 4th and the 6th century AD, by which time the colonists had established their kingdom, and named their capital Vaishali.” By this time Arakan became a Mahayana Buddhist kingdom. As a port city, Vaishali also developed some pockets of Muslim settlements from Arab and Persian
