Identity Politics, Nationalism and Citizenship

A Case Study of the Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar

Abstract

Identity is integral to a person’s existence and essential for inclusion or exclusion in a group or community. Myanmar, like most South and Southeast Asian countries, is a victim to the game of identity politics. The condition of the Rohingya Muslim minorities in Myanmar raises several questions regarding citizenship, identity and rights. The Rohingyas have been facing systematic violence at the hands of the Buddhist nationalists and the government, the peak of which reached in 2017 when thousands of Rohingyas fled to the neighbouring countries risking their lives, only to escape persecution and death. Their situation has often been compared to the Vietnamese during the Vietnam war, and referred to as the “boat people”. This essay questions the role of identity politics in rendering the Rohingyas as de jure stateless. It will try to analyse the role of the nationalist government of Myanmar in perpetuating identity conflict and building their nation on the lines of legitimising the identity of a majority community at the cost of the minorities.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.46700/asssr/2023/v5/i2/2023120502003