CHRONOLOGY:THE TIMELINE OF BURMA'S ROHINGYA HISTORY IN ARAKAN | Prof.Dr Abid Bahar

Professor Dr. Abid Bahar teaches in Dawson College ,Canada

ROHINGYA ORIGIN IN THE ANCIENT KINGDOM OF ARAKAN 

Arakani researcher San Shwe Bu thinks the Chandras were from Hindu dynasty but later on converted to Mohayana Buddhism. According to him the king and the people both were of Indian origin. The coins of Wasali had the image of Siva engraved on it. M.S. Collins says, “The coins of Wasali were in pure Brahminical tradition.”

The Indian Chandra aristocracy called the ancient dark skinned people of Arakan as the Rakkhasas.

788 During the reign of Arakani Indian Chandra King Mahat Sing Daya’s time recorded in the royal chronicle that several Arab ships wracked on Ramree Island. "Survivors were sent to Arakan proper and settled in villages." Similar Arab settlements were recorded in the other parts of southern part of Chittagong.

785-957 Arab traders began to settle both in Arakan and Chittagong of present Bangladesh. Inter mixture with the local population led to the first Chandra-Rohingyas of Arakan. During this time, in both Arakan and Chittagong, the influence of Sanskrit, Pali, Arabic, Persi, Portuguese combined together eventually formed the Chandra-Rohingya dialect which is similar to the Chittagonian dialect with their slight variations. The same dialect is also spoken by the Chakmas, and the Tanchaingyas of Chittagong Hill Tracts. The reason must be that all these ethnic groups despite their racial differences were the citizens of ancient Chandra kingdom.

9th Century Chandra invasion of Chittagong; Hindus of Chittagong believe that Muslims have changed the original Sanskrit name of Chittagong from "Chatta gram" into "Chaitigaon." However, the Arakani historians claim that the name Chittagong was originally given by an Arakanese king. It says, an Arakani king eracted a pillar at Chittagong in the nineth century A. D. with a remark "to make war is improper." It is true during this time a Chandra king (not a Mogh king) ruled Arakan. There was no Mogh Rakine kingdom in Arakan yet. Arakan was ruled by Chanda king Shoe Ratan. The language of the king was not the Burmese Moghhi "Tsit-ta-gungin", "to make war is improper" as was made up later on. To make war improper seem an unlikely slogan by a fighter king. The original statement "to make war is improper" seems more like the declaration of a peace treaty between two parties than as it is presented as the declaration of a victory by an Arakani king. Under the circumstance of the nonexistance of Burmese language in Arakan, instead of the Burmese "Tsit-ta-gungin", it would seem that the Chandras used Sanskrit language "Shoukeet Thakom" (in English meaning "We live in peace") The latter expression in Chittagonian or in Chandra-Rohingya language seems historically more consistent. But one might wonder how this misinterpretation of a huge magnitude "Tsit-ta-gungin", "to make war is improper" remained as truth for so long? Many of the contemporary research on Arakan show that after the event of 1784, Burmese invasion of Arakan, Burmese king took the Arakani chronocles to Burma proper. The Arakani Sanskrit chronicles were rewritten in Burmese along with a tendentious interpretation of events entered into Arakani history.