Myanmar needs this to be poverty free,
But look outside and angry folk is all you’ll see,
You need the right amount,
Or it doesn’t really count,
It’s more complicated than just one, two, three.
Nobody really knows how many people live in Myanmar. This is because the country (previously called ‘Burma’) has not held a census since 1983. Their government, along with funding from the United Nations, has finally decided to conduct a nation-wide census – but there are conditions. The officials are refusing to recognise an entire ethnic group called the Rohingyas. The resulting chaos is putting the entire operation at risk.
Who are the Rohingyas?
Described as one of the worst treated minorities in the world, the Rohingyas are mostly Muslims who live in the western part of Myanmar. How they came to be in the country, however, is the point of debate. The Rohingyas say that they have lived in Myanmar for centuries and are just as much part of the country as the rest of the people. However, the government and the Buddhist majority see them as foreigners who illegally migrated from Bangladesh in the recent past. As a result, they refuse to grant the Rohingyas citizenship. Being a citizen of no country means no access to basic human rights like education, health, etc. The Rohingyas, therefore, live in terrible conditions and are treated with hostility by the rest of the population.
Can a census change anything?
Myanmar is tremendously diverse with respect to ethnic groups. Having an idea of how big and how well the population of the country is doing is the first step to plan for the development of any nation, especially a backward one like Myanmar. However, Rohingyas are still going to be ignored. The government has said that the group must call themselves ‘Bengali’ or ‘Other’. Other ethnic minorities are concerned as well, and there is widespread discontent about the way the census is being conducted.
Why are Buddhists against the census?
For the Rohingyas, even being recognised as ‘other’ could be better than not being recognised at all. They hope that this could be a step towards citizenship. This has angered the majority Buddhists who see them as outsiders, sparking more protests and violence.The situation is so tense that foreign census workers are being evacuated for safety reasons, prompting many to wonder if the ambitious exercise is more trouble than it’s worth.
nandita.j@thehindu.co.in
