Rakhaine

The Rakhine (Burmese:formerly Arakanese), is a nationality in Burma forming the majority along the coastal region of present day Rakhine State. They possibly constitute 5.53% or more of Myanmar’s total population but no accurate census figures exist. Arakanese people also live in the southeastern parts of Bangladesh, especially in Chittagong and Barisal Divisions. A group of Arakanese descendants, living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh at least since the 16th century, are known as the Marma people. These Arakanese descendants have been living in that area since the Arakanese kingdom’s control of the Chittagong region.

Arakanese descendants spread as far north as Tripura state in India, where their presence dates back to the ascent of the Arakanese kingdom when Tripura was ruled by Arakanese kings. In northeast India, these Arakanese people are referred to as the Mog, while in Bengali, the Marma (the ethnic Arakanese descendants in Bangladesh) and other Arakanese people are referred to as the Magh people.
The Rakhaing is the smallest Indigenous group in Bangladesh. They established their settlement in Cox;s Bazar, Patuakhali and Borguna district about 80% of the Rakhain live in Cox’s Bazar district. Rest of them live in Patuakhali and Borguna district. There were 4049 Rakhain in the Patuakhali region in 1872. The number increased to 16,394 in 1951, but then gradually reduced to 3,713 in 1979 (Bangladesh Statistical Year Book, 1997).
Few of them are living in the Bandarban district. The census of 1991 recorded the number of Rakhain population in Bangladesh at about 16,932 (Khaleque, 1998). The population of Cox’s Bazar district is 1419260 (census-1991, Banglapedia, 2004). So the percentage of Rakhain community in Cox’s Bazar district is 0.95%, Cox’s Bazar sadar upazila is 1.57%, Ramu upazila 0.80%, Chakaria upazila 0.85% (Population census-1991 and Aung, 2005).