Rakhine State

The capital city is Sittwe (formerly Akyab). the majority of people are Buddhists and the second being Muslims.

The term Rakhine (or Arakan) derives from the Pali word Rakkhapura or Sanskrit Raksapura meaning "Land of Ogres", possibly a pejorative referring to the original Negrito inhabitants. The Pali word Rakkhapura (Rakkhita) means "Land of the people of Rakhasa" (also Rakkha, Rakhaing). The name "Arakan" has historically been used by Bengali, Arabic, Portuguese and English as an alternative to "Rakhine", and continues to be widely used. The Burmese government refers to Arakan as "Rakhine".

The Rakhine and Bamar live in valleys and on Yambye and Manuang islands. The Chin inhabit the mountain regions of the north. The Mro, Thet, Kaimi, Dainet, Maramagyi, Khumi and Kaman live on the mountain ranges in the west and north. Ethnicity in rakhine State is a complex issue, made more complex by the current political situation.

One such complication to the Rakhine ethnic issue is that of the Rohingya, who are not recognized as a legitimate native ethnic group, but who currently form about 25% of the Rakhine State's population.

Rakhine State receives much rain, so rice is the main crop, occupying around 85% of the total agricultural land. Coconut and nipa palm plantations are also important. Fishing is a major industry, with most of the catch transported to Yangon, but some is also exported. Wood products such as timber, bamboo and fuel wood are extracted from the mountains. Small amounts of inferior-grade crude oil are produced from primitive, shallow, hand dug wells, but there is yet unexplored potential for petroleum and natural gas production.

The ruins of the ancient royal town Mrauk U and the beach resorts of Ngapali are the major attractions for foreign visitors, but facilities are still primitive, and transportation infrastructure is still rudimentary.

Rakhine's ancient kingdoms are divided into four separate periods. A kingdom called Dhanyawady arose in the Arakan region in the 1st century AD. The famous Mahamuni Buddha (located in Mandalay) was cast in Dhanyawady in around 150 AD. The kingdom of Wethali (Rakhine: Wai-tha-li) was the successor to Dhanyawady from the 3rd century AD. Arakan reached the zenith of its power in the Bay of Bengal during the Waithali and Lemro periods (c1430 AD), but the country steadily declined from the fifteenth century onwards. Chittagong, which was part of Arakan was invaded and occupied by the Mughal Empire in 1666. Internal instability and dethroning of kings was very common. The Burmese King U Wine invaded and occupied Arakan in 1784.

The famous Mahumuni Buddha image was taken as a war trophy to his capital of Mandalay (where it is still located). Burmese attacks on Rakhine refugees in neighbouring British Bengal was one of the instigating causes of the First Anglo Burmese War (1824-26). Under the Treaty of Yandabo (1826), Burma ceded Arakan and Tenasserim to British India. Arakan was thus one of the first Burmese territories to be ceded to the British. The British made Akyab capital of Arakan, and retained the traditional divisions of the country into the districts of Akyab, Kyaukpyu and Sandoway (Ramree) with a district officer in charge of each. Akyab district originally included the Arakan Hill Tracts, which were detached in 1865 and made into a separate district (now Chin State).

Images of Rakhine State