Author(s): Sabba Choudhary
Abstract:
Myanmar’s 2017 crackdown on the Rohingyas triggered a mass exodus across South Asia, intensifying a seven-decade trajectory of marginalisation. Existing scholarship largely attributes this crisis to entrenched ethnic nationalism and Buddhist–Muslim tensions. This paper challenges that narrow framing and argues that while identity-based hostility remains a factor, it does not sufficiently explain the scale, timing, and systematic nature of the recent expulsions. The article contends that the depopulation of northern Rakhine coincides with Myanmar’s post-2011 economic opening, expanding land acquisition, and the military’s growing commercial interests. By examining emerging development corridors, resource extraction, and geopolitical competition particularly involving India and China, the paper foregrounds the political economy embedded in the violence. It concludes that understanding the Rohingya crisis requires moving beyond ethnic and religious narratives to recognise the structural economic and geo-strategic drivers shaping state action.
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