Daily Times: here are only a few countries in the world that deny their citizens the basic right to self-identity. Pakistan and Burma are two examples that come to mind. In both cases, the state-mullah nexus has changed the meaning of basic identities to exclude a group of people it despises.
Despite the fact that they have been living there for numerous generations, Rohingya Muslims in Burma have been denied citizenship and the basic rights that come with it. The Burmese Nationality Law, passed in 1982, does not legally recognise the Rohingya ethnic minority. Following international pressure on Myanmar, the government finally introduced a plan a few years ago to open a pathway for Rohingya citizenship. However, very few Rohingyas have been successful in becoming citizens through this route. This is because the plan requires them to prove at least three generations of residence in the country, not an easy task given the lack of accurate historical biographical data. In addition to this requirement, they have to give up the Rohingya identity and agree to being officially declared Bengali, or face government threats of relocation.
Countries usually confer citizenship through one of two principles: jus soli (by birth) or jus sanguinis (by blood). The former determines a person’s citizenship by their birthplace. This system of conferring citizenship is common in developed countries. In jus sanguinis, on the other hand, a person inherits their parents’ citizenship. Burma follows the jus sanguinis principle since its notorious citizenship law of 1982. This means only those Rohingya born to parents who are citizens at the time of their birth can attain citizenship. This is meant to ensure a perpetual chain of non-citizenship for the Rohingyas, who are severely marginalised at the hands of the Buddhist majority.