The Rohingya people ( are a stateless Indo-Aryan-speaking people who reside in Rakhine State, Myanmar. There were an estimated 1 million Rohingya living in Myanmar before the 2016-17 crisis. On 22 October 2017, the UN reported that an estimated 603,000 refugees from Rakhine, Myanmar had crossed the border into Bangladesh since August 25, 2017. This number increased to 624,000 by November 2, 2017, and over 625,000 by December 6, 2017.
In the prelude to independence, two Arakanese Indians were elected to the Constituent Assembly of Burma in 1947, M. A. Gaffar and Sultan Ahmed. After Burma became independent in 1948, M. A. Gaffar presented a memorandum of appeal to the Government of the Union of Burma calling for the recognition of the term "Rohingya", based on local Indian names of Arakan (Rohan and Rohang), as the official ethnicity of Arakanese Indians. Sultan Ahmed, who served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Minorities, was a member of the Justice Sir Ba Oo Commission charged with exploring whether Arakan Division should be granted statehood. During the Burmese general election, 1951, five Rohingyas were elected to the Parliament of Burma, including one of the country's first two female MPs, Zura Begum. Six MPs were elected during the Burmese general election, 1956 and subsequent by-elections. Sultan Mahmud, a former politician in British India, became Minister of Health in the cabinet of Prime Minister of Burma U Nu. In 1960, Mahmud suggested that either Rohingya-majority northern Arakan remain under the central government or be made a separate province. However, during the Burmese general election, 1960, Prime Minister U Nu's pledges included making all of Arakan into one province. The 1962 Burmese coup d'etat ended the country's Westminster-style political system. The 1982 Burmese citizenship law stripped most of the Rohingyas of their stake in citizenship. Rohingya community leaders were supportive of the 8888 uprising for democracy. During the Burmese general election, 1990, the Rohingya-led National Democratic Party for Human Rights won four seats in the Burmese parliament. The four Rohingya MPs included Shamsul Anwarul Huq, Chit Lwin Ebrahim, Fazal Ahmed and Nur Ahmed. The election was won by the National League for Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi, who was placed under house arrest and not permitted to become prime minister. The Burmese military junta banned the National Democratic Party for Human Rights in 1992. Its leaders were arrested, jailed and tortured. Rohingya politicians have been jailed to disbar them from contesting elections. In 2005, Shamsul Anwarul Huq was charged under Section 18 of the controversial 1982 Burmese citizenship law and sentenced to 47 years in prison. In 2015, a ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party MP Shwe Maung was disbarred from the Burmese general election, 2015, on grounds that his parents were not Burmese citizens under the 1982 citizenship law. As of 2017, Burma does not have a single Rohingya MP and the Rohingya population have no voting rights.

Q: When did Rohingya take interest in Burma?
A: During the Burmese general election, 1990, the Rohingya-led National Democratic Party for Human Rights won four seats
What did they stand for politically?
In the prelude to independence, two Arakanese Indians were elected to the Constituent Assembly of Burma in 1947, The 1962 Burmese coup d'etat ended the country's Westminster-style political system. Rohingya community leaders were supportive of the 8888 uprising for democracy. In 1960, Mahmud suggested that either Rohingya-majority northern Arakan remain under the central government or be made a separate province. Rohingya community leaders were supportive of the 8888 uprising for democracy.
Rohingya community leaders were supportive of the 8888 uprising for democracy.