11/11/2025
Minister Sultan Mahmud was one of the most visionary, intellectual, and accomplished Rohingya figures in Burmese history. His inclusive and influential leadership brought significant progress to all Arakanese ethnic communities and to Burma as a whole. Foreseeing the future challenges of his people, he proposed the creation of a Rohingya-administered statehood in the Mayu Frontier region during his tenure as Minister.
After the 1960 general election, Prime Minister U Nu appointed an Inquiry Commission to consider statehood for Arakan. The commission found that most Arakanese Buddhists supported statehood, while many Arakanese Muslims were hesitant. Sultan Mahmud therefore proposed a separate state in northern Arakan, where Muslims formed the majority, citing the Mughal Empire’s expansion under Shaista Khan in 1666 up to the Kaladan River, which historically divided Muslim- and Buddhist-majority areas.
On 20 October 1960, Sultan Mahmud and his colleagues submitted a memorandum to the Statehood Consultative Committee, setting two conditions for statehood:
1. That Arakanese Buddhists support Muslim demands; and
2. That the new constitution guarantee autonomy and safeguards for Arakanese Muslim (Rohingya) citizens.
The proposal also outlined a power-sharing system, According to the proposal, if the state governor were Muslim, the Speaker of the State Council would be non-Muslim, and the deputy a Muslim, with the arrangement reversed when the governor was non-Muslim. This model of shared leadership would extend to other public offices as well. It emphasized religious freedom, education in faith, development of the Rohingya language and culture, and the appointment of an executive officer to oversee Muslim affairs.
Despite the injustice that marked his later years, Sultan Mahmud’s vision of unity, fairness, and coexistence remains a guiding light for all who believe in equality and peace.
May Almighty Allah bestow upon him the highest place in Jannah.
- Mayyu Khan
