Evolution of Mru Ethnicity from the time of Francis Buchanan to Menley Mru

Abstract

Based on archival research, linguistic observations, fieldwork, and interviews undertaken in the Bandarban district of Bangladesh, this article explores the history of Mru ethnicity, its origin, and the evolution of ethnic practices. This study aims to evaluate the established perceptions and understandings regarding the Mru people in Bangladesh. By reviewing all the available literature, historical accounts, and statistics, the study has attempted to portray how the Mru migrated not just once but twice. First from Mrauk-U to North Arakan and then from Arakan to Bangladesh through the last millennium. Findings show how the Mru people inhabited the Kaladan-Lemyo river basin long before any other ethnic groups would have arrived. The study has gone through the archived statistics of the last 200 years and analyzed the unique characteristics of the Mru language, with emphasis on the Rengmitca language, revealing how the Khami people were absorbed in ethnicity in the last hundred years while focusing on their collective development in the past 225 years. Overall, this article portrayed that the migration, language, and new religion have played their role as elements of Mru ethnicity and the society is still undergoing a rapid change.