Geography and location of Arakan

Present-day Arakan (Rakhine) State is a crescent-like coastal region of Western Burma covering a total land area of about 20,000 square miles (52,000 square kilometres). It stretches from the Naff River in the North that marks its borders with Bangladesh (193 km) and India (30 km) to Cape Nagris in the South, which touches the Andaman Sea.

The north-south extension (latitudinal spread) of Arakan is 360 miles as the crow flies; in the Site-tway district, the cradle of Arakanese civilization, the spread is only approximately 160 miles. The east-west extension of the territory is even less: the widest part, spanning northern Arakan state from the Bay of Bengal to the crestline of the Arakan Roma mountains is about 100 miles. Further south, near San-dway, Arakan is only about 25 miles across. The coastal strip grows even narrower as it extends south, where it terminates in a point, known as Pagodas Point.

It is important to note that Burman-occupied territory was demarcated from historical Arakan in the Randaboo Treaty, which was signed between two alien powers, the British colonial administration in India and the Burman expansionists, on February 24, 1826. The treaty awarded to the Burman kingdom some territory of present-day Arakan, plus the southernmost part of historical Arakan from the Kyauk-chwan River to Haigree (Haigyi) Island, Pagodas Point and Cape Nagris, as well as the Northern Arakan Hills that are the Paletwa district today. The total area of the lost territory was 21,694 square miles.

After the southernmost portion of the Bessein administration was partitioned by the British in 1853, the area of Arakan was further reduced to 18,945 square miles. Again after 1952, the Northern Arakan Hills of the Paletwa district were separated from Arakan and renamed the Chin Hills by the Burman-dominated government of post-Independence Burma. The area of modern Arakan State, which borders Chin State and Bangladesh in the north and Magwe Division in the east, and faces the Bay of Bengal in the west is 14,200 square miles.

The Geography and Political Status of Present-day Arakan

Arakan is a state in Burma (Myanmar). It is located on Burma’s western coast, and is bordered by Chin State in the north, Magwe Division, Bago Division and Irrawaddy (Ayeyarwady) Division in the east, the Bay of Bengal to the west, and the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh to the northwest. It is located between latitudes 17°30′ N and 21°30′ N and longitudes 92°10′ E and 94°50′ E. The Arakan Roma (Yoma) mountain range, which rises to 3,063 m at Victoria Peak, separates Arakan from Burma proper. The state covers 36,762 km² and its capital is Site- tway.

With approximately four million inhabitants, Arakan State accounts for about 6 % of the total population of Burma. Situated on the Bay of Bengal, it benefits from the natural resources yielded by the sea, its forests, and the fertile Kaladan and Laymro River valleys. Most people in Arakan engage in rice farming and fishing, which are at the foundation of both their daily struggle for survival and their cultural identity. The state is divided into 4 districts and 17 townships, 3 sub-townships, 20 towns, 132 quarters, 1,040 village-tracts and 3,861 villages. The capital city, Site-tway (Sittwe), known also as Akyab, has a population of approximately 400,000 and is located on an estuarial island at the confluence of the Kaladan, Laymro, and Mayu rivers.

The Climate and Natural Resources of Arakan

Arakan State lies directly in the path of the southwest monsoon and is covered with ever-green forests due to the substantial amount of rainfall it receives. There are three seasons in general; summer lasts from March until the end of May, with average high temperatures around 100° F. Annual rainfall is typically 160 to 200 inches.

Arakan is blessed with an abundance of natural resources. Its economy is mainly agriculture and resource-based. The main agricultural product is rice and paddy. The export of forest and timber products such as teak, hardwood, softwood, ply-wood, bamboo, cane, etc., and sea products like shrimp, turtles, crabs, dried fish, canned fish, and salt also contributes significantly to the economy of Arakan. Large deposits of petroleum, natural gas and uranium can be found both inland and offshore; commercially exploitable deposits of silver, wolfram, zinc, platinum, lead, copper and precious stones such as sapphires are thought to exist in Arakan. Limestone and marble, quarried in the Arakan Roma mountains, are also important exports. Waterfalls like that at Sai Dun (Din) offer the prospect of an inexhaustible supply of electricity via hydropower. The bamboo forests in the Arakan Roma are capable of produce the best qualified pulp and paper products.