An uneasy recognition
When Burma became independent in 1948, the 1948 Union Citizenship Act extended citizenship to those who had ancestors living in Burma before 1823, and to those born in Burma to parents likewise resident. Many Rohingya qualified under these provisions and received National Registration Cards. Rohingya MPs were elected to parliament and served in government ministries through the 1950s.
Recognition in practice
Burmese state radio carried Rohingya-language broadcasts. Rohingya leaders established cultural and political organisations. The 1961 creation of a special Mayu Frontier Administration for the Rohingya-majority north of Arakan acknowledged the community's distinct identity and gave it limited self-government.
Cracks beneath the surface
Even during this relatively open period, communal suspicion ran deep. A short-lived "mujahid" insurgency in northern Arakan (late 1940s–early 1950s) — driven by some Rohingya frustrated with their political status — was used by hardliners to portray the entire community as separatist. When the military took power in 1962, the limited space Rohingya had carved out collapsed almost overnight.