Arakan is a coastal region of southwestern Burma. Arakan was originally inhabited by Indian peoples; the Burmese Rakhine people did not settle in Arakan until possibly as late as the 10th century. Arakan was one of the first regions of Southeast Asia to adopt Dharmic religions, experiencing "Indianization" and conversion to Buddhism. Starting in the 8th century, Arab merchants began conducting missionary activities in the region, introducing Islam. Arakan was invaded by Mon invaders from Lower Burma and Burmese forces from Upper Burma during the 14th and 15th centuries, and Arakan became a vassal of the Bengal Sultanate. In 1784, the Konbaung dynasty conquered Arakan, while the Burmese Empire executed thousands of men. Rakhine rebellions were suppressed, and many Rakhine Buddhists fled to Bengal, while Arakanese Muslims were disperesed throughout the region. The Burmese Empire ceded Arakan to the British East India Company in 1826, and it was governed as part of the Bengal Presidency before becoming the Arakan Division and emerging as one of the largest rice exporters in the world. Muslim and Hindu settlers boosted Arakan's population; the Muslim population grew from 12.24% of the total in 1869 to 25.56% in 1931. Arkan became part of Burma Province in 1937, and it was occupied by Japan during World War II; during that war, Arakanese Burmese allied with Japan as Arakanese Indians allied with the British. After the war, Arakan became one of the Union of Burma's divisions. In 1982, the Burmese junta stripped the Arakanese Indians of their citizenship, and the state was renamed from Arakan State to Rakhine State during the 1990s in a nationalist gesture. After the 1940s, Rakhine groups like the Arakan Liberation Army waged war on the government in search of independence for the region.
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