State power and identification schemes in Rakhine 69 lead-up to independence (1944–8);1 legal documents relating to independence, citizenship, and immigration including the constitution, treaties/agreements, and laws.2 Third, I draw on unpublished personal correspondence between Burma’s independence leaders M.A. Raschid (hereafter Raschid), Aung San, described as the ‘Father of the Nation,’3 U Nu, first Prime Minister of independent Burma,4 and other significant figures.5 Raschid was a close colleague and friend of Aung San. He was Burmese-Indian and served on the constitution drafting committee and in various ministerial positions in independent Burma. He was arrested and imprisoned following Ne Win’s military coup of 1962 and latterly fled to Pakistan. The relevance of his correspondence to this research is that he helped negotiate with the independence leaders from Pakistan and India, resolved disputes on the incorporation of Rohingya areas (Maungdaw and Buthidaung) within Myanmar’s borders, and was significant in negotiations relating post-colonial citizenship and India/Pakistan/Burma relations. Fourth, I draw on findings from the oral histories collected as part of this research. These include findings from ‘walking histories,’ in which I travelled with Rohingya in Bangladesh from different generations of displacement to sites on or next to the border, and to areas in Bangladesh with shared Buddhist/Muslim heritage and populations to generate oral histories (see Chapter 2); and interviews and focus groups conducted with Rohingya participants relating to identity documents and independence.6 The first section of this chapter focuses on Rohingya as a borderland people with their homelands in today’s Myanmar. It considers how Rohingya oral histories described being caught between various clashing colonial and authoritarian regimes as these powers fought over the boundaries around their territory and their membership. The second section considers the colonial legacies of ID systems. The third section focuses on IDs, registration, and the independence struggle. Clashing imperialisms, forced displacement, and the ‘myth of 1824’ We are five times refugees, so we need international commitment to return – recognition as Rohingya—and citizenship. In the second world war, Japan and Britain told us we were in Myanmar. If we were not told that, we would not need to return. Let them face me now, with the current presidents. Let me meet them and I will tell them how it is (Rohingya refugee in Bangladesh).7 In this section, I consider notions of state power from the Rohingya narratives to provide a backdrop to perceptions of today’s state-building, bordering, and ID schemes in Myanmar. Within narratives relating to the pre-independence period, Rohingyas’ deep and long-standing relationship with the land in Arakan/Rakhine was thrust to the forefront. Descriptions of this relationship often intersected with references to loss and longing. Narratives also focused