88 State power and identification schemes in Rakhine Registration of Foreigners Act came into force (Mohan 1955). After two decades, the demands of Burma’s nationalist movement to register and document Indians, Pakistanis, and Chinese were finally realised. The business of reconstructing a multi-ethnic nation from a social landscape devastated by the impact of divide-and-rule policies and war began. ID schemes were a key technology through which Burma could materialise its new sovereign borders and embrace populations through the provision of rights and welfare. The first priority, then, was not documenting Burma’s populations as citizens, but the registration and regulation of its ‘foreign’ populations. The Registration of Foreigners Act required foreigners to register with government authorities on arrival, when travelling to different areas of the country, and prior to exit (to obtain an exit permit). It also required the managers/owners of houses with foreign guests staying to report to the local authorities. Under this act, all foreigners were provided with Foreigner Registration Cards (FRCs). From 1950, passports and visas were required for Indians/Pakistanis wishing to enter Burma (Mohan 1955). In a departure from the 1935 Government of Burma Act, the 1947 Constitution made clear differentiations between the rights of citizens and of foreigners. Significantly it prevented foreigners from owning and utilising agricultural land, addressing the grievances of the past (Article 220). Citizens, on the other hand, did not need to register or obtain IDs in the early years of independence. The vast majority of people throughout the country operated under the assumption that they were automatic citizens and thus did not need to be documented. There were frequent references in Rohingya narratives to the absence of FRCs in their community, whereby the absence of these documents was the proof of belonging. For example, ‘We are not FRC people. Not foreigners.’66 Only those who needed to travel for work, pilgrimage, or other reasons needed to obtain documents. The constitution of 1947, and in particular definitions of citizenship contained within it, in the early years of independence was deeply influenced by international socialism. The constitution stipulated the relationship of the state to peasants and workers (Chapter 3); limited the private ownership of land (section 30), provided protection for workers (section 31); and put in place the foundations for nationalisation of industry and business (section 23, 2018–9). It also underlined that ‘there is one citizenship throughout the union; that is to say there shall be no citizenship of the unit as distinct from the citizenship of the Union [sic]’ (section 10). In other words, it did not differentiate between those who were citizens on the basis of the ethnic indigeneity and those who naturalised or elected for citizenship. This citizenship thus formed the basis for equal rights for all citizens (Chapter II). Rohingya narratives relating to independence were very clear that they felt a part of the new the multi-ethnic nation and were on an equal footing with