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Remembering August 25: The Forgotten Hindu Massacre by ARSA in Arakan
- globalarakannetwork
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 6 hours ago
Global Arakan Network
Opinions August 24, 2025
Historical narratives often gravitate toward dominant stories, shaped by the loudest voices or the most visible tragedies. In the complex tapestry of the Rakhine State conflict, the suffering of the Bangagya Muslim population has, understandably, dominated global attention due to the scale of the Myanmar military’s brutal crackdown in 2017.
However, this focus has often overshadowed the plight of smaller, marginalized communities caught in the crossfight, particularly the Hindu minority in northern Rakhine State. On August 25–26, 2017, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a Bangagya Islamist militant group employing Islamist extremist tactics, perpetrated a massacre of at least 105 Hindu civilians. These killings, driven by religious motivations, represent a grim chapter that remains underreported and largely forgotten.
The violence in Rakhine State in August 2017 was ignited by ARSA’s coordinated attacks on 30 Myanmar military posts, triggering a disproportionate military response that displaced several hundred thousand of Muslims. Amid this chaos, Hindu communities, already a small and vulnerable minority in Maungdaw Township, became targets of ARSA’s religiously motivated violence. Unlike the broader ethnic and political conflict, the attacks on Hindus were marked by deliberate targeting based on their religious identity, as documented through survivor testimonies, forensic evidence, and satellite imagery.
The Kha Maung Seik Massacre
On August 25, 2017, ARSA militants launched a brutal assault on Hindu villages in the Kha Maung Seik cluster of Maungdaw Township. The primary targets were two villages: Ah Nauk Kha Maung Seik and Ye Bauk Kyar. In Ah Nauk Kha Maung Seik, ARSA gathered 69 Hindu men, women, and children from their homes under the pretense of offering protection from the escalating violence. Instead, they were marched to a forested area, where 53 individuals—20 men, 10 women, and 23 children (14 of whom were under 8 years old)—were executed. Their bodies were later discovered in mass graves.
In Ye Bauk Kyar, the entire Hindu population of 46 people vanished after ARSA militants rounded them up. Survivors from nearby areas reported that these villagers were similarly led away, and no trace of them has been found since, leading investigators to presume they were killed. The methodical nature of these killings, with victims separated by gender and age before execution, points to a premeditated plan targeting Hindus specifically for their religious identity.
Myo Thu Gyi Killings
The violence continued into August 26, 2017, when ARSA militants attacked a Hindu family fleeing the turmoil near Myo Thu Gyi village, on the outskirts of Maungdaw town. Six family members—two women, one man, and three children—were killed, bringing the total confirmed Hindu death toll to 105. These victims were not combatants or security personnel but ordinary civilians attempting to escape the spiraling conflict.
ARSA’s Denial and Primary Evidence
Investigations relied on extensive interviews with survivors, including eight Hindu women who were spared after agreeing to convert to Islam and were taken to Bangladesh by ARSA militants. These women, later repatriated to Myanmar, provided detailed accounts of the massacres, corroborated by forensic analysis of mass graves and satellite imagery showing burned Hindu villages. Despite this evidence, ARSA has publicly denied responsibility, claiming no involvement in civilian killings. However, the consistency of survivor testimonies and physical evidence undermines their claims.
The Forgotten Narrative and Selective Memory in Conflict Reporting
The conflict in Rakhine is often framed as a binary struggle between the Myanmar military and the Bangagya Muslim population, with the latter portrayed as the primary victims of ethnic cleansing. This narrative, while grounded in the undeniable scale of suffering, inadvertently marginalizes the experiences of other groups, such as the Hindus, who faced targeted violence from ARSA. The global focus on the military’s atrocities—described as having “genocidal intent” against the Bnagagya—has left little room for acknowledging the parallel atrocities committed by ARSA against non-Muslims. This selective memory risks erasing the suffering of smaller communities, perpetuating a monolithic understanding of the conflict.
The Hindu victims, numbering at least 105, were not collateral damage but deliberate targets of religious persecution. Their deaths highlight a disturbing facet of ARSA’s ideology, which, while rooted in the illegitimate grievances, veered into extremist violence against those who did not share their faith. The failure to acknowledge these victims not only dishonors their memory but also obscures the broader dynamics of communal violence in Rakhine State.
Religious Motivation Behind the Killings
Findings underscore that the attacks on Hindus were motivated by religious differences. Survivors reported that ARSA militants explicitly targeted Hindus, sparing some women only after coerced conversions to Islam. This pattern of religious targeting aligns with tactics used by other Islamist extremist groups, where non-Muslims are singled out for violence or forced assimilation. The destruction of Hindu homes and the execution of entire families, including young children, reflect a chilling intent to eradicate the Hindu presence in these villages.
Ongoing Threats to Non-Muslim Minorities
The Hindu minority in Rakhine State, numbering only a few thousand, has long lived in the shadow of ethnic and religious tensions. Alongside other non-Muslim groups, such as ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and smaller indigenous communities like the Mro, they have faced intermittent threats from Islamist militant groups operating in the northern region bordering Bangladesh.
ARSA, formed in 2013 under the leadership of Ataullah abu Ammar Jununi, emerged as a response to Rohingya oppression but adopted tactics that endangered non-Muslims. While ARSA’s primary conflict was with the Myanmar state, its attacks on Hindus reveal a broader agenda of religious intolerance that has persisted in the region.
The 2017 massacres were not isolated incidents but part of a pattern of vulnerability for non-Muslim minorities. Earlier incidents, though less documented, suggest that Hindu and Buddhist communities have faced harassment and displacement by militant factions over the years. The lack of international attention to these threats has allowed groups like ARSA to operate with relative impunity, particularly in the lawless border areas between Myanmar and Bangladesh.
On another side, in areas under AA control, reports indicate efforts to maintain communal harmony and defend against extremist threats, offering a stark contrast to the chaos of 2017.
However, the AA’s influence is often challenged, and its conflict with the Myanmar junta complicates its ability to fully stabilize the region.
Since November 2023, at least 34 civilians have been killed by the ARSA terrorists in northern Rakhine state. The continued presence of ARSA and similar groups, operating from across the Bangladesh border, poses an ongoing challenge. Without robust governance and security, non-Muslim minorities remain at risk of further violence.
A Call for Remembrance and Action
The massacre of 105 Hindu civilians by ARSA in August 2017 is a stark reminder that conflicts are rarely black-and-white. The suffering of the Rohingya does not negate the atrocities faced by other groups, nor should the focus on one tragedy erase the memory of another. By remembering the Hindu victims of Kha Maung Seik, Ye Bauk Kyar and Myo Thu Gyi, we acknowledge the full spectrum of human suffering in Rakhine State and challenge the selective narratives that dominate discourse.
The international community must broaden its lens to include the experiences of all victims, regardless of their size or visibility. This includes advocating for justice for the Hindu massacre, supporting survivor communities, and addressing the root causes of religious extremism in the region. Myanmar junta, while culpable for its own crimes, must also be held accountable for failing to protect its minority populations from the terror groups like ARSA.
Furthermore, the ULA’s efforts to establish inclusive governance deserve recognition and support, as they offer a potential path toward stability. Bangladesh’s role in controlling cross-border militancy is equally critical, requiring diplomatic engagement and practical measures to disrupt extremist networks.