"It would be hard to overestimate the contribution by poor Indian migrant labourers to Burma's economy earlier this century and up to the present. Working under harsh conditions, they were in large part responsible for increasing the extent of arable land available in the country, making Burma the world's largest exporter of rice- in the world by the '40s. Trade unions formed by Indian labour activists were also precursors of the country's worker's movement which played an important role in the independence struggle."
"One of the major problems confronting the Indian population in Burma continues to be the issue of their national identity, with only 56,000 having become naturalized citizens and around 81,000 holding foreign registration certificates. Ignoring earlier notices and deadlines for obtaining citizenship, more than 300,000 people of Indian extraction remain virtually stateless with no identity cards or travel documents."
"When Amma' was arrested we prayed every day for her release," says a poor Tamil woman. "Amma" in this case is a reference to Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and dissident leader. Like many ordinary Burmese, for Indian migrants in Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi remains a beacon of hope for a better future."
"In recent years many Indians have been alienated from the military regime by its practice of arbitrarily taking over property. In its bid to please foreign investors and as part of a tourism promotion drive, military authorities have been evicting building owners and tenants around the city to make way for new hotel and office complexes. "
" Many Indians who lost their property due to the nationalization law are also unhappy over the way senior officers in the Burmese army have been using such "nationalized" property for private gain. "
"The living are suffering anyway and this regime does not even let the dead rest in peace," says a Muslim leader"
"This country has an irresistible pull for all those who were fortunate enough to live here at some point in time," says a Bombay businessman whose grandfather migrated here in the last century. Forced to leave the country in the mid-'60s, he is back now with two of his brothers running a successful import-export trade out of Rangoon."