The Origin of Minority Problem: Thailand

Abstract

This chapter attempts to trace the origin of ethno-cultural minority problems, in the deep South of Thailand where the majority of residents are Muslims, covering the period from the end of the nineteenth century to the early twentieth century, during which the Thai ruling élites, such as absolute monarchs, incorporated minority ethno-cultural groups, such as Malay-Muslims, into the boundary of the Thai nation-state. The incorporation of the deep South into Thailand did not mean, however, that the region became fully Thai in the eyes of local Muslims, or even of the country’s rulers. Rather, the demarcation implanted national Others within the boundary of Thailand. After the national boundary demarcation, ruling élites defined the chief differences between most Thais and the newly incorporated ethno-cultural minorities in national terms. This chapter argues that the integration of ethno-cultural minority groups through state-led centralisation was the origin of ethno-cultural tension.