Sultan Mahmud (minister)

[1] In the British Raj (which included Burma Province until 1937), Mahmud served as cabinet secretary in the Central Legislative Assembly.

[2] When Burma was considering becoming a federal state under Prime Minister U Nu's "unity in diversity" policies, Mahmud proposed that Arakanese Indians should either have a separate province covering the area between the Naf and Kaladan Rivers; or if a separate Arakan province is established with Arakanese Buddhists, it should have a confessionalist structure, with Muslims and Buddhists alternating as provincial governor.

When Burma was a part of British India, Mahmud held the important post of cabinet secretary in the Central Legislative Assembly in New Delhi.

In 1962, after dictator U Ne Win coup, minister Mahmud escaped and asylum in East Pakistan.

After winning in the 1960 general election, Prime Minister U Nu appointed an Inquiry Commission to study whether Arakan Division should be granted statehood.

Mahmud cited the Mughal Empire's expeditions up till the Kaladan River under Shaista Khan in 1666 as forming the basis of the boundary between Arakanese Muslims and Buddhists.

[4] The memorandum laid down two conditions for statehood: 1) if the Arakanese Buddhists would support their demands; and 2) if the constitution of the proposed province would include adequate safeguards for Indian autonomy.