Myanmar officially recognizes 135 ethnic groups (called ‘national races’), which are broadly divided into eight major groups – Bama or Burman with nine subgroups, Chin with fifty-three subgroups, Kachin with twelve subgroups, Kayin or Karen with eleven subgroups, Kayah or Karenni with nine subgroups, Mon with one subgroup, Rakhine or Arakan with seven subgroups and Shan with thirty-three subgroups. For various reasons, there is a serious lack of trust in the central government. Ethnic minorities often doubt the government’s seriousness to protect their rights and promote their interests. Because of the chauvinistic ideology of the Myanmar military and the civilian Burman elites, the minorities are reluctant to dissolve their own armed groups and surrender complete control to the Myanmar army. The scope of historical events covered in this study ranges from the country’s independence from the British in 1948 to the government of the National League for Democracy (NLD), which came to power in 2016. Analysing the relations between ethnic minorities and the Burman majority, I shall argue that addressing the demands of ethnic minorities is not only important but also necessary for peace, stability, development and the consolidation of democracy.