Political Gaze

Bagan Politics

2009-05-15T05:15:00.000-07:00

There are a number of important historic accounts in Burma or Myanmar that are sure to captivate the attention of any history lover. Whether you are a history or politics enthusiast you will find the Burma political history very interesting. Some of the early political history of Burma are actually quite fascinating. If you read about the history of the Bamars you are sure to be amazed. Tibeto-Burman speaking Burmans who are popularly know as the Bamar, began migrating to the Ayeyarwady valley from what is at present called Yunnan’s Nanzhao kingdom. The migration began somewhere in 7th century AD. The Bamar filled in the power gap left by the Pyu. Thus the Burmans established a small kingdom that was centered in Bagan in the year 849. But it was not until the reign of King Anawrahta (1044 – 1077) that the influence of Bagans expanded throughout most of the parts of present-day Burma.

In the year 1057 Anawrahta captured the Mon capital of Thaton. After this capture the Burmans adopted Theravada Buddhism from the Mons. The Burmese script was created, based on the Mon script, during the reign of King Kyanzittha. The Bagans became prosperous from trade. The Bagan kings also made some magniicient temples as well as pagodas in different places across the country. one can still see some of these temples even today. These historic monuments still bear the glory of a bygone era of Burmese history.
However, the Bagan’s power became waned in the 13th century. starting in the year 1277, Kublai Khan's Mongol forces invaded northern Burma. In the year 1287 they sacked the Bagan city and thus the two century old Bagan reign came to an end.

Early political History of Burma

2009-05-14T03:55:00.000-07:00

Politics of a nation forms an important part of the history of a country. Apart from the ancient history of a country, all the other historical phases are related to politics. If you are interested in history as well as politics of a country, you will find that the history and politics of a country go hand in hand and whenever, one of these face some kind of a change, it is likely to affect the other. Whenever there is a political upsurge there is bound to be some changes in the history of the country. on the other hand it can also be seen that whenever there is a migration or attack by alien forces the political scenario of a country had also gone through some changes. Thus it is easy to understand that there is strong connection between the history an politics of a nation. Burma or Myanmar is also not an exception to this rule.
The earliest identifiable civilization as well as political history of Burma or Myanmar date back to Mon civilization. The Mons settled in the Ayeyarwady River delta area as well as along the Taninthayi coast. The Mons are believed to have begun migrating into the area in about 3000 BC. The first kingdom of the Mon was Suwarnabhumi which was pronounced as Suvanna Bhoum. It was situated at port city of Thaton. The influence of the Mon extended from Cape Negaris, in the Ayeyarwaddy delta, up to the Chao Praya delta which is situated in modern day Thailand.

Tibeto-Burman speaking Burmans who are popularly known as the Bamar, began migrating to the Ayeyarwady valley from present-day Yunnan's Nanzhao kingdom since 7th century AD. The Bamars filled in the power gap left by the Pyu. This way the Burmans established a small kingdom centered in Bagan in the year 849.

Human Rights in Myanmar

2009-05-12T12:17:00.000-07:00

Human rights in Myanmar or Burma has been a matter of grave concern for the human rights organizations as well as international communities. A general agreement is there that the military authority in Burma is the most abusive and repressive regimes in the world. General Ne Win was the leader of 1962 coup. He founded a totalitarian government.

Ne Win was a fan of Stalin and Marx. He used to brutally crush the opposition. The Burmese Way to Socialism which was popularly known as the Burmese Road to Socialism always included ideas such as isolationism, large scale nationalization, a police state and also ethnic cleansing. In Burma the brutally crushed 8888 Uprising forced the regime to reform a little. Today’s the State Peace and Development Council is still in power in Burma.

The military government was really worst and different human rights organizations such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have reported on human rights abuses by the military government in Burma. It was reported that in Burma there was not even an independent judiciary present in the country. The military government restrains Internet access by software-based censorship. And this action of the military limits the material citizens the accession of getting on-line.

Some of the bad factors were very common such as human trafficking, forced labour and child labour. The activities were really brutal. The military is also infamous for rampant use of sexual violence. They use it as an instrument of control. Systematic rapes and demanding sex slaves for military as porters was very common. In exile, a strong women’s pro-democracy motion has formed and it occurred mainly along in Chiang Mai and the Thai border. With a view to fight with women’s human rights issues, a arising international movement is there.

Political Scenario of Burma under British Rule

2009-05-06T10:41:00.000-07:00

Myanmar is one of the most notable countries in southeast Asia. The country has a wide and colotful history. If you are interested in history and politics then the historical as well as political scenario of the country is sure to fascinate you. the country was a monarchy in its early times and later it was colonized by the European countries. After gaining independence from that condition the country is at present governed by a military government.

Historically, Myanmar was a monarchy ruled by various dynasties prior to the 19th century. The British colonized the country in the late 19th century. After that the country was under the jurisdiction of the British Raj until the year 1937.
Myanmar was ruled as a British colony from the 1820’s until the year 1948. The Bamar heartland was directly administered by the British. Firstly it was a part of India then it was treated as a part of British Burma. However, there were some ethnic regions outside the heartland that were allowed some measures of self rule just like the princely states in India. This decision led to split loyalties among different ethnic groups along with the indigenous people of Burma.

The Bamars are the dominant ethnic group in Burma. The group make up approximately 68% of the total population of Myanmar. During World War II many Bamar joined hands with the Japanese to rule out the British from the country. However, many other ethnic groups supported the Allied Forces. This had a great impact on the history of Myanmar. When in the year 1948 Burma was granted independence from the Great Britain, Burma got a new ruler Aung San. The British gave him control over the areas that are not traditionally controlled by the Bamar.