Historiography Of The Dobama Movement In Burma - Essay Example

? HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE DOBAMA MOVEMENT IN BURMA Brief History of the Dobama Movement in Burma The formation of the Dobama Asiayone Group The Dobama Asiayone Movement was essentially a Burmese Nationalist group that was established by the Burmese leader Ba Thoung back in May 1930 аfter the killing of an approximated 250 Indian dock workers as well as their families by Burmese. The Dobama Asiayone Movement was initially formed by a group of several similar-minded young individuals who were essentially consumed with the idea of attempting to try and deliver their country from the rule of the aliens. Although the different members that formed the group were seen to be drawn from quite diverse economic and social backgrounds, they were tightly bound together by an overwhelming desire to secure their country’s national independence1. The group opted to adopt the suffix of “Thakin” in their name as opposed to adopting other common suffixes such as Maung, Ko or even U. The Term “Thakin” was seen to commonly be used in reference to Master or Lord2. The first individual to attempt to promote the use of the suffix of Thakin among the country’s population was the Abbot U Sandima who had been instrumental in instructing the villagers to adopt the practice of hanging on their houses various name plates that used the Thakin titles so as to be able to adequately develop a conscious sense of the overall superiority that the Burmans as a race had over other races. It is thought that Thankin Ba Thoung who was the founder of the Dobama Asiayone was so impressed by the adoption of these practices while visiting the village of Wetkathay that upon his eventual return to Rangoon he immediately made a suggestion to his close friends that they should try and adopt the use of the the Thakin appellation. Although his friends agreed to adopt the use of the appellation, it was noted that they adopted it in a somewhat reluctant manner3. Thakin Ba Thoung and the Founding of the Dobama Asiayone The early life of Thakin Ba Thoung the Dobama Asiayone group is found to be relatively obscure. Thoung was initially a protege of U Tun Shein who was one of the three key delegates of the Young Men’s Buddhist Association who was sent to represent the Association in London on July 7th, 1919. The association sent the three delegates to London to go and protest on matters pertaining to the Craddock Scheme. The Craddock scheme was initially proposed by Sir Reginald Craddock in 1918-1920. Although the Burmese were seen to be actively trying to gain more political rights, the scheme that was drafted by Sir Reginald Craddock was seen to widely draw massive criticism from nearly all Burmese leaders in the country. The scheme failed to placate the Burmese leaders and only served to increase their dissatisfaction. The nationalist leaders in Burma argued that it was vital for Burma to be granted a set of suitable reforms. The leaders also demanded that the government should delay any actions on their part to attempt to approve the University act until after such reforms were actually instituted4. Ba Thoung was seen to first come to public notice upon winning a translation prize in 1930 that saw him receive Rs. 1,000. Ba Thoung regularly met and discussed the country’s political and social conditions of the time with several of his young friends and in 1928, Ba Thoung and his young friends attempted to try and attract public attention to the fact that the current existing political parties were having a rather disastrous effect on the country. However, this play was soon to flop but the relatively obscure group was seen to quickly be brought to the forefront and play a critical role in the country’s political arena after the bloody event of the May 26th, 1930 Indo-Burmese riots5. The events of the Indo-Burmese riots were seen to unfold when some 2,000 Telegu dock workers organized and went on strike protesting against the Scindia Steam Navigation co. Ltd. Although the company was seen to initially largely refuse to comply with the demands for an increase in the amount of wages that were being raised by the striking workers from the initial amount of Rs. 1.50 to Rs. 2, they eventually managed to reach an agreement with the striking workers on May 22 after having agreed to increase the wages to the amount of Rs. 1.75. However, the company neglected informing their Burmese workers about this agreed upon settlement. When the Burmese workers arrived at the docks on the morning of May 26, the already reinstated Indian workers took to taunting and insulting them, a factor which quickly developed into a racial riot between the Indians and the Burmese. This riot was seen to last for a period of about four days and after concerted efforts by the various Indian and Burmese town elders as well as appeals made by the Sayadaws a peaceful reconciliation was eventually reached6. However, the riots were not without their effect as an estimated 250 Indians as well as a few Burmese unfortunately lost their lives in the riots. About 2,500 Indians sustained injuries in the riots7. This violent Indo-Burmese riot is seen to have served as relatively powerful in exposing the severely deplorable economic and social conditions that were seen to exist in Rangoon. The Burmese dock workers regarded their being insulted by the “Indian” Telegu Coolies a grave offence since these Telegu coolies were perceived by the Burmese to be occupying the very lowest social stratum of the aliens residing in Rangoon8. The riots served to create a favorable climate for the young Thankins to quickly use the riot to their benefit and make their political debut as the Dobama Asiayone. They were quick to turn the riot into a political issue although the riot had initially had economic roots. The Thakin Asiayone Releases it Manifesto In a manifesto that the party released within a few days of its formation, and distributed for free amongst all Burmese citizens, the new party was seen to openly declare that the manifesto had ideally been issued to both honor and commemorate the numerous wounds that had been received by the Burmese as well as Burmese lives that had been lost all for the sake of the country’s national cause in the events of the Indo-Burmese riot9. The nationalist group’s composition was seen to initially be composed of various disgruntled and young intellectuals in Burma. The Group is also variously referred to as the “Thakin Party” having essentially drawn the name from the title that was initially used to refer to the British during those colonial times in the country. In reference to the British, the title essentially was used to refer to them as “master” or “lord”. The party’s full title soon came to be the Dobama Asiayone Movement which can loosely be translated to mean “Our Burma” or “We Burma”10. Several key aspects can be noted in regard to the manifesto that was released by the Thakin Asiayone, key among them being that the manifesto was essentially released immediately after the event of May 30, 1930 so as to capitalize on and take full advantage of the events. It is also worthwhile to note that although the Thakin took advantage of a conflict between the Indians and the Burmese, they actively undertook to propagate various ideals and ideas that tried to ensure that the group did not in any way employ the use of phrases and words that would serve to incite a fresh recurrence of the riots. The Thakin manifesto was seen to call for people to not hate the Indians but to opt to show more love to each other. The Thakin essentially viewed the Indo-Burmese Riot incident as having been mainly instigated by capitalistic maneuvers and not as a result of racial strife. The Thakin manifesto was also seen to put into consideration the issue of half castes and regarded them as being full-blooded Burmans. This was seen to be in line with a popular Thakin prediction that was seen to state that soon persons who happened to be of Burmese mixed blood would eventually demand to be regarded as being true Burmese. This move was widely considered as being largely of a radical nature as it was seen to oppose the Buddhist scriptures that encouraged people to try and shun fools as doing so was actually a blessing. In its manifesto, the party sought to describe the ownership of Burma and its culture by the Burmese people by creating a motto that sought to clarify among other things that Burma as a country actually belonged to the Burmese people, that the Burmese literature was a property of the Burmese people and the Burmese people also had virtual ownership of the Burmese language11. The first line of the manifesto essentially served to lay the claims of the young Burmese activists in an outright manner in line with the context of the time. The hidden meaning beneath the statement that Burma belonged to the Burmese people was fundamentally that Burma belonged to the Burmese and that neither the British people nor the Indians owned it although they manipulated and ruled the country. The second line of the motto that sought to declare the Burmese literature as belonging to the Burmese people was basically a reminder to the bilingual elite in the country who were seen to often overestimate the position of the Imperial language and literature not to forget their own literature and language. The motto also sought to remind the country’s commoners who were seen to have caused the Burmese language to develop an inferior stature as a result of their preferring to use the Urdu and Hindustani language as opposed to using their own12. Formation of the All Burma Youth League In a bid to promote the unity of the Burmese people, the Thakin party composed the words of the Dobama song. The Song was first sung at the Thaton Hall on July 19th, 1930 and later at the Shwedagon Pagoda on July 20th, 1930. The All Burma Youth League (ABYL) was also formed in September of the same year13. Membership of ABYL was mostly drawn from the Dobama movement as most of the individuals who had joined the Dobama movement were seen to join the ABYL in droves. The ABYL was initially led by Thakin Ba Thaung. The Dobama and the Youth League were seen to grow progressively closer to each other in the early 1930’s14. The Formation of the All Burma Workers Association The main program of the Dobama was seen to essentially include the mobilization of the youth, workers and peasants in Burma. The initial attempts by the Dobama to try and mobilize the peasant citizenry in the country were seen to have begun in 1937. Although a number of speaking engagements for Thakin Lay Maung were organized to be given at various peasant gatherings all over the country tackling matters pertaining to peasant and political affairs. The speaking engagements were seen to have a relatively favorable beginning but the Thakin Asiayone did not purse the venture in earnest. There was no significant attempt to promote the workers association until when the peasants in Thaton and Waw organized themselves and marched into the town of Rangoon in support of the ongoing oil strike and thereafter proceeded to encamp themselves at the Shwedagon pagoda in January 193915. The Thakin Asiayone were to eventually form the Komin Kochin Party (KMKC) on July 19, 1936. The KMKC was essentially formed so as to serve as the main spearhead for the planned Dobama assault against the country’s constitution. According to the KMKC’s constitution, the party was essentially formed so as to make known to the entire world the true feelings of the Burmese people. According to the people, this was mainly due to the fact that the Burmese people happened to detest being constantly held in slavery by various foreign powers. The constitution also clearly pointed out that what the Burmese people were truly hankering after was the attainment of true freedom in the very same spirit that the world’s earliest inhabitants happened to hanker after both the moon and the sun. The main aims of the newly formed KMKC party were to essentially protest against the planned New Constitution that was soon to be conferred upon the nation. The party also sought to try and prove the actual futility and worthlessness of the soon to be imposed new constitution in addition to effectively making use of the platform that would be provided by the general elections in the country to propagate the ideals that were held by the Dobama16. The Formation of the Dobama Yetat In the year 1930, at the time of the formation of the Yetat, there appeared a rival organization to the Dobama Asiayone that came to be known as the Ye Sein Tat or the Green Army17. This organization was formed by U Maung Gyi who held a position in the Legislative council as the member for education. U Maung Gyi organized the Ye Tat and formed it to essentially be a volunteer force. Although the government allowed for the formation of the group, it nevertheless stipulated that the group had to be without any arms. U Maung Gyi and his fellow officers were seen to go around the country providing drilling to the various district corps on aspects such as personal conduct, service to the people as well as courage. Although this “Green Army” was essentially not armed, it quickly came to represent the people’s army in the minds of the Burmese people18. Although these two groups appeared to have several similarities, they actually had diverse political outlooks. However the leaders of the Ye Sein Tat brought their various units into the Dobama during the Dobama First Annual Conference that was held in Yenangyaung in 1935. At this conference the Yetat was quickly renamed to be the Dobama Yetat19. Conclusion The Dobama Asiayone were seen to play a critical role in promoting nationalism across Burma. The movement formed several unions and associations such as the All Burma Workers Organization, the Dobama Yetat as well as the Komin Kochin Party. These associations and movements were later to play a key role in the gruesome struggle to secure the country’s freedom. The movement was also seen to be involved in several demonstrations against what they essentially perceived to be a rather oppressive government. It actively managed to effectively rally the Burmese people together in a fight for freedom in the country. Although it initially had relatively humble beginnings, it eventually grew to be a force to reckon with and was seen to play a critical role in the country’s push towards freedom. Bibliography Antonio, Et Al., 2007. Turning Points Ii' 2007 Ed. Rex Bookstore, Inc. Beck, Sanderson. 2007. 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Birma zwischen "Unabha?ngigkeit zuerst - Unabha?ngigkeit zuletzt" : die birmanischen Unabha?ngigkeitsbewegungen und ihre Sicht der zeitgeno?ssischen Welt am Beispiel der birmanisch-deutschen Beziehungen zwischen 1920 und 1948. Hamburg Lit 2000. Read More