Burma

From the Land of the Golden Pagoda to a Land of tyranny

Abstract

After  British colonialism which  lasted from 1885 to 1948 Burma appeared to be a land full of promise with the pioneering vision and leadership of General Aung San a nationalist and young statesman who would have led Burma to  renewed  freedom  and  prosperity. Unfortunately Gen.Aung San’s tragic assassination in 1948 the year of Burma’s independence by a rival faction led to a period of indifferent democratic rule until 1962 when the military dictatorship overthrew a weak civilian government in a coup and assumed power.Ever since then the military dictatorship or junta has relentlessly governed  Burma under its new name Myanmar  with an iron grip of  espionage, coercion, punishment  and propaganda. The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which the junta grossly violates the tenets of Buddhism which is the predominant religious faith of the Burmese people and the ways in which the Buddhist monks in collaboration with the student community have been agitating for democracy ever since 1988 .The paper also examines the Burmese  peoples’ struggle for democracy, a cause championed by General Aung San’s charismatic daughter and Nobel Laureate Aung Saan Suu Kyi and way in which the lives of Buddhist monks in Burma is severely impacted  by the military dictatorship.