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Book Review
Myanmar’s chequered history
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Story of the transformation of a peaceful country into a troubled state unable to respond to democratic aspirations
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THE RIVER OF LOST FOOTSTEPS — Histories of Burma: Thant Myint-U; Faber and Faber, London, Penguin Books India Ltd., 11, Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi-110017. Rs. 495.
V. Suryanarayan
The author’s credentials to write a book on Myanmar are impeccable. Grandson of U Thant (the former Secretary-General of the United Nations), he was born to Burmese parents in the United States; as a student, he specialised in Burmese history, studied in Harvard, Johns Hopkins and Cambridge, worked for the United Nations in Phnom Penh and Sarajevo, while keeping in touch with the tumultuous developments in Burma, enriched by a short stay in a rebel camp. The cumulative result is a fascinating book on Myanmar, partly autobiographical, partly history, partly politics.
The transformation of Burma from an exotic peaceful Buddhist country to a “failed or failing state”, unable to respond to the democratic aspirations of its citizens and unable to cope with the challenges of modernisation, nation building and development, are dealt with candour and rare sensitivity. Myanmar today has become a Pariah state for the West and an area of intense concern for the international community.
Turbulent years
Thant Myint-U provides interesting highlights about how Myanmar has come to such a sad predicament. It is not strictly a chronological account, the author begins with the Third Anglo-Burmese War of 1885, the fall of the Kingdom of Mandalay to the British; he then goes back to ancient times and links the past with the present and the future. The evolution of plural society, the repeated foreign invasions and intrigues, the impact of the Second World War, the rise of nationalism, the role of the Kuomintang and the Chinese communists, the turbulent years of early independence, the failure of parliamentary democracy and the long spell of military rule, the sufferings of the people and the brutality of the government — all these are analysed and explained.
From an Indian point of view, two comments made by the author deserve critical scrutiny. When General NeWin came to power in 1962, there were military regimes elsewhere in Asia. While the other military regimes “trusted the advice of the technocrats, presided over long periods of economic growth and allowed the development of civil society,” the military regime in Burma became more and more repressive.
The author, in this connection, makes a special mention of Indonesia, which under General Suharto made remarkable progress. It soon became clear to discerning observers that behind the façade of apparent stability and progress, the Suharto regime concealed simmering political, economic and social discontent. And when the Asian Economic crisis engulfed the country, the political system could not withstand popular opposition; the regime collapsed and had to give way to popular government. What is happening in Pakistan is another illustration that international support and backing to military dictators is no panacea to democratic governments with popular mandate. Equally questionable is the author’s assumption that the policy of “isolating one of the most isolated countries in the world is both counter productive and dangerous.”
Political reform
He further argues that the opening up of space for civil society and gradual democratisation of the political system can take place only by constructively engaging with the present military regime. In fact, this assumption was the rationale behind admitting Myanmar in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and constructive engagement, which the ruling elites of ASEAN followed for many years. The end result was providing legitimacy and respectability to the military regime. If I may use an analogy, it was like giving liquor chocolate to an alcoholic.
As Amitav Acharya has recently pointed out, this was not constructive engagement. In essence, it was construction of hotels and factories in Burma by Thai, Singaporean and Malaysian companies, with no engagement or dialogue with the regime for political reform. Students of modern history are sensitive to the fact that temporary setbacks had been regular features of democratic movements throughout the world. Aung San Suu Kyi, as Vaclav Havel pointed out few years ago, “is an outstanding example of the power of the powerless.”
India owes to itself and to the struggling people of Myanmar to immediately initiate steps to mobilise international opinion so that pressure is brought on the military junta to restore democracy and human rights.
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