In the news, I read about ethnic violence between the Buddhist majority in Myanmar and the Rohingya Muslim minority near the border of Bangladesh. Was there a lot of fighting or forced relocation when this border was established in 1937?
This article says that in the 1920s Rangoon was the second busiest port in the world, after New York. There must have been many immigrants from India. Were those people forced to leave after Burma's independence?
The Indian Statutory Commission, led by Sir John Simon, was sent to Burma in January 1929 to review the political structure put in place in 1921, when the diarchy system was introduced through an extension of the Government of India Act to Burma. In 1930, the Simon Commission recommended the immediate separation of Burma from India but there was no clear political consensus to do so among the British, Indian and Burmese forces within Burma. Fierce debates occurred between separatist and anti-separatist factions, with topics ranging from immigration and the economy to inherent distrust of the British.
When Burma became a province of India, many people from across the Indian Empire took the opportunity to migrate. By the late 1920s, Rangoon was said to be one of the busiest ports in the world for immigrants, second only to New York. This increased migration was the main target of many pro-separatists and nationalists.
In his correspondence with the British Secretary of State for India, Sir Samuel Hoare, the president of the Burma Free State League, U Ba Si, criticised what he described as the colony’s “open door” immigration policy. In 1933 he wrote: “Since the annexation of Burma by Britain, thousands and thousands of destitute Indians have come over to our shores to exploit our labour and lands.”
Such proclamations by nationalistic separatists concerned many Indians living in Burma. They grew increasingly alarmed at the rising anti-Indian sentiment among the educated classes. “A Burman as a whole is friendly to non-Burmans,” said lawyer P D Patal. “There are a few educated Burmans who in season and out of season think it their duty to shout loudly that Burma is for Burmans only. Fortunately, it is a small section.”
The Anglo-Burman and Domiciled European Community of Burma stated that they wanted separation from India so that the country could create an immigration act to “keep out undesirable aliens”. These organisations were more concerned about Chinese migrants arriving in Burma.
In the general election of 1932 , It was assumed that the Separation League would win, but neither side achieved a 45-seat majority. The Anti-Separation League won 42 seats compared to the Separation League’s 29. Burmese separatists claimed that money from wealthy Indians had been used to push pro-federation propaganda.
The British feared that if they didn’t separate Burma from India, there would be anti-Indian unrest on a larger scale than the riots of 1930, in which hundreds were killed.
The Government of Burma Act 1935 confirmed that separation would occur on April 1, 1937, ending 51 years of the country being ruled as a province of India.
The act laid the foundations for Burma’s post-independence political system, with the establishment of a Westminster model of cabinet with nine Burmese ministers alongside an elected House of Representatives. The former anti-separatist Dr Ba Maw served as the first chief minister to Burma after separation.
the emphasis on anti-immigration rhetoric during the campaign for separation contributed to the rise of Burmese ethno-nationalism that would have implications for the country in the decades ahead.