General Council of Burmese Associations

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The General Council of Burmese Associations (GCBA), also known as the Great Burma Organisation (Burmese : မြန်မာအသင်းချုပ်ကြီး; Myanma Ahthinchokgyi), was a political party in Burma.

Burmese language language spoken in Myanmar

The Burmese language is the Sino-Tibetan language spoken in Myanmar where it is an official language and the language of the Bamar people, the country's principal ethnic group. Although the Constitution of Myanmar officially recognizes the English name of the language as the Myanmar language, most English speakers continue to refer to the language as Burmese, after Burma, the older name for Myanmar. In 2007, it was spoken as a first language by 33 million, primarily the Bamar (Burman) people and related ethnic groups, and as a second language by 10 million, particularly ethnic minorities in Myanmar and neighboring countries.

Myanmar Republic in Southeast Asia

Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and also known as Burma, is a country in Southeast Asia. Myanmar is bordered by India and Bangladesh to its west, Thailand and Laos to its east and China to its north and northeast. To its south, about one third of Myanmar's total perimeter of 5,876 km (3,651 mi) forms an uninterrupted coastline of 1,930 km (1,200 mi) along the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The country's 2014 census counted the population to be 51 million people. As of 2017, the population is about 54 million. Myanmar is 676,578 square kilometres in size. Its capital city is Naypyidaw, and its largest city and former capital is Yangon (Rangoon). Myanmar has been a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) since 1997.

History

The GCBA was formed at the 1920 conference of the Young Men's Buddhist Association following the student strike earlier in the year and Burma's exclusion from British proposals for limited self-government in Indian provinces. [1] Its leadership included Chit Hlaing, U Pu and U Kyaw Dun. [1] The new party held rallies to pressurise the British to extend the self-government plans to Burma. A proposal known as the Craddock Plan to give ethnic minorities separate representation was opposed by the GCBA, which saw it as an attempt at divide and rule. [1]

Young Mens Buddhist Association (Burma)

The Young Men's Buddhist Association (YMBA) was a Buddhist cultural organisation in Burma.

Chit Hlaing Burmese politician

Chit Hlaing was a notable Burmese politician. During his time, he was called a Burmese king without a crown, and was popular in rural Burma. He was imprisoned when the British Crown Prince of Wales visited Burma in 1921.

Divide and rule

Divide and rule, or divide and conquer, in politics and sociology is gaining and maintaining power by breaking up larger concentrations of power into pieces that individually have less power than the one implementing the strategy.

In 1922 the British agreed to extend the Indian system to Burma, and elections were scheduled for November. However, this caused a split in the GCBA, with the majority calling for a boycott and others calling for participation in the elections. This eventually led to 21 dissidents leaving to form the 21 Party, which emerged as the largest faction in the Legislative Council following the elections. [2]

21 Party

The 21 Party was a political party in Burma in the 1920s led by U Ba Pe.

The Legislative Council of Burma was the legislative body of British Burma from 1897 to 1936.

The GCBA split again in the build-up to the 1925 elections due to differences over another boycott, as well as the organisation's finances and the role of monks. [1] Dissidents left to form the U Chit Hlaing Faction, which subsequently splintered into the Home Rule Party and the Hlaing-Myat-Paw GCBA. The rump of the GCBA became known as the Soe Thein GCBA, named after its leader U Soe Thein.

Home Rule Party (Burma)

The Home Rule Party was a political party in Burma in the 1920s led by Tharrawaddy U Pu.

Hlaing-Myat-Paw GCBA

The Hlaing-Myat-Paw GCBA was a political party in Burma led by Chit Hlaing.

Another split occurred in 1929 when the organisation was split into the Ye-U group led by U Su and the Thetpan Sayadaws led by U Soe Thein. The latter collapsed in the early 1930s and many of its members joined other parties to contest elections. By 1932 the GCBA was effectively defunct, although its name continued to be used by some parties, [1] including the United GCBA established in 1936.

United GCBA

The United GCBA, also known as the Ngawbinwsaing, was a political party in Burma led by U Ba Pe.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Haruhiro Fukui (1985) Political parties of Asia and the Pacific, Greenwood Press, pp131–132
  2. ↑ Fukui, pp150−151
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