International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest

Extract

Bogoyoke (General) Aung San was the most important of the generation of Burmese nationalists who matured into national leaders in the watershed period of World War II. The anti-colonial struggle and the dream of a consensual Union of Burma with all ethnic communities are inextricably linked with Aung San, considered the father of modern Burma. He was born in the town of Natmauk, Magwe district, in central Burma to an affluent family. His uncle Bo Min Yaung participated in the anti-British resistance movements in 1886. In 1932 he matriculated with distinctions in Burmese and Pali and joined Rangoon University. In 1936 he was elected secretary of the Rangoon University Students' Union (RUSU). Soon Aung San became the crusading editor of the RUSU magazine, Oway ( Peacock's Call ) and his days of anti-establishment political writings were initiated in this atmosphere of criticality. Along with U Nu, the president of the RUSU, he was slapped with an expulsion threat by the university when they supported an article criticizing a university official. This was followed by a massive students' strike in 1936. In 1938 Aung San was elected president of the All Burma Student's Union. His appointment by the government as the student representative in the Rangoon University Act Amendment Committee was a gesture of cooption. Aung San married Daw Khin Kyi in 1942. Aung San Suu Kyi , who carries ... log in or subscribe to read full text