User:Joshua Issac/Crown Colony of Burma

The Crown Colony of Burma was a Southeast Asian crown colony of the British Empire from 1 April 1937 to 3 January 1948. It was created by the Government of India Act 1935, which separated Burma from the British Indian Empire. It temporarily gained nominal independence as the State of Burma in 1943 with Japanese assistance, but the colonial administration was restored in 1945. The colonial state was dissolved the day before the establishment of the Union of Burma as a sovereign state independent of the British Empire.

Background
By the end of the Anglo-Burmese wars in 1886, all of Burma had been annexed to the British Indian Empire as a province of British India in the Bengal Presidency. By the beginning of the 20th century, nationalist movements took form in resistance to British rule. However, while the nationalist movements were influenced by the Indian independence movement, it was still distinct from the Indian movement. Mahatma Gandhi said that Burma was never part of Bharatavarsha. As a justification for excluding Burma from the provisions of the Government of India Act 1919, the Montagu–Chelmsford Report stated: "Burma is not India. Its people belong to another race in another stage of political development, and its problems are altogether different. For instance, the application to Burma of the general principles of throwing open the public service more widely to Indians would only mean the replacement of one alien bureaucracy by another. The desire for elective institutions has not developed in Burma; the provincial legislative council, as constituted under the Morley-Minto schemes, has no Burman elected element; and the way is open for a different line of development."

Protests from Burmese students, pupils and monks against this position led to the Government of Burma Act 1921 extending the provisions of the former act to Burma.

By the time the Simon Commission reached Burma in 1929, Burmese political activists had also begun supporting the separation of Burma from India, to reduce Indian immigration to Burma and because of the dominant position of Indians in the Burmese economy. By 1932, however, Burmese political opinion had turned turned strongly against secession from India. Anti-separation candidates won a majority of seats in the Legislative Council of Burma in the Burmese general election, 1932. This opposition to secession from India was because the Burmese suspected that the British intended to keep Burma under tighter control as it gave more self-governing powers to the rest of India. Despite the results of the election, the Government of the United Kingdom did not permit Burma to remain part of India, and passed the Government of India Act 1935, which separated Burma from the British Indian Empire, and reconstituted it as the Crown Colony of Burma, a crown colony within the British Empire. The part of the act pertaining to Burma was split off later as the Government of Burma Act 1935.

Establishment
The Crown Colony of Burma was established on 1 April 1937. It had a constitution, and a cabinet of nine Burmese ministers. The Legislature of Burma had two chambers, the Senate, which had 36 seats, an the House of Representatives, which had 132 seats. Burma was also assigned a debt of over 500 million rupees to be paid to the Indian government, to cover the costs to the British of conquering Burma and of establishing and developing Burma Railways. The constitution called for a fully elected legislature, and provided a greater level of autonomy to Burma. The Burma Office was established within the British government to oversee Burmese affairs.

Government
The government was led by Prime Minister Ba Maw, who led a coalition of parties that had been elected in the Burmese general election, 1936. After his government fell in 1939, Governor Archibald Cochrane included the Patriot's Party in government, and its leader U Saw became the prime minister of Burma.

World War II
In 1939, Burma sought to receive political powers in return for participating in World War II on the side of the Allies. In November 1941, Prime Minister U Saw travelled to London in to try gain a promise from British Prime Minister Winston Churchill that Burma be granted Dominion status after the war in return for intensifying its participation; he also contacted the Japanese to secure his own political future, should Japan invade Burma. The British discovered incriminating papers relating to the communications, and U Saw was detained for 4 years in Uganda. His cabinet continued to operate under the deputy prime minister.

Japanese occupation
In January 1942, during World War II, Japan began the invasion of Burma, and by May, the governor of Burma had fled to Simla, Punjab Province, India. The aim of the invasion was to obtain raw materials, and to close Burma Road to the allies, as it was a supply route to China. Japan had earlier assisted in the creation of the Minami Kikan, and later the Burma Independence Army, which formed a provisional government in parts of Japanese-occupied Burma. In mid-1942, the Burma Independence Army was dissolved, and replaced with the newly created Burma Defence Army. A Burmese Executive Administration was established on 1 August 1942, with the aim of creating a civil government subordinate to the Japanese military government. The administration was headed by Ba Maw. Although there was initial disagreement among the Japanese officials about Burmese independence, the opinion favoured independence when the war situation turned against Japan. The Japanese government pledged independence for Burma within a year from 28 January 1943, and the Burma Independence Preparatory Committee, chaired by Ba Maw, was formed on 8 May 1943.

State of Burma
On 1 August 1943, the State of Burma became a nominally sovereign state, with Ba Maw as the head of state and the head of government. The Burma Defence Army was renamed to the Burma National Army (BNA). Burma declared war on the United Kingdom and the United States as per the independence agreement with Japan, with whom they concluded an alliance treaty. On 25 September 1943, Japan ceded all of the Shan states to Burma, except the parts in northern Burma that had already been given to Thailand.

Although nominally independent, the country was still occupied by the Imperial Japanese Army, and the Japanese military administration remained the de facto government of Burma. By 1944, dissatisfaction with Japanese administration led the Burma National Army to contact the British Force 136 in India convey their intent to defect to the Allied side. In 1945, the Burma National Army declared war against Japan, with support from the Anti-Fascist Organisation and Allied troops. The civil government collapsed, and the BNA, renamed to the Patriotic Burmese Forces, co-operated with other Allied forces in forcing the Japanese army to retreat from Burma.

Burma was placed under Allied military administration until after the end of the war. Civil government was restored on 31 August 1946.

Dissolution
In September 1946, Rangoon Police went on strike; the strike spread to government employees, and came close becoming a general strike. Governor Hubert Rance negotiated the entry of Aung San and other members of the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL) into the Governor's Executive Council of Burma, pacifying the situation. The council began negotiations for Burmese independence from the United Kingdom, resulting in the Aung San-Attlee Agreement on 27 January 1947, guaranteeing Burmese independence within a year. Dissatisfaction with the agreement by communists and conservatives prompted the Panglong Conference in February, resulting in the Panglong Agreement. Per the agreement, leaders of the Shan, Kachin and Chin ethnic minority communities in Burma joined the proposed Union of Burma. AFPL won 88% of the vote, and 87% of the seats in the Burmese general election, 1947, which was to form the basis of the constituent assembly of the newly-independent state. Aung Sang was assassinated on 19 July 1947. On 4 January 1948, the Union of Burma became an independent country.