ABSTRACT
When the British returned in 1945, it was a question of when - not if - Burma would gain independence. During the war, Burmese nationalists had been disappointed by the false independence granted by Japan. They were eager to be rid of the British as quickly as possible and to get on with the task of building a new Burma. From the outset however, there was considerable disagreement as to the nature of this entity, and the relationship within it between the Burman leaders of the wartime nationalist movement and the various minority groups that made up about a third of the population. Although powerful interests dominated national politics, often putting their own concerns above those of the country as a whole, it seemed to many observers that independent Burma had bright prospects.
