ABSTRACT
One of the most striking features of the history of Burma in the post-World War II era has been the extent to which its leaders have sought to isolate the new nation from the rest of the world. From non-alignment and neutrality, then fashionable among Third World leaders, the Burmese moved to outright isolation. A once-booming export economy was reduced to a shadow of its former self. In addition to xenophobia, Burma’s determined retreat into isolation is blamed on the “traumatic” effects of colonization on the Burmese people. The influx of Indian administrative and military personnel foreshadowed the reliance of the colonizers on Indian precedents in the governance of the new territories. The application of Indian precedents was particularly intense in the relatively underpopulated southern districts of Burma. The movement of Indian entrepreneurs and capital to Burma was paralleled by a massive influx of Indian migrant laborers into both the urban centers and rural districts of Burma.
