ABSTRACT

The British rule introduced numerous economic changes, hardly any of which benefited the Myanmar people. The depression of the 1930s hit the Burmese rice industry severely and further aggravated the economic and political tensions among the people. The higher levels of society found the status of Myanmar as an Indian province offensive to their pride in Myanmar as an ancient kingdom with its own glorious traditions. Although Myanmar was a province of India, it was treated differently in regard to political reforms. The constitutional agitation of the 1930s produced a number of political parties, all of them supporting land reform and opposing Indian immigration and moneylenders. The Young Men’s Buddhist Association (YMBA) schools soon became centers of the community's social life and national awareness. They resorted to religious organizations as a politically safe way to promote nationalistic sentiments. Not surprisingly, the Myanmar nationalist movement began with the establishment of the YMBA in 1906.