ABSTRACT
Located in Southeast Asia between India, China, and Thailand, Burma (or Myanmar*) is a country with a mélange of ethnicities, with Burmese, at roughly 70 percent, representing the largest group. In addition, the population includes Karen, Shan, and other tribes in the interior. In the commercial capital of Yangon (formerly Rangoon) and other coastal cities, there are enclaves of Chinese and Indians. An independent kingdom until taken over by Britain in the early eighteenth century and then absorbed into the latter’s Indian colony, Burma won its independence in 1948. In 1962, the military seized power and has ruled over the country ever since. Brutal and dictatorial, the military junta has been roundly condemned by most of the world’s governments even as it has isolated the country from the outside world and reduced its populace to poverty.
