Burma stamp – The-Philatelist

Burma did not want to stay British after the war. The Japanese occupation during the war meant it was not going to have to. It also wanted to stay Buddhist so was not going to join India. Could the politicians work together enough to form a more perfect Union? So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

This stamp from newly independent Burma shows the throne from pre British Burma. The problem there was that the Royals were not coming back. Instead politicians who had collaborated with the Japanese turned on them and put themselves under a anti fascist banner and jockeyed for position. How do you put that on a stamp? I think it would be fun to try.

Todays stamp is issue A19, a one Rupee stamp issued by the Union of Burma on January 4th, 1949. It was part of a 14 stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents.

U Nu, then just U, went to college at the British founded University of Rangoon. There he met other young well off Burmese who were interested in ending British rule. The group was expelled from the University after they published a work called “Hell Hounds let Loose” making fun of the Rector. U’s work got more political but he also made a living translating English books to Burmese. Most were communist but one was Dale Carnegie’s work, “How to win friends and influence people”. U translated that title into How to take advantage of man by man. Born politician right.

During the war, the Japanese occupied Burma and gave it independence. U served as the puppet government’s Foreign Minister. When the tide turned against the Japanese the independence leaders abandoned them and united under the banner of the anti-fascist peoples freedom league and went to British held territory. The prewar British Governor came back and put them on a commission to work on independence. When the Governor changed the police and civil service went on strike to hurry along the process. The British were anxious to get out as well and a deal for independence was signed by Ang Sang and British Prime Minister Atlee. Before the turnover could happen, Ang Sang was assassinated by a shut out rival. The last British Governor appointed U Prime Minister and quickly got out. U had taken the title of Thakin but that was an old fashioned title and so he replaced it with Nu.

The anti fascist league pretended to speak for a diverse group but many ethnic minorities and hard core communists formed armed resistance groups. U tried to hold on to power. His faction of the anti-fascist league was rebranded the clean anti fascist league. U was also faced with Nationalist Chinese forces that vacated to Burma after losing the Chinese Civil War. American support for these Chinese damaged relations with Burma.

All the fighting tired the Army of the politicians and there was a coup against U Nu. He first was held “for his safety” and then allowed to go into exile in London. From London in 1969 he declared that he was still Prime Minister of Burma. Well a British Governor had appointed him 20+ years before. In 1981 figuring U Nu was now U old, the military allowed U to return to Burma. where he taught religion at his old University. In 1989, he made them regret that by declaring that his 1969 London declaration still held and he was still Prime Minister. Even other regime opponents were laughing at him by then and the military confined him to his house until his death in 1996.

So what ever happened to the old Royals. The last King Thibaw was exiled to India in 1886. He embarrassingly was on his knees before the British and many of his subjects begging for his life upon leaving. The British paid him a pension in India but that ended with his generation. One of his granddaughters was found in India in 1995. She was poor, married to a mechanic and didn’t speak Burmese or practice Buddhism. She did have a poster up in her home that showed her mother as a child in the Palace. A brother was more successful. He moved back to Burma and lived a quiet non political life as a merchant. He did take care to marry his first cousin to keep the Royal blood line pure. In his nineties in 2007, he came out of the closet by appearing in a local documentary titled “We were Kings”. He died this year but there is a male heir. In case Burma tires of U old and his clean league and is ready for a U Turn.

Well my drink is empty and I will patiently await tomorrow when there were be another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

Colonial era borders often do not leave coherent borders. So when independence comes, a way to stand together must be found. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

Todays stamp is quite small and requires some study to follow. That does not make it a bad stamp. What I like is how different it was from the colonial period. The teakwood harvesting shown as a common feel that just would not be present in a colonial issue. The first governments of Burma contained many leaders of the independence movement that started as a peasant tax revolt. Coopted later of course but even into ruling, the movement at least was paying lip service to the common Burmese. I like that.

Todays stamp is issue A16, a 4 Anna stamp issued by the Union of Burma on January 4th, 1949. It displays teak harvesting and was part of a 16 stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott Catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents.

The territory of Burma was broken off from British India in 1937. This was viewed suspiciously in Burma. Although the bulk of the people were neither Hindu nor Muslim, it was thought that India was on the fast track to independence and this would slow it down. The British introduced a measure of self government but all the leaders it put in place were for independence and willing to collaborate with the Japanese to get it. Three different prime ministers of the shadow self government spent time in British prisons for collaborating with the Japanese in the period leading up to and during World War II.

The Japanese occupied Burma in World War II and Aung San, father of the current Myanmar leader, formed an army of the puppet regime. As the tide of war changed, Aung Sung made contact with Britain in India and changed sides ending the Japanese occupation. He was named prime minister and conducted the negotiations that lead to independence. However left out was former prime minister U Saw. U Saw had been caught meeting with Japanese in pre Pacific war London. He was detained in Uganda for the rest of the war, but post war was back in Burma seeking power. His poor man’s party did badly in elections but then he attempted a coup and assassinated Aung Sung in 1947. U Saw was hung for his part in the coup. A rough place and remains one as there are many ethnic and religious minorities that do not feel much connection to the government of the majority. The majority is itself divided between leftists like Aung San’s daughter and conservatives who seek to impose unity from above, often by force.

Teak is a hardwood that is uniquely suited to maritime uses as it is naturally resistant to water. The largest teak forests in the world are still today located in Myanmar.

Well my drink is empty and so I will open the discussion in the below comment section. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.