U Nu
Encyclopedia
For other people with the Burmese name Nu, see Nu (Burmese name).
U Nu was a leading Burmese nationalist and political figure of the 20th century. He was the first Prime Minister of Burma under the provisions of the 1947 Constitution
of the Union of Burma, from 4 January 1948 to 12 June 1956, again from 28 February 1957 to 28 October 1958, and finally from 4 April 1960 to 2 March 1962.
, Myaungmya District
, British Burma. He attended Myoma High School in Yangon. In 1929 he got a B.A. from Rangoon University. In 1935 he married Mya Yi while entering the exam of LLB.
as the secretary. They were both expelled from the university after writing an article, Hell Hound Turned Loose, that appeared in the union magazine. Their expulsion sparked off the second university students' strike in February 1936. Both became members of the nationalist Dobama Asiayone (We Burmans Association) which had been formed in 1930 and henceforth gained the prefix Thakin ('Master'), proclaiming they were the true masters of their own land. For a few years after independence in 1948 Nu retained the prefix 'Thakin', but around 1952 he announced that since Burma was already independent the prefix of 'Thakin' was no longer needed and henceforth he would be known as U ('Mr') Nu. In 1937 he co-founded with Thakin Than Tun
the Nagani (Red Dragon) Book Club which for the first time widely circulated Burmese-language translations of the Marxist classics. He also became a leader and co-founder of the People's Revolutionary Party (PRP), which later became the Socialist Party, and the umbrella organisation the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League
(AFPFL), which advocated Burmese independence from both Japanese
and British
occupation during the 1940s. He was detained by the colonial government in 1940 along with Thakin Soe, Thakin Than Tun
, Kyaw Nyein, U Măd, and Dr. Ba Maw
. After the assassination of its political and military leader Aung San along with his cabinet ministers on 19 July 1947, U Nu led the AFPFL and signed an independent agreement (the Nu-Attlee Treaty) with the British Premier Clement Attlee
in October 1947.
(KMT). After being chased out of China
by the victorious Communists, they had established bases in eastern Burma, and it took several years in the early 1950s to drive them out. A democratic system was instituted, however, and parliamentary elections were held several times. He voluntarily relinquished the Prime Ministerial position in 1956.Myoma U Than Kywe
was one of the leaders of the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League
(AFPFL ) from 1942 to 1963. AFPFL member U Ba Swe
served as Prime Minister from June 1956 to June 1957. On 26 September 1958, he asked the Army Chief of Staff General Ne Win
to take over as a "caretaker government
", and Ne Win was sworn in as Prime Minister on 27 October 1958. In the February 1960 general election, U Nu's "Clean" faction of the AFPFL won in a landslide victory over the "Stable" faction led by U Ba Swe and U Kyaw Nyein. U Nu returned to power forming the Pyidaungzu (Union) government on 4 April 1960.
U Thant had been Secretary to the Prime Minister U Nu before he was appointed Burmese Ambassador to the United Nations
in 1957. U Thant
became the third UN Secretary-General in 1961.
on 2 March 1962. After the 1962 coup, U Nu was put in what was euphemistically called 'protective custody' in an army camp outside Rangoon. He was released more than four years later on 27 October 1966 [see the (Rangoon) Guardian and The Working People's Daily of 28 October 1966 concerning the news items of U Nu's release from custody]. Among others, on the day of the military coup on 2 March 1962 President Mahn Win Maung
as well as Chief Justice U Myint Thein (22 February 1900 – 3 October 1994) was also put in 'protective custody'. Win Maung was released from detention in October 1967 and Myint Thein not until 28 February 1968.
On 2 December 1968, Ne Win, Chairman of the Revolutionary Council (RC), established a 33 man 'Internal Unity Advisory Board' (IUAB; known more informally as 'the thirty-three') of former politicians some of whom he had jailed (or put in protective custody) several years earlier. The Board was assigned with the task of advising the RC for possible suggestions to enhance internal unity and to make suggestions for possible political changes. U Nu was one of the 'thirty-three'. In February 1969, U Nu submitted an 'interim report' recommending that Ne Win hand over power back to him; that the Parliament abolished by Ne Win in March 1962 be reconvened. He proposed that the Parliament would meet and formally appoint Ne Win as president. In his proposal he stated that he made these suggestions in good faith after repeatedly mulling over alternative arrangements. He also stated that he made this proposal in absolute sincerity so that the Revolutionary Council not remain as 'usurpers' ('those who came to power through force') and the 'taint of illegality' of Ne Win's takeover be erased. (The English translation of U Nu's 'interim report' or proposals could be read in the 3 June 1969 issues of the Rangoon Guardian and the Working People's Daily).
Soon after submitting his 'report' or recommendations, U Nu, feigning illness, and under the pretext of a pilgrimage to India
left Burma for India. When Ne Win made no response to his report, U Nu left India for London
. In a speech given at the opening day of the Fourth Seminar of the ruling Burma Socialist Programme Party
(BSPP) on 6 November 1969, Ne Win
formally rejected U Nu's proposal, saying that he took over power — and held on to it — not because he craved power but to uplift the welfare of the 'workers and peasants' and that U Nu's proposals amounted to 'turning back the wheel'. (The full translation of Ne Win's speech to the BSPP seminar can be read in 7 and 8 November 1969 issues of the Rangoon Guardian and the Working People's Daily. U Nu had by now already declared in London that he was still 'the legal Prime Minister').
In a press conference held in London
on 27 August 1969, U Nu announced that he was the 'legal Prime Minister' and 'pledged to the people of Burma' that he would not give up his struggle for democracy in Burma and that Burma was under the 'same kind of fascism' which (Burma's independence hero) 'General Aung San had fought' (during the freedom struggle and the resistance against the Japanese occupation of Burma during the Second World War). The full text of U Nu's press conference in London can be read in the 1 September 1969 issues of the Rangoon Guardian and the Working People's Daily. The text of U Nu's press conference announcement, made in English, in London, was also translated into Burmese in full and was published in all the State-controlled Burmese language
newspapers of 1 September 1969.
U Nu later formed the Parliamentary Democracy Party (PDP) and led an armed resistance group. U Nu's 'resistance group' consisted of no more than several hundred or at most a few thousand at its peak and his avowal to fight and overthrow Ne Win from the Thai border met with abject failure. He subsequently accepted an offer of amnesty granted by Ne Win and returned to Burma on 29 July 1980. (The news item that 'former Prime Minister U Nu and wife Mya Yi arrving back at Rangoon airport at 3:30 pm in the afternoon of 29 July 1980' can be read in the 30 July 1980 issues of the Rangoon Guardian and the Working People's Daily).
in the US to lecture on Buddhism in 1987 - U Nu became once again politically active during the 8888 Uprising forming the first new political party, the League for Democracy and Peace (LDP). Echoing his assertion that he was the 'legal Prime Minister' of August 1969 in London, U Nu reiterated on 9 September 1988 in Rangoon that he was still the 'legal Prime Minister'. His invitation to Aung San Suu Kyi
and to ex-Brigadier Aung Gyi (another opposition politician at the time of the 8888 crisis) to form an interim government was rejected. Nonetheless he formed his own 'government' reappointing Mahn Win Maung who was overthrown in the 1962 coup as 'President'. After the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) took over power on 18 September 1988, the SLORC repeatedly asked U Nu to formally 'abolish' his 'interim government', but U Nu refused to do so. As a result Nu was put under house arrest on 29 December 1989. SLORC spokesmen at that time stated that although U Nu could have been tried for 'treason', due to his advanced age and his contribution to the freedom struggle, he was not charged with that offence. He was released on 23 April 1992 the same day the SLORC Chairman Senior General Saw Maung
was forced to relinquish power and replaced by military junta
(officially named the State Peace and Development Council
) chief Senior General Than Shwe
.
, U Nu had long been the popular spiritual leader of his country. He had the Kaba Aye Pagoda and the Maha Pasana Guha (Great Cave) built in 1952 in preparation for the Sixth Buddhist Synod
that he convened and hosted in 1954–1956 as prime minister. In a 1957 interview with American news broadcast See It Now
, he stated that:
He also stated that although he was born Buddhist, he was particularly attracted by the Kalama Sutta
, a Buddhist doctrine that challenges believers to actively question their beliefs and views instead of passively accepting them:
On 29 August 1961, Parliament passed the State Religion Promotion Act of 1961, initiated by U Nu himself. This act made Buddhism the official state religion of the country, one of his election campaign promises as well as instated the Buddhist lunar calendar by official observance of the so-called Buddhist sabbath days, or Uposatha
, in lieu of the Christian Sabbath day, Sunday. On Uposatha days, state broadcasting radio was required to dedicate its airtime to religious programs, while state schools and government offices were closed, and liquor was not allowed to be served in public spaces. The act also required government schools to teach Buddhist students the Buddhist scriptures, banned the slaughtering of cattle (beef became known as todo tha ; lit. hush hush meat), and commuted death sentence
s for parolees.
When General Ne Win
took over in 1962, one of his first acts was to repeal the Buddhist acts that had passed under U Nu's administration, including the ban on cow slaughtering and declaration of Buddhism as the state religion, as they had alienated largely Christian ethnic minorities such as the Kachins
and the Karens
, and perhaps was symbolic of a personality clash between Nu and Ne Win.
's book, How to Win Friends and Influence People (Lupaw Luzaw Louknee in Burmese - in retranslaton it roughly meant 'How to Take Advantage of Man by Man'); later the translated name was changed to the more palatable 'Meikta Bala Htika' which can be retranslated as A Treatise on Friendly Social Contract. The translated work under the second title became a prescribed text in schools in the 1950s as was U Nu's original work in Burmese, The People Win Through or The Sound of the People Victorious (Ludu Aungthan).
He organized a Burma Translation Society
and first volume of Burmese Encyclopedia
published in 1954. The Sarpay Beikhman continued those works.
The play The Sound of the People Victorious (Ludu Aungthan) that U Nu wrote while he was Prime Minister is about the havoc that Communist ideologies can wreak in a family. Strangely enough the first production of the play seems to have been in Pasadena, California
. It later became a popular comic book in Burma, was translated into English, and made into a feature film at the height of the Cold War
in the 1950s. The older generation in Burma can still remember having studied the play in their schooldays.
In the play Thaka Ala, published just before the 1962 coup, U Nu paints an extremely ugly picture of corruption both amongst the high-ranking politicians in power at the time as well as among the communist leaders who were gaining ascendancy. This is a play in the vernacular, a genre that hardly exists in Burmese literature. A translation into English was published in instalments in the Guardian newspaper. The play was critical of the current state of politics in Burma at the time (around 1960) and in this critical stance it resembles Thein Pe Myint's The Modern Monk (Tet Hpongyi in Burmese). Like The Modern Monk, it deals with scandalous sexual liaisons not much in keeping with traditional modes of Burmese behaviour.One of the greatest female writers of the Post-colonial period is Journal Kyaw Ma Ma Lay. Khin Myo Chit was another important writer, who wrote, among her works, The 13-Carat Diamond (1955), which was translated into many languages. The journalist Ludu U Hla was the author of numerous volumes of ethnic minority folklore, novels about inmates in U Nu-era jails, and biographies of people working in different occupations. The Prime Minister U Nu himself wrote several politically oriented plays and novels.
Other prolific writers of the post-colonial era include Thein Pe Myint (and his The Ocean Traveller and the Pearl Queen, considered a Burmese classic), Mya Than Tint (known for his translations of Western classics like War and Peace), Thawda Swe and Myat Htun. Aung San Suu Kyi
, Chit Maung, Dagon Khin Khin Lay, Hmawbi Saya Thein, Htin Aung, James Hla Kyaw, Journal Kyaw Ma Ma Lay, Khin Hnin Yu, Khin Khin Htoo, Khin Myo Chit, Ludu Daw Amar, Ludu U Hla, Mg Khin Min (Danuphyu), Min Thu Wun, Minfong Ho, Mya Than Tint, Myoma Myint Kywe
, P Moe Nin, Pascal Khoo Thwe, Pe Maung Tin, Richard Bartholomew, San San Nweh, Saw Wai, Saya Zawgyi, Taw Phayar Galay, Tekkatho Phone Naing, Thakin Kodaw Hmaing, Thein Pe Myint, Theippan Maung Wa, Thukha, Tin Moe, U Ottama,U Nu and U Pho Kyar were famous in Burma. Burmese Historians: Ba Shin, Than Tun, Thant Myint-U, Htin Aung, Sao Saimong, Myoma Myint Kywe
,and San C. Po were famous in Burma.Distinguished women writers, who have also been an ever-present force in Burmese literary history, include Kyi Aye, Khin Hnin Yu, and San San Nweh. This time the scandalous sexual liaisons are among politicians both of the left and the right.
U Nu was a leading Burmese nationalist and political figure of the 20th century. He was the first Prime Minister of Burma under the provisions of the 1947 Constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
of the Union of Burma, from 4 January 1948 to 12 June 1956, again from 28 February 1957 to 28 October 1958, and finally from 4 April 1960 to 2 March 1962.
Biography
He was born to U San Tun and Daw Saw Khin of WakemaWakema
Wakema is a town in the Ayeyarwady Division of south-west Myanmar. It is the seat of the Wakema Township in the Myaungmya District. It is home to the Government Technological Institute, Wakema . Wakema is also the hometown of Sayadaw U Pannya Vamsa, a notable Buddhist missionary....
, Myaungmya District
Myaungmya
Myaungmya is a town in Myaungmya Township, Ayeyarwady Region, Myanmar.The town is home to the Myanmar Union Adventist Seminary, a Seventh Day Adventist seminary and Myaungmya Education College....
, British Burma. He attended Myoma High School in Yangon. In 1929 he got a B.A. from Rangoon University. In 1935 he married Mya Yi while entering the exam of LLB.
Struggle for independence
His political life started as president of the Rangoon University Students Union (RUSU) with Aung SanAung San
Bogyoke Aung San ; 13 February 1915 – 19 July 1947) was a Burmese revolutionary, nationalist, and founder of the modern Burmese army, the Tatmadaw....
as the secretary. They were both expelled from the university after writing an article, Hell Hound Turned Loose, that appeared in the union magazine. Their expulsion sparked off the second university students' strike in February 1936. Both became members of the nationalist Dobama Asiayone (We Burmans Association) which had been formed in 1930 and henceforth gained the prefix Thakin ('Master'), proclaiming they were the true masters of their own land. For a few years after independence in 1948 Nu retained the prefix 'Thakin', but around 1952 he announced that since Burma was already independent the prefix of 'Thakin' was no longer needed and henceforth he would be known as U ('Mr') Nu. In 1937 he co-founded with Thakin Than Tun
Thakin Than Tun
Thakin Than Tun born in Kanyutkwin, Myanmar, was a Burmese politician and leader of the Communist Party of Burma from 1945 until his death at age 57.-Struggle for freedom:...
the Nagani (Red Dragon) Book Club which for the first time widely circulated Burmese-language translations of the Marxist classics. He also became a leader and co-founder of the People's Revolutionary Party (PRP), which later became the Socialist Party, and the umbrella organisation the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League
Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League
The Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League , or hpa hsa pa la by its Burmese acronym, was the main political party in Burma from 1945 until 1962...
(AFPFL), which advocated Burmese independence from both Japanese
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
and British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
occupation during the 1940s. He was detained by the colonial government in 1940 along with Thakin Soe, Thakin Than Tun
Thakin Than Tun
Thakin Than Tun born in Kanyutkwin, Myanmar, was a Burmese politician and leader of the Communist Party of Burma from 1945 until his death at age 57.-Struggle for freedom:...
, Kyaw Nyein, U Măd, and Dr. Ba Maw
Ba Maw
Dr. Ba Maw was a Burmese political leader, active during the interwar and World War II period.-Early life and education:Ba Maw was born in Maubin. Ba Maw came from a distinguished family of mixed Mon-Burmese parentage which bred many scholars and lawyers...
. After the assassination of its political and military leader Aung San along with his cabinet ministers on 19 July 1947, U Nu led the AFPFL and signed an independent agreement (the Nu-Attlee Treaty) with the British Premier Clement Attlee
Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
in October 1947.
Parliamentary era
Burma gained independence from Britain on 4 January 1948.U Nu became the chairman of the Old Myoma Students Association in Yangon. U Nu became the first Prime Minister of independent Burma, and he had to deal with armed rebellion, The rebels included various ethnic groups, White Flag and Red Flag communist factions, and some regiments in the Army. Yet another challenge was the exiled KuomintangKuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
(KMT). After being chased out of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
by the victorious Communists, they had established bases in eastern Burma, and it took several years in the early 1950s to drive them out. A democratic system was instituted, however, and parliamentary elections were held several times. He voluntarily relinquished the Prime Ministerial position in 1956.Myoma U Than Kywe
Myoma U Than Kywe
Politician Myoma U Than Kywe pronounced was born in Thonn Gya Township in Rangoon Burma in 1924. He was a politician of Burma Independence. He was the leader of the conference that initiated the formation of the Union of Burma. It was during the Second World War that Myoma U Than Kywe’s life as a...
was one of the leaders of the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League
Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League
The Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League , or hpa hsa pa la by its Burmese acronym, was the main political party in Burma from 1945 until 1962...
(AFPFL ) from 1942 to 1963. AFPFL member U Ba Swe
U Ba Swe
Ba Swe was the second Premier of Burma. He was a leading Burmese politician during the decade after the country gained its independence from Britain in 1948. He held the position of prime minister from 12 June 1956 to 28 February 1957...
served as Prime Minister from June 1956 to June 1957. On 26 September 1958, he asked the Army Chief of Staff General Ne Win
Ne Win
Ne Win was Burmese a politician and military commander. He was Prime Minister of Burma from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1974 and also head of state from 1962 to 1981...
to take over as a "caretaker government
Caretaker government
Caretaker government is a type of government that rules temporarily. A caretaker government is often set up following a war until stable democratic rule can be restored, or installed, in which case it is often referred to as a provisional government...
", and Ne Win was sworn in as Prime Minister on 27 October 1958. In the February 1960 general election, U Nu's "Clean" faction of the AFPFL won in a landslide victory over the "Stable" faction led by U Ba Swe and U Kyaw Nyein. U Nu returned to power forming the Pyidaungzu (Union) government on 4 April 1960.
U Thant had been Secretary to the Prime Minister U Nu before he was appointed Burmese Ambassador to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
in 1957. U Thant
U Thant
U Thant was a Burmese diplomat and the third Secretary-General of the United Nations, from 1961 to 1971. He was chosen for the post when his predecessor, Dag Hammarskjöld, died in September 1961....
became the third UN Secretary-General in 1961.
Military era
Less than two years after his election victory, Nu was overthrown by a coup d’état led by General Ne WinNe Win
Ne Win was Burmese a politician and military commander. He was Prime Minister of Burma from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1974 and also head of state from 1962 to 1981...
on 2 March 1962. After the 1962 coup, U Nu was put in what was euphemistically called 'protective custody' in an army camp outside Rangoon. He was released more than four years later on 27 October 1966 [see the (Rangoon) Guardian and The Working People's Daily of 28 October 1966 concerning the news items of U Nu's release from custody]. Among others, on the day of the military coup on 2 March 1962 President Mahn Win Maung
Win Maung
Mahn Win Maung was the third president of Union of Burma . He was appointed president by Prime Minister U Nu in March 1957. He served for five years until 2 March 1962, when General Ne Win's military coup d'état ousted Nu's government.-Biography:...
as well as Chief Justice U Myint Thein (22 February 1900 – 3 October 1994) was also put in 'protective custody'. Win Maung was released from detention in October 1967 and Myint Thein not until 28 February 1968.
On 2 December 1968, Ne Win, Chairman of the Revolutionary Council (RC), established a 33 man 'Internal Unity Advisory Board' (IUAB; known more informally as 'the thirty-three') of former politicians some of whom he had jailed (or put in protective custody) several years earlier. The Board was assigned with the task of advising the RC for possible suggestions to enhance internal unity and to make suggestions for possible political changes. U Nu was one of the 'thirty-three'. In February 1969, U Nu submitted an 'interim report' recommending that Ne Win hand over power back to him; that the Parliament abolished by Ne Win in March 1962 be reconvened. He proposed that the Parliament would meet and formally appoint Ne Win as president. In his proposal he stated that he made these suggestions in good faith after repeatedly mulling over alternative arrangements. He also stated that he made this proposal in absolute sincerity so that the Revolutionary Council not remain as 'usurpers' ('those who came to power through force') and the 'taint of illegality' of Ne Win's takeover be erased. (The English translation of U Nu's 'interim report' or proposals could be read in the 3 June 1969 issues of the Rangoon Guardian and the Working People's Daily).
Soon after submitting his 'report' or recommendations, U Nu, feigning illness, and under the pretext of a pilgrimage to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
left Burma for India. When Ne Win made no response to his report, U Nu left India for London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. In a speech given at the opening day of the Fourth Seminar of the ruling Burma Socialist Programme Party
Burma Socialist Programme Party
Burma Socialist Programme Party was formed by the Ne Win's military regime that seized power in 1962 and was the sole political party allowed to exist legally in Burma during the period of military rule from 1964 until its demise in the aftermath of the popular uprising of 1988.-History:The BSPP...
(BSPP) on 6 November 1969, Ne Win
Ne Win
Ne Win was Burmese a politician and military commander. He was Prime Minister of Burma from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1974 and also head of state from 1962 to 1981...
formally rejected U Nu's proposal, saying that he took over power — and held on to it — not because he craved power but to uplift the welfare of the 'workers and peasants' and that U Nu's proposals amounted to 'turning back the wheel'. (The full translation of Ne Win's speech to the BSPP seminar can be read in 7 and 8 November 1969 issues of the Rangoon Guardian and the Working People's Daily. U Nu had by now already declared in London that he was still 'the legal Prime Minister').
In a press conference held in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on 27 August 1969, U Nu announced that he was the 'legal Prime Minister' and 'pledged to the people of Burma' that he would not give up his struggle for democracy in Burma and that Burma was under the 'same kind of fascism' which (Burma's independence hero) 'General Aung San had fought' (during the freedom struggle and the resistance against the Japanese occupation of Burma during the Second World War). The full text of U Nu's press conference in London can be read in the 1 September 1969 issues of the Rangoon Guardian and the Working People's Daily. The text of U Nu's press conference announcement, made in English, in London, was also translated into Burmese in full and was published in all the State-controlled Burmese language
Burmese language
The Burmese language is the official language of Burma. Although the constitution officially recognizes it as the Myanmar language, most English speakers continue to refer to the language as Burmese. Burmese is the native language of the Bamar and related sub-ethnic groups of the Bamar, as well as...
newspapers of 1 September 1969.
U Nu later formed the Parliamentary Democracy Party (PDP) and led an armed resistance group. U Nu's 'resistance group' consisted of no more than several hundred or at most a few thousand at its peak and his avowal to fight and overthrow Ne Win from the Thai border met with abject failure. He subsequently accepted an offer of amnesty granted by Ne Win and returned to Burma on 29 July 1980. (The news item that 'former Prime Minister U Nu and wife Mya Yi arrving back at Rangoon airport at 3:30 pm in the afternoon of 29 July 1980' can be read in the 30 July 1980 issues of the Rangoon Guardian and the Working People's Daily).
8888 Uprising
After keeping a low profile, teaching Buddhism in Burma and the United States - U Nu visited Northern Illinois UniversityNorthern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University is a state university and research institution located in DeKalb, Illinois, with satellite centers in Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Rockford, and Oregon. It was originally founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895 by Illinois Governor John P...
in the US to lecture on Buddhism in 1987 - U Nu became once again politically active during the 8888 Uprising forming the first new political party, the League for Democracy and Peace (LDP). Echoing his assertion that he was the 'legal Prime Minister' of August 1969 in London, U Nu reiterated on 9 September 1988 in Rangoon that he was still the 'legal Prime Minister'. His invitation to Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi, AC is a Burmese opposition politician and the General Secretary of the National League for Democracy. In the 1990 general election, her National League for Democracy party won 59% of the national votes and 81% of the seats in Parliament. She had, however, already been detained...
and to ex-Brigadier Aung Gyi (another opposition politician at the time of the 8888 crisis) to form an interim government was rejected. Nonetheless he formed his own 'government' reappointing Mahn Win Maung who was overthrown in the 1962 coup as 'President'. After the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) took over power on 18 September 1988, the SLORC repeatedly asked U Nu to formally 'abolish' his 'interim government', but U Nu refused to do so. As a result Nu was put under house arrest on 29 December 1989. SLORC spokesmen at that time stated that although U Nu could have been tried for 'treason', due to his advanced age and his contribution to the freedom struggle, he was not charged with that offence. He was released on 23 April 1992 the same day the SLORC Chairman Senior General Saw Maung
Saw Maung
Senior General Saw Maung was the founder of the State Peace and Development Council in Myanmar. He served as their Chairman from 1988 to 1992.-Early life and career:...
was forced to relinquish power and replaced by military junta
Military junta
A junta or military junta is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term derives from the Spanish language junta meaning committee, specifically a board of directors...
(officially named the State Peace and Development Council
State Peace and Development Council
The State Peace and Development Council was the official name of the military regime of Burma , which seized power in 1988. On 30 March 2011, Senior General Than Shwe signed a decree to officially dissolve the Council....
) chief Senior General Than Shwe
Than Shwe
Senior General Than Shwe is a Burmese military leader and politician who was chairman of the State Peace and Development Council from 1992 to 2011. During the period, he held key positions of power including commander-in-chief of the Myanmar Armed Forces and head of Union Solidarity and...
.
Religious works
A devout Theravada BuddhistTheravada
Theravada ; literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching", is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was founded in India...
, U Nu had long been the popular spiritual leader of his country. He had the Kaba Aye Pagoda and the Maha Pasana Guha (Great Cave) built in 1952 in preparation for the Sixth Buddhist Synod
Sixth Buddhist council
The Sixth Buddhist Council was a general council of Theravada Buddhism, held in a specially built cave and pagoda complex at Kaba Aye Pagoda in Yangon, Burma. The council was attended by 2,500 monastics from eight Theravada Buddhist countries...
that he convened and hosted in 1954–1956 as prime minister. In a 1957 interview with American news broadcast See It Now
See It Now
See It Now is an American newsmagazine and documentary series broadcast by CBS from 1951 to 1958. It was created by Edward R. Murrow and Fred W. Friendly, Murrow being the host of the show. From 1952 to 1957, See It Now won four Emmy Awards and was nominated three times...
, he stated that:
He also stated that although he was born Buddhist, he was particularly attracted by the Kalama Sutta
Kalama Sutta
The Kālāma Sutta , is a discourse of the Buddha contained in the Aṅguttara Nikaya of the Tipiṭaka...
, a Buddhist doctrine that challenges believers to actively question their beliefs and views instead of passively accepting them:
On 29 August 1961, Parliament passed the State Religion Promotion Act of 1961, initiated by U Nu himself. This act made Buddhism the official state religion of the country, one of his election campaign promises as well as instated the Buddhist lunar calendar by official observance of the so-called Buddhist sabbath days, or Uposatha
Uposatha
The Uposatha is Buddhist day of observance, in existence from the Buddha's time , and still being kept today in Buddhist countries. The Buddha taught that the Uposatha day is for "the cleansing of the defiled mind," resulting in inner calm and joy...
, in lieu of the Christian Sabbath day, Sunday. On Uposatha days, state broadcasting radio was required to dedicate its airtime to religious programs, while state schools and government offices were closed, and liquor was not allowed to be served in public spaces. The act also required government schools to teach Buddhist students the Buddhist scriptures, banned the slaughtering of cattle (beef became known as todo tha ; lit. hush hush meat), and commuted death sentence
Death Sentence
Death Sentence is a short story by the American science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the November 1943 issue of Astounding Science Fiction and reprinted in the 1972 collection The Early Asimov.-Plot summary:...
s for parolees.
When General Ne Win
Ne Win
Ne Win was Burmese a politician and military commander. He was Prime Minister of Burma from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1974 and also head of state from 1962 to 1981...
took over in 1962, one of his first acts was to repeal the Buddhist acts that had passed under U Nu's administration, including the ban on cow slaughtering and declaration of Buddhism as the state religion, as they had alienated largely Christian ethnic minorities such as the Kachins
Kachin State
Kachin State , is the northernmost state of Burma. It is bordered by China to the north and east; Shan State to the south; and Sagaing Division and India to the west. It lies between north latitude 23° 27' and 28° 25' longitude 96° 0' and 98° 44'. The area of Kachin State is . The capital of the...
and the Karens
Karen people
The Karen or Kayin people , are a Sino-Tibetan language speaking ethnic group which resides primarily in southern and southeastern Burma . The Karen make up approximately 7 percent of the total Burmese population of approximately 50 million people...
, and perhaps was symbolic of a personality clash between Nu and Ne Win.
Literary works
U Nu authored several books some of which have been translated into English. Among his works are The People Win Through (1951), Burma under the Japanese (1954), An Asian Speaks (1955), and Burma Looks Ahead (1951). His autobiography (1907–1962) Ta-Tei Sanei Tha (Ta-Tei - Saturday Son) was published in India by Irrawaddy Publishing (U Maw Thiri) in 1975. An earlier version had been published in 1974; it was translated into English by U Law Yone, Editor of the (Rangoon) Nation till 1963 and who, like U Nu, was jailed by the Revolutionary Council in the 1960s. Before U Nu became Prime Minister, he had translated, in the late 1930s, Dale CarnegieDale Carnegie
Dale Breckenridge Carnegie was an American writer, lecturer, and the developer of famous courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking, and interpersonal skills...
's book, How to Win Friends and Influence People (Lupaw Luzaw Louknee in Burmese - in retranslaton it roughly meant 'How to Take Advantage of Man by Man'); later the translated name was changed to the more palatable 'Meikta Bala Htika' which can be retranslated as A Treatise on Friendly Social Contract. The translated work under the second title became a prescribed text in schools in the 1950s as was U Nu's original work in Burmese, The People Win Through or The Sound of the People Victorious (Ludu Aungthan).
He organized a Burma Translation Society
Burma Translation Society
The Burmese Translation Society was formed on August 26, 1947. Its first President was Prime Minister U Nu, who started a Burmese translation job at Judson College . Its purpose is to translate world culture, literature, education for the Burmese public.Burma Society noticed that independent Burma...
and first volume of Burmese Encyclopedia
Burmese Encyclopedia
The Burmese Encyclopedia is an encyclopedia published by the Burma Translation Society under the direction of former Burmese Prime Minister U Nu. The project began in 1947, and the first volume was later published via Stephen Austin & Sons Ltd, Hertford, Great Britain. Each of fifteen volumes has...
published in 1954. The Sarpay Beikhman continued those works.
Novelist and playwright
Besides serving as Prime Minister, U Nu was also an accomplished novelist and playwright. In a work from the colonial period titled Yesset pabeikwe or It's So Cruel (Man, the Wolf of Man) U Nu describes how during the colonial period rich landlords were able to get away with just about any crime they wished to perpetrate.The play The Sound of the People Victorious (Ludu Aungthan) that U Nu wrote while he was Prime Minister is about the havoc that Communist ideologies can wreak in a family. Strangely enough the first production of the play seems to have been in Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
. It later became a popular comic book in Burma, was translated into English, and made into a feature film at the height of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
in the 1950s. The older generation in Burma can still remember having studied the play in their schooldays.
In the play Thaka Ala, published just before the 1962 coup, U Nu paints an extremely ugly picture of corruption both amongst the high-ranking politicians in power at the time as well as among the communist leaders who were gaining ascendancy. This is a play in the vernacular, a genre that hardly exists in Burmese literature. A translation into English was published in instalments in the Guardian newspaper. The play was critical of the current state of politics in Burma at the time (around 1960) and in this critical stance it resembles Thein Pe Myint's The Modern Monk (Tet Hpongyi in Burmese). Like The Modern Monk, it deals with scandalous sexual liaisons not much in keeping with traditional modes of Burmese behaviour.One of the greatest female writers of the Post-colonial period is Journal Kyaw Ma Ma Lay. Khin Myo Chit was another important writer, who wrote, among her works, The 13-Carat Diamond (1955), which was translated into many languages. The journalist Ludu U Hla was the author of numerous volumes of ethnic minority folklore, novels about inmates in U Nu-era jails, and biographies of people working in different occupations. The Prime Minister U Nu himself wrote several politically oriented plays and novels.
Other prolific writers of the post-colonial era include Thein Pe Myint (and his The Ocean Traveller and the Pearl Queen, considered a Burmese classic), Mya Than Tint (known for his translations of Western classics like War and Peace), Thawda Swe and Myat Htun. Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi, AC is a Burmese opposition politician and the General Secretary of the National League for Democracy. In the 1990 general election, her National League for Democracy party won 59% of the national votes and 81% of the seats in Parliament. She had, however, already been detained...
, Chit Maung, Dagon Khin Khin Lay, Hmawbi Saya Thein, Htin Aung, James Hla Kyaw, Journal Kyaw Ma Ma Lay, Khin Hnin Yu, Khin Khin Htoo, Khin Myo Chit, Ludu Daw Amar, Ludu U Hla, Mg Khin Min (Danuphyu), Min Thu Wun, Minfong Ho, Mya Than Tint, Myoma Myint Kywe
Myoma Myint Kywe
Myoma Myint Kywe is a writer, historian and journalist from Burma.He was awarded the National Manuscript First Prize for 2003 in Myanmar In 2007 he won first prize in the Sarpay Beikman Manuscript Award in Burma culture and fine arts literature genre.-References:...
, P Moe Nin, Pascal Khoo Thwe, Pe Maung Tin, Richard Bartholomew, San San Nweh, Saw Wai, Saya Zawgyi, Taw Phayar Galay, Tekkatho Phone Naing, Thakin Kodaw Hmaing, Thein Pe Myint, Theippan Maung Wa, Thukha, Tin Moe, U Ottama,U Nu and U Pho Kyar were famous in Burma. Burmese Historians: Ba Shin, Than Tun, Thant Myint-U, Htin Aung, Sao Saimong, Myoma Myint Kywe
Myoma Myint Kywe
Myoma Myint Kywe is a writer, historian and journalist from Burma.He was awarded the National Manuscript First Prize for 2003 in Myanmar In 2007 he won first prize in the Sarpay Beikman Manuscript Award in Burma culture and fine arts literature genre.-References:...
,and San C. Po were famous in Burma.Distinguished women writers, who have also been an ever-present force in Burmese literary history, include Kyi Aye, Khin Hnin Yu, and San San Nweh. This time the scandalous sexual liaisons are among politicians both of the left and the right.
Death
Nu died of natural causes on 14 February 1995 in Yangon at the age of 87, after his wife Mya Yi died. They had five children, San San (daughter), Thaung Htaik (son), Maung Aung (son), Than Than (daughter) and Cho Cho (daughter).External links
- Time Magazine cover
- The House on Stilts TimeTime (magazine)Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine cover story, August 30, 1954 - U Nu's speech on Burmese independence, January 4, 1948
- U Nu - Centennial Birthday May 25, 2007
- The Columbia Encyclopedia
- Encyclopædia Britannica article
- Burma Looks Ahead
- Thaka-Ala, a political satire by U Nu
- BookRags - U Nu
- U Nu's hundred of photo gallery at www.pbase.com
- History of Burma