Burma: Complicated issue for Indian intellect

Subhaschandra M
Mizzima News: 08 December, 2006

Manipur University reverberated for two whole days with Burma her land and people. The echo still lingers in this new central varsity as the two-day Asian seminar on The Land and People of Myanmar (Burma) concluded in the senate hall, Canchipur campus on December 7 evening.

The seminar’s effort was to recall Burma's geography, history, culture and people's discontent as well as different aspects of the country and life in this new era.

Almost all the speakers among the resource persons who attended the seminar felt that though Burma is in the immediate neighbourhood of India, most Indians along the Indo-Burma border have little knowledge about their neighbours.

They were also of the opinion that Burma is the most complicated of countries among south Asian nations.

After the Governor of Manipur, Dr S S Sidhu’s call for improving the current relationship between India and Burma in his inaugural speech, noted academician Professor Gangmumei Kamei, a former Forest Minister of Manipur said, "Many in India particularly, the foreign office and Defence Ministry look at Myanmar as a defence issue, a possible springboard for Chinese hegemony," adding, "In north-east India particularly, our mindset is conditioned by two great wars in our history, in which Manipur was a theatre of war".

The seven-year devastation popularly known as chahi taret khuntakpa in Manipuri language during the Burmese conquest of Manipur and the consequent first Anglo-Burmese war are living memories for the people of Manipur.

However in this new era the mindset is changing as India begins trade with Burma through the border town of Moreh, he added.

Echoing a similar sentiment, Dr Rajmani of the Department of Commerce of Manipur University talked about the emerging trend of regional economic cooperation among South Asian countries and its consequence on one side, and Burma as a gateway of India's trade relations with South East Asian countries on the other.

Sreemati Chakrabarti, Head of the department of East Asian Studies of the University of Delhi in her deliberation highlighted the important landmarks in Sino-Burmese relations. She also provided an analysis of the same with a perspective mainly from China's side.

Unlike others, Dr R K Ranjan, Registrar, Manipur University in his paper tried to address the problems and issues of environment degradation in the larger context of the South East Asian countries as " Various natural environments have been continuously degraded and it affects the total growth of the country" which is inhabited by about 135 ethnic groups across a total area of 676,553 square kilomteres. Professor Arambam Lokendra, however, focused on Manipur-Burma relationship and sources of their pre-colonial civilizations.

Besides he also stressed the need for re-orientation of studies on Manipur and Burmese polities and cultures in the context of general South East Asian history.

However Prof Karori Singh of South Asia Studies Centre, University of Rajasthan concluded in his paper that sufficient information and data are not available on extreme poverty and the situation of inequality in Burma.

"Whatever information and trend is available indicates that it has the potential of a developed country. If appropriate policy changes take place, the country can open up to other countries and seize opportunities available in the fast growing economies in the neighbourhood," he said.

A number of researchers and scholars exchanged views, comments and experiences they have on Burma with delegates.