Project Burma - Christian Ministries and Evangelism in Myanmar (Burma)

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Location and History

Location
Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand.

The geographical area modern-day Myanmar encompasses can be traced to the 1950s, as it was during this time that Burma Proper ( Lower Burma where the population was predominantly Mon, Karen, and Bamar, and Upper Burma, which was predominantly Bamar) was re-unified with the Frontier Areas, known as Scheduled or Excluded Areas, inhabited by other ethnic minorities such as the Shan, the Kachin and the Karenni, and administered separately by the British prior to independence in 1948.

History
Britain conquered Burma over a period of 62 years (1824-1886) and incorporated it into its Indian Empire. Burma was administered as a province of India until 1937 when it became a separate, self-governing colony; independence from the Commonwealth was attained in 1948.

In a series of wars (1824 – 1826, 1851 – 1852 and 1885 – 1886) Burma lost territory to the British and became a province of India under British rule. On April 1, 1937, Burma became a separately-administered colony independent of the Indian administration. During World War II Burma became a major front in the Southeast Asian Theatre.

After initial successes by the Japanese in the Burma Campaign which saw them expel the British from most of Burma, the Allies fought back and by July 1945 had retaken the country. Burmese fought for both sides in the war. The Burma 1st Division, the Kachin Levies, the Karen Rifles and in other formations such as the American-Kachin Rangers fought for the Allies. The Burmese National Army under the command of Aung San fought for the Japanese to drive the British out, but subsequently switched sides to drive the Japanese out in 1945.

On January 4, 1948, at 4:20 a.m., the nation became an independent republic, known as the Union of Burma, with Sao Shwe Thaik as its first President and U Nu as its first Prime Minister. There was a bicameral parliament consisting of a Chamber of Deputies and a Chamber of Nationalities.