Unrest in Myanmar

 

Unrest in Myanmar
 
From a historical point of view, if we look at it, we can see that Myanmar which gained independence in 1947 was a major part of colonial India. In1937, the British identified Myanmar as a separate colony. Since the area was primarily dominated by a particular community called the "Burman", so the British called the place Burma. 25% of seats in Myanmar's parliament are reserved for the army. The Army has been occupying 56 of the total 224 seats in the Upper House and 110 seats in 440 seats in the Lower House. Myanmar has been heading for an awful situation in a recent way. Myanmar continued to be ruled by the military for decades. A Democratic movement led by peace Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi commenced ending military rule in Myanmar. For which Aung San Suu Kyi was bestowed a life of bondage by the military for many years. Subsequently, with esteem to the democratic movement of the countrymen, the military government-endorsed of a democratic government. The path of ascertaining democracy ultimately paved the way for democracy to be established in Myanmar in 2015 at the end of the decades. General elections were held in Myanmar in November 2020 and the 'National League for Democracy ' party won a remarkable victory by scoring a single majority in the election. But the military alleged substantial irregularities in the election and declared that the election wasn't valid. But the Myanmar Election commission didn't have enough authentic evidence on the issue and requested the military to withdraw the demand. However, the military seemed to be outraged by this. Disappointed with the victory of the Aung San Suu Kyi party, the military again moves towards establishing its authority in the country. In parallel, the democratically elected government was upheaved overnight and arrested all leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and proclaimed a state of emergency in Myanmar for a year. Myanmar is still known as an underdeveloped nation despite being rich in natural resources. Even today, military dictatorship, political turmoil continues to be an obstacle to Myanmar's development. Several generations of the people of Myanmar have grown up through violence, protests, unrest, etc. Myanmar's military is not seen to have imposed much special prominence on Myanmar's overall development. If countries like the united states, England, Canada, etc, want to assess any obligations on Myanmar, there is a possibility that Myanmar's development will come to a standstill. China's dominance in Myanmar has been seen to increase recently which is not a promising message for India. China voted in favor of the Myanmar army when Western countries blamed the Myanmar army over Rohingya Muslims. In January 2020, Xi Jinping visited Myanmar, and a total of 33 agreements were signed during this period. China wants to dominate the Bay of Bengal, the Indian ocean, and the Malacca strait as well as build itself strongly on the geopolitical front. China's demand for oil in the global market has been growing consistently. For which China was looking for a new path. The route will be constructed through Myanmar, connecting Kunming to Myanmar Kyaukpyu port. Myanmar's importance in trade aspects, international security, and relations can not be ruled out. In this regard, India has made concerted efforts to disrupt China's movement through QUAD(Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) but that is not enough. India has given 1.5 million corona vaccines along with remedesivir medicines to Myanmar. India has also undertaken the 'Rakhine State development Programme ' for the development of the Rakhine region and has also invested USD 25 million. Myanmar is essential to stay stable to make India's Act East Policy a success. Myanmar will also need help to make ASEAN( the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) functioning. To overcome the unrest in Myanmar a people-oriented awakening must be created in the International context through which arbitrary decisions of the Myanmar army can be challenged. The fact that the general public has come forward to sacrifice their lives demanding the establishment of democracy has gained a lot of buzz in the international context. So what steps Myanmar will take in the coming days against military excesses will be remarkable.
 
 
Papori Borah
M.A 1st semester

Dibrugarh University,Assam