The life and times of Saw Ba U Gyi, 19031950

Introduction. This e-booklet is intended to record what is known of Saw Ba U Gyi s life and place it within the Burma focused social political events of his time. The e- booklet is for free distribution amongst all who wish to read it. It is not intended to be an academic paper and therefore does not use citations. The information is drawn from a number of sources, including my mother s childhood memories, some is hearsay and it should be read in that context. It is hoped that this e-booklet will stimulate comment, corrections and further information which could be added to later editions.- Paul Sztumpf, 2011. ( paulsztumpf@btinternet.com)

Chapter 1. Early years 1903 to 1921. Saw Ba U Gyi, was born on the 7th October 1903 in a village called Begayet near Bassein in south western Burma. Almost all that the West knows of Burma, such as George Orwell s book- Burma days, the infamous Burma railway, the terrible battles of the Chindits, the bravery of the forgotten army, the Lady, the Saffronrevolution and the Cyclone Nargis, were still to come. Yet Burma , a land of fertile flatland cupped by protective mountain ranges has a long history. The early kingdoms from the 1st century BC, to the glories of the Bagan kingdom of the 13th century which can still be seen today, and later the kingdom of Ava near Mandalay. However 1903 was late Victorian British Empire, the last kings of Mandalay, had fallen into exile some 18 year before. The British were the rulers now, and Burma was but a small part of the British Empire, controlled as province of India, by a Viceroy in India. At that time the British Empire held sway over a quarter of all the land and people on the planet. They had ruled much of Burma for decades, taking a slice after each of the Burma wars. The first, in the 1820 s, lasted 2 years and was both costly and bloody; the British took the provinces of Manipur, Arakan and Tennasserim. In the second, in the 1850 s, they took the delta and set up their headquarters in Rangoon. The last was in the 1880 s which saw the fall of Ava, the once proud and mighty kingdom was no more. The new capital became Rangoon. In this way, Bassein, the inland port on the Irrawaddy Delta, had been controlled by the British for a long time, even before Saw Ba U Gyi s father was born. The Delta had been poor and isolated farmland with hundreds of thousands of acres of jungle, swamps and marshes, inhabited mainly by pythons, crocodiles and wild elephants. The farmland was populated by the Burman, Mon and the tribal groups known as the Karen. The Karen lived in stockade villages in isolated areas, the stockades were for protection from outsiders and wild animals. With the coming of the British the delta was transformed to a multi cultural rice growing area with British Magistrates, Indian money lenders, Bengali shopkeepers, Sikh constables, Chinese Traders and indigenous farmers. It was no longer isolated; the Irrawaddy flotilla company had a small fleet connecting Bassein to the new capital, Rangoon and from there to other parts of British India. Life for Karen at that time is well documented in Harry Ingnatius Marshalls book The Karen People of Burma. This was a time of rapid change for all of Burma but for the Karen in particular. Many embraced Christianity and education, moved to towns and mixed villages changed their clothes from the national dress to Burman or Western style, but once a Karen always a Karen. Even in the towns and villages Karens tended to live in Karen quarters. At the beginning of the century there were just over 1.1 million Karens living in the fertile flatland of what the British came to called Ministerial Burma. Karens in the eastern hills tribe areas were administrated through tribal leaders. Karens could broadly be divided into three main groupings Sgaw, Pwo and Bwe. Sgaw were the most numerous and could be found all throughout the Irrawaddy delta south of Prome.

Saw Ba U Gyi was a Sgaw Karen. His father, Tha Myat Kyi was a land owner and the headman of Bagayet, a pretty little village isolated from modern communication and the only means of getting there was by bullock cart, horse or riverboat. The nearest railway station and town was Kangyidaung several miles away (famous for its succulent smoked sausages, well famous in Burma anyway). Begayet was the centre of the Tha Myat kyi s estate. It ran along a river. The village population consisted of Karens and Burmans. The main earth beaten road ran down the centre of the village with houses scattered on either side between trees. It showed evidence of tranquil well being. Unlike other villages Tha Myat Kyi s house and garden was built astride the main thoroughfare, with the river on one side and an artificial lake on the other side, cutting the village into two. His house was large but simply furnished, a reflection of the man. A countryman, with inborn peasant intelligence, respectful of education but unconcerned about appearances. He hated having to dress up in stiff Burmese silks and wearing a Gaung Baung (head dress) which he could never manage to tie correctly. As head man and land owner Tha Myat Kyi ran the village, the villagers depended on him not only for their livelihood but also for their welfare. Organised Peace must have been his motto. For on one side of the village lived the Karens, with their school in the centre which also served as their church and meeting house. On the other side the Burmans with their Buddhist monks and monastery which also served as their temple and religious school. Karens and Burmans had always been separate, before the coming of the British, Karens were mainly animists and very tribal. Many Karens had adopted the ideas of the American missionaries, church music, choir singing and fused them into their own culture, in which music, singing and communal eating had always played a central role. The Burmans by enlarge were Theravada Buddhist, and had been for the best part of a thousand years. They resisted western culture and missionaries, had changed comparatively little over the years, with temple and pwe festivals, recounting mythical stories and great bygone Kings, accompanied by cymbal music, professional actors and singers. Both halves lived in harmony but totally separate. Their main contact was through the headman who respected their needs. His office on the veranda of his house was open every morning for any villager to talk to him. As can be seen in one of the few photos of him, Tha Myat Kyi had a kind face hidden behind a fierce moustache. He worked along the rules of his Christian faith, do onto others as he would others do onto him, be humble, giving thanks before and after meals. In the evenings he would read a passage from the Bible, by the light of his oil lamp, to his gathered family before retiring to bed. Plainly he was a successful in business but generous with his wealth, he was a major supporter of the Bassein Sgaw Karen High School, known as Ko Tha Byu Hall. Saw Ba U Gyi s mother, Naw Aye Nu, was known to all, simply as Mo Padoh, was a very strong traditionalist. She seldom liked to leave the village, she liked fishing under a black umbrella on the lake, but she kept a careful eye on the affairs of the village. Often she would sit to one side on the veranda seemingly engrossed in some chore, when a villager brought a particularly tricky request to the headman, after carefully listening he would look up to catch her eye and see what she thought before

giving his verdict.

Ba U, along with his two older and two younger sisters, would have been born in the family home, played in the garden and went to the local Karen school. His sisters were Resa, Kaymae, Be and Ge. Little is known of Ba U s early life but we know he later went to Moulmein Baptist high School and his teacher was a Mrs Jones. (She would later teach his daughter at Kingswood school at Kalaw). However like most country people, his life would have revolved around the seasons, the growing of rice and the numerous festivals, such as the water festival, that open each season or celebrate the growing of rice. My uncle once described to me, There are two seasons in Burma - monsoon and dry season. The monsoon starts gently in April with brief showers, but hardly light, more like a hail of bullets shattering on the thatched roofs or rattling the corrugated iron- welcomed by the parched ground, gasping with a strong earth breath that cries out for more after the searing dry season. Increasing frequency followed by an abundance of green growth; the rain and vegetation trying to outdo each other, explode into a riot of colour mainly green from the hitherto brown; the exotic florid fleshy flowers of red and yellow, are hard put to make a showing. Spring is no gentle temperate passing of time, but an aggressive part of the rainy season. Reaching a climax in July and August there is water everywhere, in the air, on the ground, vegetation lush, growth rapid and mould in every corner. But there is a joyousness in the rain, with the clamour of thunder that goes on for days and days. In the delta streams would widen to rivers then flooding hillock villages forming tranquil islands surrounded by checker -board pattern of the paddy fields. At first the hand planted paddy seedlings barely have their heads above water but with the coming months sturdily raise themselves up, tall and green, sweeping in waves to the gentle breeze.

The rain gradually tails away and the resulting dryness would have a cooling effect after the humidity. The sun takes over from this cool period - a mere 30 degrees, drying up the water -logged paddy fields, parching the clay soil until it cracks into huge honeycomb patterns. Then came harvesting and threshing of rice, a joyous activity for rice meant life, but not all life was so simple especially in the towns. Bassein, the largest in the area at the time, was a thriving centre of commerce with a Karen quarter; there were both Pwo and Sgaw Karens living there. The Karen Nationalist Dr San C Po had recently opened his clinic and began serving on Bassein s municipal committee. The Karen national association had been founded back in 1881 and it is likely that Ba U s father and San C Po, knew each other well through the association. The two fates of the two families would be entwined for years to come. Just as young Karens to-day the young Ba U would have been ethnically aware. Feeling Karen within a Burman dominated country but with the British in position of power. At school he would have learnt to read and write in Karen, Burmese and English. He may not have been politically aware during these formative years but significant events in Burma would have been the backdrop to his upbringing. In 1915, San C Po was appointed to Burma s Legislative council when it was expanded from seventeen to nineteen members. Although the legislative council played purely an advisory role to the British governor, the Karens of Bassein were proud to be represented. The First World War, or Great War came to an end on the 11 November 1918, Ba U would have been just 15 year old. The British Empire had spent much of its strength on this war of survival, but the cost were terrible, one million solders dead and countless wounded. Karens and others in Burma and India had played their role in defending the British Empire, but this was the beginning of the slow end of Empires. The Russian empire imploded into revolution, Austro -Hungarian empire collapsed, as did the Ottoman s (Turkey), Germany lost its colonies and lay in financial ruin. India called for Home rule, and the British knew they must change if they to were to hold the Empire together. The doctrine of the day was:The gradual development of self- governing institutions with a view to the progressive realisation of responsible government in India as an integral part of the British Empire Most British colonial institutions in Burma were modelled on their counterparts in India. Reforms gained in India by the National Congress Party and Gandhi s popularized agitation also had knock on effects in Burma. This process continued right up to independence in 1947. For Burma, in the 1920 s, this meant some form of home rule, separate from India. This change and the process that flowed from it forced people to re-evaluate who they were; ethnicity and religion took on new meaning. The old ideas of a polyethnic kingdom were slipping away, nationalism defined by language, religion or cultures were gaining a hold. This process was happening not just in Burma but in many other parts of Europe and Asia. Increasingly Karen Christians and Buddhist Burmans were becoming polarised. The view of Karen

National Association leaders, such as Dr San C Po, was clear, they wished to stay and develop inside the British Empire under the protection of British rule. This put them at odds with Burman Nationalist who wished to see Home rule with real power such as enjoyed by Canada and Australia, leading to complete independence. The seeds of conflict were sown; this difference would be at the very heart of the conflict between the two peoples for the next 30 years and would be the dominant force in Saw Ba U Gyi s political life. Karen leaders such as Thapg h Tha Myat Kyi, knew that whatever the future held for Karens, they needed to be educated and his son needed to be an example. At that time the new Burman speaking elite had been sending their sons to India and Britain for education. Tha Myat Kyi would do the same but only Britain would do. The power of the courts and law was well understood, during the 1890 s Burmese people had become quickly familiar with the colonial judicial system, and the fight over land rights were common. One British report stated a Burman who has a little money at his command to spend on litigation is not indisposed to use it to gain an advantage over his poorer neighbour who has not the means of engaging in a prolonged contest in the courts Saw Ba U Gyi would study law and train as a barrister. It was decided that Pe Tha , his cousin would go with him also to study law. They would then come home and serve their people. Chapter 2. England 1921 to 1929.

Saw Ba U Gyi, was now a young man, 18 years old, the world around him was rapidly changing. Women were getting the vote, socialist systems of government were being experimented with in Russia and Germany. Britain however, clung on to its old Imperial system. To get to England he would have to travel by boat for approximately a month. More than likely, he would have travelled to Rangoon, Bombay, Aden, up the Suez Canal, through the Mediterranean and on to London, England. A long way from Bagayet. He spent his first year preparing for university, in London at the home of a professional tutor. He had to improve not only his English but also had to learn Latin in order to meet the entrance standards for reading law at universities at the time. It is thought he went to Magdalene College, Cambridge University, in October 1922, and finished his degree in the summer of 1926. Whilst at University he met Renee Rose Kemp, an English woman from London. At the time she was working at Boots store on Regents Street, one of London s more fashionable shopping areas. She was employed as a shop window dresser. She was a particularly talented seamstress, and is recorder as winning dress making competitions. In spite, of her humble background, (her mother was in service and her father is unknown) she had very good taste in clothes and was very proud of her appearance and her job. Like other young couples at the time they would have gone to the movies to see the latest black and white silent

film, gone dancing and visited fun fairs, which was also popular at the time. They married in the summer of 1926. They set up home together in Highgate, North London. They continued to live in Highgate until their son Michael Theodore was born in April 1927. The family then moved to Edenbridge in Kent.

Saw Ba U Gyi , went on to join the middle Temple, one of three lawyer s associations in London, in order to qualify as a barrister. The first year at the Bar School is aimed at developing the legal framework, study of evidence and rules of criminal and civil litigation. He would be prepared for the practical work of being a barrister, i.e writing opinions, drafting pleadings, conducting conference with client, developing negotiating skills and expertise in court advocacy. An experienced barrister would offer guidance and expert s opinion. In addition to formal study he would have been required to attend a number of dinners with the Inn of court in order to be deemed to have finished his training. Once successful he was called to the Bar by his Inn in a formal ceremony much like a graduation ceremony. The second year he would have been in pupillage, assigned to a Pupil master, working on cases. After six months he would have been on his feet and entitled to appear in court. This would have been exciting time dressing up in the wig and gown for the first time, only after successfully completing Bar school and pupillage could he call himself a barrister. Early in 1929 they moved back to London in the Clapham common area. Their daughter, Thelma Resa, was born in April 1929 in the same nursing home in Highgate as her brother. Saw Ba U Gyi, finished bar school in late 1929 probably in October. That summer, he had a photo of his family taken by a professional photographer, no one was allowed to smile, as was the Karen custom at the time. The photo was then sent home so his parents could see his family before his return. The Gyi family set sail for Burma. Chapter 3. Burma Empire days 1929-1941.

In October 1929 financial markets of the world had been rocked by the Wall Street crash. The economic down turn lead to a crash world in commodity prices. As an exporter of rice, Burma was hard hit by the drop in the price of rice. For decades rice had been the main driver of Burma s economy, many indebted farmers of the Irrawaddy Delta now became landless. As always economic problems are blamed on the Government of the day, immigrants and ethnic minorities. In Burma as in many other parts of the world this contributed to a rise of nationalism. It was late December 1929 that Saw Ba U Gyi, aged 26, returned once again to the Irrawaddy flotilla jetty on the Strand in Bassein. This time with his English wife and

two children. The Gyi family first set up home on the outskirts of the Sgaw Karen high school in the Karen District of Bassein. They chose to live in a wooden house built on stilts in the Karen style, with an open veranda in the front leading into an upper living room and bedrooms. The house was connect ed to a road which was built higher up on a low dyke by a long wooden bridge. At first Renee liked the house with the vegetation all around it and its quaint little, but curious bridge. Nobody told her it was the dry season and that in the monsoon, the ground flooded and became a sea of mud. That first year must have been hard, for her, no running water, no electricity or gas so different from the London she was used to. It all became too much when Michael almost drowned; he had been playing with his father s football boots, on the veranda and unfortunately had walked of and got himself anchored in the mud. The family moved to Maungmya, where Saw Ba U Gyi started up his first practice. There was an important Karen population there and he felt he should get to know them. His Barrister cousin, Saw Pe Tha was also there with his Scottish wife Jean and son Douglas. Both started their careers as barristers with the intention of helping their fellow Karens. No doubt their young wives were able to help each other adapt to their new lives and country. After a few years the Gyi, family returned to Bassein. Saw Ba U Gyi opened his practice in the centre of the Town alongside Sir San C Po s medical centre and pharmacy called Druggist Hall. There was no room at the extended family home, Ko Tha Bhu Hall, as his sister, Resa and her husband Thra Hla Shein and their three children, Theodore, Donald (Bhu Too) and Amelia ( No No)already lived there. So the Gyi family lived in the apartment above the Druggist hall. The children loved it, as they could watch all the city activity, the cooking stalls, and ambulant eateries, to the sound of American and Indian music from the cinema called the bioscope which was opposite. Renee did not find it so agreeable; she wilted in the airless heat, the swarms of insects at night. She became very ill and suffered from anaemia. In 1934 Nichol house, which had been built especially for Dr Nichols, founder of the Ko Tha Byu Hall Karen school, became available and the Gyi family moved into the house and lived there for the next 6 years. Saw Ba U Gyi was in his element living in Nichol House, surrounded by young students, forward looking teachers and within the Karen community environment. He was an ardent sportsman and believed in personal fitness and worked at it in his gym at home. In the school he involved himself in his spare time, in supporting the importance of team games and also competitive sport to help develop the Karen youth towards discipline and self esteem in order to help them come forward as competitors for their rightful place in Burma. The Sgaw Karen High School, enroled and boarded students both boys and girls, from the surrounding area of Bassein. Academically high, it was also equipped with a football pitch, athletic track and tennis court. Saw Ba U Gyi played tennis with students and even had a few training to box in his home gym. He played for the Karen Bassein football team on the town municipal football grounds. In the late 1930 s Saw Ba U Gyi caught malaria, quinine was the only medication then available; his attacks were always violent with very high fever. All his family could do was cover him with several layers of

blankets to keep him warm and periodically change his sweat soaked cloths. These attacks were very distressing to the family as they could be fatal. Eventually he reluctantly had to take his doctor s advice and stop playing football, as playing in the rain, over heating had triggered attacks. Bassein had a golf course and Saw Ba U Gyi took up what he called an old man s game, golf. The golf course was a little way out of town near the municipal park around the lake. With his natural sporting ability he soon became an enthusiastic and frequent player. Throughout this period Saw Ba U Gyi kept his law practice in the centre of town and went there every morning, often travelling in his car of which he was very proud. Much like a British barrister he wore his gown in court; he not only pleaded in the Bassein court of law but took on cases elsewhere in Burma. On one occasion he travelled to the Shan States to defend a Shan Prince accused of instigating murder. He won his case and returned to Bassein laden with bolts of silk and stories of the exotic frontier hill people, he loved the trip. These very ordinary family events must be seen against a background of an ever changing Burma. The leader of the non violent Burman nationalist movement, U Ottama was imprisoned until his death in 1939 but the Wunthanu Athin (the nationalist association) was active throughout this period. There were also violent uprisings, in 1930, Saya San, an ex-monk who proclaimed himself king, his rebellion spread widely. The colonial government deployed 10,000 soldiers from the British Indian Army, including the Karen and Chin hills battalions, to suppress the poorly armed peasants who relied on magic tattoos for protection against bullets. On many occasions government forces resorted to brutal suppression. Entire villages were burnt to the ground, suspected rebels were decapitated and severed heads displayed as a warning to others. More than 3,000 rebels were killed or wounded, 9,000 interned, 1,389 imprisoned or deported and 128 were hanged, including Saya San. It is not difficult to see that these events would deepen the divide between Burman and non Burman and lead to more intercommunity violence and the polarisation between those who worked with the British Empire and those that did not. It is the classic outcome of divide and rule. For the Karen Christians the matter also became a question of faith as the Burman nationalist took on an increasing Buddhist character. In 1937, Burma became a Crown Colony, the Burma Act of 1935 was implemented, separating Burma from India. It provided constitutional structure for ministerial Burma, as it became known as, with a Burma Prime Minister, and cabinet, but power remained firmly in the hands of the British Governor and Westminster. The areas of Chin state, Kachin state, Shan state and Karrenni state were under direct administration of the British governor and were not represented in the Legislative Council of ministerial Burma. In 1938, Tha Myat Kyi, asked his daughter in law, Renee, if she would like a house of her own choice. She found a plot of land facing the park and lake. It appeared ideal as it was only a stone s throw from the golf course. It was a neglected piece of land with a few abandoned ruins which might at one time have been a small pagoda but seemingly of no interest to anybody and was for sale. It was the idea spot and Renee, with great enthusiasm worked with an architect to design the house as she wanted it.

When work started by clearing the plot of the ruins and overgrowth murmurs went around that it would bring bad luck as this was the home of gnats (spirits) and they would not like it. However this was dismissed as old superstition and the house was built and suitably named Rose cottage. The house was very much Renee s domain, it was run much like a English home, supplied with running water, pumped from its own well, electricity from its own generator and it even had its own sewage system. The bath room was most modern and was of great interest at the house warming party. One frequent visitor to Rose cottage was Ba Thet Gyi, a cousin. In many ways he was like his cousin, at ease with British Burma, he was a army reservist. The pursuit of love drew him away. The apple of his eye was the daughter of U Zan, a well know Karen judge in the Insein area , not far from Rangoon. Her name was Nita. Not all was well at Rose cottage, gnates or no gnates, the house was certainly unlucky. Renee had domestic problems, the lush overgrown land was now barren, even the grass would not grow. Karens working in the house were unhappy and preferred to live in the Karen quarter. In September 1939, Britain and the Empire declared war on Germany. In spite of the fact that within a year Britain was fighting for its very survival, life in far of colonies such as Burma, changed little. People were apprehensive and anxious, but Churchill had told them, if Japan thought it could invade Burma, it had certainly missed the bus. However the war between China and Japan was spreading inland and Britain and America were slowly being pulled into the conflict and provided support for Chaing Kai- shek s Chinese nationalist army. Burman politicians such as U Saw, U Nu and Auang San, saw war as an opportunity for gaining independence and by and large aligned themselves with Japan. The Japanese had been secretly active for year in Burma and their activities were coordinated by Colonel Keiji Suzuki. In the latter part of 1940 Tha Myat Kyi died, his estate was divided up equally amongst his five children. Saw Ba U Gyi now became the head of the family, a land owner and lawyer. Life was changing, gone were the care free days, in came new responsibilities and the threats to the Karen community that war might bring. However representing the Karen community was Pe Tha s job for it was he who on returning from England had gone into politics, not Saw Ba U Gyi. From time to time Dr San C Po and other elders consulted him but as a lawyer not a politician. One dawn, Saw Ba U Gyi packed his hold all, to go to Bagayet, war had been declared but it was imperative that he supervise the harvest. He would catch the early morning train, and be back soon. In spite of his reassurance, the family were sullen, the nannies cried, as they all watched him go into the dark. It would be four years before he would see his family again. Chapter 4. The Japanese years 1942 -1945.

At dawn on the 7th December 1941, the American navy at Pearl harbour was attacked

by the Japan s carrier force. America and the British Empire declared war on Japan, the Japanese responded by attacking the Empire. In rapid succession the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Malay fell, by December Rangoon came under air attack for the first time. In January 1942 Japan s fifteenth army under the command of Lieutenant General Shojiro Jida attacked Burma. On 22nd of February the British blew up the bridge over the Sittang River on the eastern Burma border, but it did little to slow the advancing Japanese army. They crossed the Sittang and moved west along the Pegu road, giving fright to the British and large Indian population of Burma. Within days Rangoon was abandoned, leaving Government House empty, the British and over a hundred thousand Indian were now fleeing in the direction of Arakan and to India for safety. Along the middle Irrawaddy the river town of Prome fell, then Toungoo. By the 3rd of March Mandalay was on fire, the oil wells destroyed, nothing could stop the advancing Japanese. The last British troops left Rangoon but first they destroyed the port installations. By the end of April most of Burma was under Japanese control, and the monsoons was about to start reducing the roads and jungle to a sea of knee deep mud, sand flies, mosquitoes and leaches attacked the fleeing masses and the remains of the British army. Malaria and dysentery would take its heavy toll. In India, the authorities were very slow to respond to the needs of troops and civilian refugees. Amongst these refugees, was the wife and two children of Saw Ba U Gyi. Back in Burma, Saw Ba U Gyi returned from Bagayet, to find his house empty his wife and children gone. He found just a note to say she and the children were heading for Akayab,( Sittwe) where they had an old friend. He later learned from Ba Thet Gyi that his family had travelled on to India, first staying near Darjeeling, then moved on to Nagpur. Where he, Ba Thet, had met up with the family. It had been decided that they should return to England, via Bombay, till the war was over. Mean while behind the advancing Japanese came the Burma Independence Army, (BIA) a rabble of nationalists rather than a disciplined and trained army. They made it their business to disarm Karen soldiers who had decided to return to their homes. Problems were inevitable but it was a blood bath. Violence had been minimized in Bassien due to the intervention of Sir San C Po, but the Karens of Shegyin, Papun and Myaungmya were not so lucky. Saw Pe Tha, his wife Jean and children were killed, along with many others. ( Douglas was away serving with the Navy.) Soon there was wide spread fighting in many parts of the delta. Saw Ba U Gyi, went to seek the intervention of Colonel Suzuki, in spite of the fact that Suzuki was supposed to have ordered the destruction of the Karen village of Tayangr. The Colonel together with BIA General Auang San, did stop the massacres. The official report is 1800 deaths and the destruction of 400 Karen villages. The communal violence was a tragedy for all communities, both Burman and Karen died trying to defend their families. For often the cycle of violence meant Karens attacked Burmans out of revenge. The horrible death of his lifelong friend Pe Tha, was very traumatic for Saw Ba U Gyi, the manner of his death would be forever etched on his heart. After such an event would he ever be able to trust the Burmans again? These terrible events are the roots from which Saw Ba U Gyi s four principles grew. For the next year or so the Japanese consolidated their hold on Asia, seeking to maximise the resources now available to them. However their militarily minds were in the Pacific, in order to secure their supply lines they had to once again take on the US Navy. The

Japanese lost the great naval battle Midway, a blow they would never recover from. If the sea was not secure they would build a railway, work started on the infamous Burma railway, the railway of death.

The Japanese had no intention of getting bogged down running Burma, they had a war to win. On the 1st of August 1943 they declared Burma independent, a puppet government under Ba Maw was formed, the BIA was reformed into the Burma National Army and placed under the command of Aung San, who was made a Major General. They reorganised their command structure to suit the new territorial situation The allies did likewise and formed South East Asia Command under Admiral Louis Mountbatten, who would latter play a pivotal role in the History of Burma and India. The events in the delta and the death of Pe Tha, thrust Saw Ba U Gyi into a higher profile Karen leader. He worked closely with General Auang San in reconciliation efforts. He owned a house in Sanchaung quarters of Rangoon but did not live there. He now made this the Rangoon head quarters of the KCO, and both the Japanese and the new Burma Government recognised the KCO and its ten leading members, of which Saw Ba U Gyi was but one, as an official agency to speak for the Karens. Sir San C Po was the KCO chairman and he plaid a pivotal role in explaining government policies to Karens, resolving disputes and investigating reports of anti- Japanese activity. There are few records of these times, at one stage Saw Ba U Gyi was under house arrest but released after a period of time. In a Japanese attempt to work with Karen, he was taken to Japan, mainly to show him just how powerful and modern Japan was. Japan needed a stable Burma so they could push on into India. They knew of the Allies policy of Germany first and things were not going well for the Germans. Like Japan their armies had rolled over most of their enemies but by the winter of 1942/43 the German army came to a grinding holt on the banks of the river Volga, deep in the heart of Russia, at a city called Stalingrad. The name will be always remembered as one of the most terrible battles in the history of war. The Germans were defeated but it cost the Russians 500,000 dead. Other defeats swiftly followed. At Kursk, the largest tank battle, the German army made a last attempt to regain the initiative but lost. The Japanese knew they must destroy British India to change the face of Asia. India was in turmoil, with the quit India protests, and famine in Bengal. The Japanese were banking on Indian help, but apart from a small number of the Indian National army, help never came. With the promise of independence the Indian Imperial Army stayed loyal to the British. By the beginning of 1944 the British were getting ready to re-invade Burma. The Japanese decided to attack first but were stopped at the battle of Imphal and Kohima, both sides fought ferociously and had heavy casualties. But Japans supply lines were long and were under constant attack by Brigadier Orde Wingates Chindits. This was a long range penetration unit made up of guides from the hill tribes, some of who were Karens, and a mixture of British and Ghurkha regulars. In the end the Japanese troops starved. By the end of July 1944 the initiative fell to the British. They had used their time carefully, planning and training troops both in India and Burma.

During this these years of Japanese occupation there was a growth of Karen patriotism which moulded the Karen people together even more tightly. Many were still working for the British, amongst them was Ba Thet Gyi. He was now a Captain and had parachuted from India into Burma with the British 104 special forces. However the Japanese found out about him and threatened to kill the village elders and burn down the village if he did not surrender! Ba Thet Gyi surrendered and was taken to Rangoon. Luckily Saw Ba U Gyi, swiftly intervened and secured both his safety and visits from Nita. After a time Nita and her younger brother stayed at the Sanchaung house and Ba Thet Gyi was allowed to visit under escort. Eventually Nita and Ba Thet Gyi married, but soon afterwards Ba Thet was moved by the Japanese, on route he escaped and joined the British Force 136. Force 136 was the covert name for a branch of the British Special Operations Executive operating in Burma occupied by Japan. One of their first operations was to make contact with Major Hugh Seagrim, who had stayed behind in the Toungoo area, this lead to ruthless and punitive expeditions against Karens. By 1945 over 8,000 active guerrilla solders had been trained, most were Karens and many would go on to become leading figures in the Karen National Union in later years. Later Force 136 coordinated and supported General Aung San s and his BNA s decision to change sides from the Japanese to the British, in March 1945. This ensured that Aund San would be on the winning side and the British would march into a less hostile Burma. During this period officers form Force 136, such as Col Cromarty Tulloch and Major Ian Abbey had contact with Saw Ba U Gyi . It was now evident that Japan was going to loose the war but their fighting spirit remained unbroken. However on the 6th August 1945, the US President, Harry S Truman, ordered the dropping of the atomic bomb Little Boy on Hiroshima, 140,000 people died. Nine days later on the 2nd of September the Japan surrendered to the Allied Powers. On this fatal day Ba Thet Gyi was killed by a Japanese unit that refused to surrender to the Force 136 unit under Major Ian Abby s command. Chapter 5. The struggle 1945 - 1947.

Lord Louis Mountbatten, as Supreme Commander of allied forces in south East Asia, set up his headquarters just outside Kandy, Ceylon. It is from there that the allies had waged war and defeated the Japanese. In September 1945 Lord Mountbatten met the youthful leaders of Burma s wartime resistance at Kandy, Ceylon, leading the seven man delegation for the Patriotic Burmese Forces was General Aung San. The Karens were represented by Saw Ba U Gyi. Mountbatten recognised the rising tide of Asian nationalism and accepted the inevitability of independence for many of Britain s Asian colonies. With

responsibility to a far larger theatre of war than the Burma campaign, he was well aware of the dangers of continuing to place too much reliance on the indigenous (largely Indian) forces under his command. There were few troops in Burma who could be relied on to suppress Aung San and his followers. He was of the opinion that it was only a question of time before the British would have to give way. Although a military man, Mountbatten had considerable political ability and astuteness. His personal liberal views brought him into conflict with the old colonial guard, none more so than the British Burma Governor, Dormant-Smith, who thought that Burma could be forced back to the old days. He also thought that Aung San was a traitor and should have been arrested. The bad feeling between the two men was so great that the governor had refused to attend the Kandy conference. In spite of this, Mountbatten made a promise to Aung San of independence for Burma within three and a half years and the formation of a new Burma Army. The tension between the delegates were well known to Mountbatten. However his vision and hopes were that General Aung San would be able to overcome the barriers of the past and take all the peoples of Burma forward into a new and democratic Burma, a country where all its peoples would be fairly treated. The conference was Mountbatten s last chance to exert his civil authority; he handed over power to Dormant- Smith on the 16 October 1945. The race was on, a new Burma had to be drawn up before the British lowered their flag. However Burma was a country brutalised by years of war and intercommunity violence, much of its infrastructure destroyed, trade set back years. The majority of its people were just trying to make a living, rebuilding their often fragmented lives and families. In many areas law and order was breaking down, robbery and worse were common. Not helping matters was the mixed messages given by the British administration, but even they were not in control of Burma or their own destiny. The military reality was that British power relied predominantly on the Indian Army. India s leading politician, Nehru pronounced that, the use of Indian army troops to hold colonial territory could not be countenanced by the Indian congress party. This lead to strict orders for Indian troops not to interfere in political affairs. Only the East African troops and the Ghurkhas were ready and able to serve unconditionally as ever. What British troops there were, were eager to return to the home and civilian life and the newly elected Labour Government were ready to oblige. It is against this background that the emerging political situation must be seen. The plethora of parties jockeying for position, some based on ethnicity, some on religion, others on ideology, still others on personalities. The stakes were high, it was not just a question of power, but for many it was a matter of survival inside or outside the Union of Burma. Not surprisingly many parties had armed militias and links to their supporters in the army. The Karen Central Organisation (KCO) was no exception. At the beginning of October 1945, after a series of meetings between Karen groups, there was a reorganization of Karen groups and KCO was confirmed as the official spokes organisation for the Karens. Everyone knew if they were to be heard they

would have to speak with one voice. - On December19, 1945 Sir San C Po spoke for all Karens and made a personal appeal to Governor Dorman-Smith for a separate Karen state. Saw Ba U Gyi ,was now spending more time at his Sanchaung House. Ba Thet s widow was still partially living there, her family lived in Insein. Nita began helping with his schedules, making appointments or setting up interviews in unofficial capacity, typing memos, directives and in time the two became close. KCO issued numerous demands for a Karen State, a Homeland separate or as equal partners in a Federated Dominion of Burma. All received no official reply from London.

On the June 7 1946 Sir San C Po died at the age of 76, his life s work unfinished. That June, Burma s Governor, Reginald Dormant -Smith, contracted amoebic dysentery and left Rangoon by sea, ostensibly, temporarily on health grounds. On the 11 June, power for Burma was transferred to the Acting Governor of Bombay and Madras. It became clear that the British Prime Minister had lost confidence in Dormant-Smith and his replacement, Sir Herbert Rance, was sworn in as new governor on the 31 August 1946. The KCO s political position was clear, whatever the level of trust was between Saw Ba U Gyi, and Aung San, Karens did not trust the Burman and they had no wish to return to being second class citizens in their own country. They wanted to be equal partners, with a state of their own, not reliant on others for their own security and they wanted to be in control of their own destiny. That August it was decided to send a goodwill delegation of Karen, made up of Saw Tha Din , Saw Po Chit , Sidney Loo Ne, and Saw Ba U Gyi, to London. On arrival at Tilbury Docks, London, Saw Ba U Gyi was met by his family. He had not seen them for four years. Both he and they had changed in those years apart. He had difficulty recognising his daughter, who had grown from a little girl to a young woman, soon to be engaged to a Polish army officer. His son was a tall young man who was more interested in jazz and becoming a ballet dancer than politics and Burma. His wife, like so many other English women, had grown independent having spent the war years working in India house and later in Australia House in London.

The good will mission was not going well, it soon became clear to all that the good will only extended to nice meetings and thanks for past services. There was no good will to take on the problems that an independent Burma outside the commonwealth would mean to Karens. Some of the press took up their case, urged on by past friends but to no availe. The Burma office and the British government stonewalled the mission, by simply not recognising them as an official mission. Saw Ba U Gyi, knew it was a waste of time and on learning that he was asked to serve on Burma s new Governor s executive council, he decided to return to Burma, hoping to be more

effective there. After consulting with his family it was decided that he would return to Burma alone and that he and his wife would divorce, citting a love child, Thimu, as grounds for divorce.

The British Government had a clear road map for getting out of Burma and nothing was going to stop it. On the 27th January 1947 Aung San - Prime Minister Attlee made an Agreement which, called for independence and unification of all of Burma, meaning unification of Ministerial Burma and the Frontier areas. In February Aung San convened the Second Panglong Conference. Later there would be a Frontiers Area Commission of enquiry and in true British civil service tradition, would come up the answer required of it. Many recognised the merits of Federalism but few could see how at that point it could be implemented in a war torn Burma. As so often in the past, events in India were driving policy in Burma. Saw Ba U Gyi clearly understood what was happening and took steps to attempt to place Karens in the best tactical position. In 5 February 1947 Saw Ba U Gyi, together with many other Karen Leaders joined together to reorganise the KCO and became the Karen National Union (KNU). This association brought together Christians, Buddhists, and Animists with shared vision for a separate Karen state. Saw Ba U Gyi was instructed to resign from the Aung san cabinet if no progress was made in negotiating Karen demands. On March 4th 1947 Saw Ba U Gyi resigned but other Karens not in KNU would take his place so undermining his position. India had clearly shown that solving the problem of meeting the legitimate needs of a large minority within a disunited country, emerging from colonial domination where divide and rule had been used as a political tool, was far from easy. In Burma the 1947 constitution put off that problem solving until after independence. If Aung San would have been successful in balancing the powerful forces of Buddhist Burman Nationalism, the aspiration needs of minorities, be they religious or ethnic, and the growing force of the ambitious military is not known. For on July 19th at 10:15 armed gangsters burst into the Council Chamber in the Secretariat in Rangoon, shot dead Aung San and five other members of the council, as well as two officials. Two other members were wounded, one of which, the Sawbwa of Maung Paung, died the next day. Had Aung San lived history may have taken a different course. The Next Day 20th July a new council was sworn in under the leadership of U Nu.

On the 22nd of September the constitutional assembly in Rangoon, unanimously approved a New Constitution, The five Karen members abstained. The New President was to be a Shan, Burmans made many concessions to frontier areas but still left the Karen issue unresolved, now that the legal position was established, the BurmaBritish Treaty was signed on the 19th October, it was agreed that independence would be

conferred on Burma on the 6th January 1948, later changed to 4:20 am on the 4th January for astrological reasons as a more propitious time. Chapter 6 1948 to 1950 At 4 am on Sunday 1948, British and Burma Army Guards of Honour were joined in front of the Constitutional Assembly Hall by the outgoing Governor and future President. They faced the two flag poles, one flying the Union Jack, the other bare. At 4:20 am precisely, a salvo from HMS Birmingham, on the Rangoon river, announced the end of the British rule, the two Guards presented arms, the Union Jack was lowered and the union of Burma flag raised. So departed the British, leaving the Burmans and Karens to sort out their problems. Negotiations between KNU and the new Burmese government under U Nu were attempted, but in spite of the acceptance of the need of a Karen state there was no agreement on boundaries. The KNU were attempting to incorporate and protect the vast majority of Karens who lived over a very sizable part of the country. U Nu was prepared to offer the parts of the country where Karens were in the majority and set up a Karen Affairs Council for the Delta Karens. Although this was a generous offer it clearly tied Karens to Burman rule, be it democratic or otherwise. Given the recent past, bad feelings and lack of trust this was not acceptable to Saw Ba U Gyi and the majority of the KNU. Talks broke down, the Karens resorted to direct action. On the 11th February 1948, Karens all over the country demonstrated for their own state, the slogans were:1) Give the Karen state at once 2) Show Burman one Kyat and Karen one Kyat 3) We do not want communal strife 4) We do not want civil war.

It is during these turbulent times that Saw Ba U Gyi married, Nita. The marriage was conducted by rev Maung Bu of the Karen Theological Seminary, Insein. In the mean time Burma was fast sliding into civil war, on all fronts law and order was breaking down. Red flag communists and mujahedeen Islamic insurgency were in open revolt. Aung San s militias were becoming anarchic, soon the Communist party of Burma revolted. Some Karen s in the Moulmein area rebelled but many kept loyal and served on the government s side. By April parts of the regular army began peeling away from Rangoon s control. Other Karen s were working for all out independence, some say egged on by some former Force 136 officers. It was a time of fear not just in Burma but in neighbouring countries such as in India and China. In Europe tensions between the Western allies and the Soviet Union were growing, the middle- east was on the brink of war. No wonder Rangoon was full of rumour and

wild stories, even that the British were coming back. No one trusted anybody, one persons freedom may be at the expense of the next persons, one community against another. Late 1948 Operation Aung San- said to be a secret government directive to eliminate Karen army and civil officers led to fear and resignations. On Christmas eve 1948, local militias known as Sitwundan attacked a Karen congregation worshiping in Church in Mergui district in southern Burma. Karen neighbourhoods in the west of Rangoon were set on fire by angry mobs and Karen civilians gunned down as they tried to escape from their homes. The Karen national defence organisation (KNDO) seized the suburb of Insein, three battalions went into full rebellion. Battle for Insein had begun. The next day 1st February the Karen General Smith Dun was removed from office as Chief of staff of the Burma Army. He was replaced by Major General Ne Win. For 100 days Karens held on, but time was not on their side, it never is in such situations. The Burma government army grew stronger as it received aid from Britain and India, whereas the rebellion grew weaker. U Nu sent his friend and public relations man, U Thant, to attempt to arrange a cease fire. U Thant met Saw Hunter Tha Hmwe, who he knew well and Saw Ba U Gyi, but there was no breakthrough. This was U Thant s first real taste of diplomacy, he would latter go on not only to represent Burma at the United Nations but served as its general secretary for many years. After the fall of Insain, Saw Ba U Gyi moved the KNU head quarters to Toungoo. By the beginning of May 1949, most of the Karen troops had withdrawn to Toungoo, they were joined by others who had rebelled against the Burma government in different part of the country but had also been pushed back by government troops. Saw Ba U Gyi arrived in Toungoo in early June and called together as many of the KNU leaders as could make it. The meeting decided to set up a provisional government of Kawthoolei with Saw Ba U Gyi as its first Prime Minister. In reality the administration was ill equipped to run a territory, the Kawthoolie Armed Forces had only a dwindling stock of weaponry and ammunition, the best organised Karen areas of Bassein and Rangoon were far away and cut off by government troops. The outcome was just a matter of time, after a long struggle Toungoo fell to government troops and the KNU head quarters was moved east, to Papun in June 1950. A full KNU congress was convened mid July 1950, it was to be the first and last congress under Saw Ba U Gyi s presidency. In his speech he outlined, that there were three ways Karens could gain an autonomous state:1) voluntary gift of what is rightfully deserved ( in his opinion would not happen.) 2) to fight for it 3) to obtain it by means of prevailing or surrounding circumstances

As part of the speech he out lined and the congress then adopted, what have become the Four principles of the Karen Revolution:-

There shall be no surrender The recognition of the Karen state must be completed We shall retain our own arms. We shall decide our own political destiny. At the beginning of Augus1950, Saw Ba U Gyi, was travelling through Papun District. It is said that he was on his way to Bangkok to meet foreign officials. The exact nature of the meeting is not clear. He travelled with nine colleges, one of which was General Saw San Kay. They first stayed at Hwee Thee Ou village with the relatives of Saw Johnny Htoo, then moved on to Hto Kaw Koe village. Their progress was slow, hampered by the heavy rain, to help mobility the party had no military escort, against the advice of Major General Ta Ka Baw. Saw Ba U Gyi, had not wished to bother the solders, also he trusted his people to keep him safe. However he was mistaken, a Karen traitor informed on him and on the 12th of August, he and his colleagues were ambushed and killed. His body was taken to Moulmain for identification and then disposed of in the river at Kaung Say Kyung, a village near Moulmain. Chapter 7. Saw Ba U Gyi, the man. At the Kawthoolei Governing Body meeting on April 1951, the day, 12th August, that Saw Ba U Gyi , Saw Sankey and others who gave up their lives, be designated as Martyr s Day. A day of remembrance for all. In this way the image of Saw Ba U Gyi came to represent the Karen struggle. Over the years his image became the Face of the Karen Revolution, a struggle for human rights, democracy and freedom for a people. After so many years since Saw Ba U Gyi s death, few people can actually remember the man, we are left with portraits and slogans but his son, Michael (shortly before he died in Toronto, Canada of cancer in 2006) wrote this of him,He saw 5 8 tall, with a good figure broad shouldered, muscular, a good head of hair jet black combed straight back to roll in waves, a slight over -bite, a serious but not unsmiling square face though he had a ready laugh, had prominent ears earning

him the nickname Fred Allen whilst at Cambridge. He always wore glasses so it looks a little strange to me in the portraits of him without them. He had an upright stance, a good bearing and a presence and with his western training and well-off family background he had an air of confidence and maturity. He was a neat, tidy, stylish person as was mother. I have a picture by my bed of the three of us out- doors in Edenbridge. I was held in my pram by mother while Dad, dressed in his Saville Row dark overcoat, collar suavely turned up, bowler hat, kid gloves and rolled umbrella, gazed nonchalantly at the camera.....The garb in colonies was khaki shorts, white shirt and topee (pith helmet). He had a penchant for wearing knee-length Argyll socks with fine brown leather shoes......he always liked to be well turned out. He was abroad in the roaring twenties with images of flappers, cloche hats, earmuff hair-dos, dancing to the Charleston. A little of it must have rubbed off on him. He possessed a violin though I never heard him play it. He probably wished he could and so in lieu had us take music lessons at Kingswood. His liking for stylish things probably took him into art and literature but there was no clear indication of it. He was not a patient teacher. His idea of teaching me to ride was hold the reins close to the neck followed by a slap on the ponys rump. He taught me to ride a bike, swim, box in the same cursory way. In the case of boxing, he had to get down on his knees to be at my level rendering him immobile so I swung out landing on the nose and drew blood, which made him proud. He was a natural athlete but did not have the patience to train to become a really good one. He had a matter-of-fact detached manner which tended to mask any degree of compassion he may have had. He must have had a good mind for learning, a good memory to cram Latin in six months to get through his entrance exam; going through in the given time to pass a

degree in law at Cambridge in a second language and be fluent in it to get through the dinners at the Middle Temple . He must have had a solid mind. Talent plus drive makes a worthy life. His energy was taken up with less up serious things. He did have a Chinese pal in similar financial circumstances, he used to spend time with, playing billiards to pass the time. Anyway that was before a cause was to take possession of his mind. That came with the War which changed everything. I would like to borrow the words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu used to describe Nelson Mandela. He is only one pebble on the beach, one of thousands. Not an insignificant pebble, I ll grant you that, but a pebble all the same- That is how I would like my grandfather to be remembered.