University Students and Politics in Burma
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2880595 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Josef Silverstein, Julian Wohl |
| Year | 1964 |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 50 |
| Publication date | 1964-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Pacific Affairs (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0030-851X • E-ISSN: 1715-3379 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/2754529 |
| OpenAlex | W2318514385 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
IN DRAMATIC FASHION the revolution in Korea and the anti-Eisenhower demonstrations in Japan in i96i forced the world to take note of student political activity in those countries. Much of what has been published on the Asian student's attitudes, values and goals suggests that he is restless, that he embraces some form of extremist ideology, and that he seeks to implement his ideas by direct and sometimes violent methods.' He is considered to be in the vanguard of those who promote some form of sociopolitical change because he feels alienated from his past, disillusioned with the present, and idealistic about the future. In Burma the record of student protests, strikes, and occasional violent actions, together with a steady opposition to any government in power, would seem to confirm the validity of this diagnosis. In the late summer of i96i, university students at both Rangoon and Mandalay Universities held hunger strikes in the business area of the cities; in September 196i, the Mandalay students rioted outside the Vice-Chancellor's house; in January I962, a few student leaders sought to embarrass the government by joining with leftist opposition political leaders to denounce Khrushchev's anti-Stalinist line and his China policies and to burn symbols representing the new revisionism. Other students caused an international incident when they forced their way into the grounds of the Netherlands Embassy in Rangoon and hauled down and burned the Dutch flag in protest against that country's stand on the West Irian issue. Finally in July i962 students clashed with the military government of General Ne Win in protest against new university regulations, and provoked the army to shoot into the crowd, killing at least fifteen people, destroying the Rangoon University Student Union building, and closing the university for a temporary period. The General defended the actions of his government on that occasion by declaring that the students had been prompted in their actions by certain political organizations (identified in an earlier communique as Communists) and said, I have no alternative but to meet dah with dah and spear with spear.2
Political science · Politics · Sociology · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography · Gender Studies · History · Law
| Citations per year | 0.09 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1970 - 2013 (44) |
| Highly cited | No |