The Life and Times of Saw Ba U Gyi

The life and times of Saw Ba U Gyi, 1903-1950

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 beadded to later editions.- Paul Sztumpf, 2011. ( [email protected])

 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 fertileflatland 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 theKaren. 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 asmall 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 totowns 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 villagesKarens 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 groupingsSgaw, Pwo and Bwe. Sgaw were the most numerous and could be found allthroughout 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 itssucculent 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 downthe 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 andgarden was built astride the main thoroughfare, with the river on one side and anartificial 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 peasantintelligence, respectful of education but unconcerned about appearances. He hatedhaving 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 schoolin the centre which also served as their church and meeting house. On the other sidethe Burmans with their Buddhist monks and monastery which also served as theirtemple and religious school. Karens and Burmans had always been separate, beforethe coming of the British, Karens were mainly animists and very tribal. Many Karenshad adopted the ideas of the American missionaries, church music, choir singing andfused them into their own culture, in which music, singing and communal eating hadalways 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 changedcomparatively little over the years, with temple and pwe festivals, recountingmythical stories and great bygone Kings, accompanied by cymbal music, professional actors and singers. Both halves lived in harmony but totally separate. Their maincontact 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 ontoothers as he would others do onto him, be humble, giving thanks before and aftermeals. In the evenings he would read a passage from the Bible, by the light of his oillamp, to his gathered family before retiring to bed. Plainly he was a successful inbusiness but generous with his wealth, he was a major supporter of the Bassein SgawKaren 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 avery strong traditionalist. She seldom liked to leave the village, she liked fishingunder a black umbrella on the lake, but she kept a careful eye on the affairs of thevillage. Often she would sit to one side on the veranda seemingly engrossed in somechore, when a villager brought a particularly tricky request to the headman, aftercarefully 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 thefamily home, played in the garden and went to the local Karen school. His sisterswere Resa, Kaymae, Be and Ge. Little is known of Ba U‟s early life but we know helater went to Moulmein Baptist high School and his teacher was a Mrs Jones. (Shewould later teach his daughter at Kingswood school at Kalaw). However like mostcountry people, his life would have revolved around the seasons, the growing of riceand 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 startsgently in April with brief showers, but hardly light, more like a hail of bulletsshattering on the thatched roofs or rattling the corrugated iron- welcomed by theparched ground, gasping with a strong earth breath that cries out for more after thesearing 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, arehard put to make a showing. Spring is no gentle temperate passing of time, but anaggressive part of the rainy season.

Reaching a climax in July and August there is water everywhere, in the air, on theground, vegetation lush, growth rapid and mould in every corner. But there is ajoyousness in the rain, with the clamour of thunder that goes on for days and days. Inthe delta streams would widen to rivers then flooding hillock villages forming tranquilislands surrounded by checker -board pattern of the paddy fields. At first the handplanted paddy seedlings barely have their heads above water but with the comingmonths sturdily raise themselves up, tall and green, sweeping in waves to the gentlebreeze.

The rain gradually tails away and the resulting dryness would have a cooling effectafter 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 intohuge honeycomb patterns. Then came harvesting and threshing of rice, a joyousactivity 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 aKaren quarter; there were both Pwo and Sgaw Karens living there. The KarenNationalist Dr San C Po had recently opened his clinic and began serving onBassein‟s municipal committee. The Karen national association had been foundedback in 1881 and it is likely that Ba U‟s father and San C Po, knew each other wellthrough the association. The two fates of the two families would be entwined foryears 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 ofpower. At school he would have learnt to read and write in Karen, Burmese andEnglish. He may not have been politically aware during these formative years butsignificant 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 wasexpanded from seventeen to nineteen members. Although the legislative councilplayed purely an advisory role to the British governor, the Karens of Bassein wereproud 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 andcountless wounded. Karens and others in Burma and India had played their role indefending 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 inIndia. Reforms gained in India by the National Congress Party and Gandhi‟spopularized agitation also had knock on effects in Burma. This process continuedright up to independence in 1947. For Burma, in the 1920‟s, this meant some form ofhome rule, separate from India. This change and the process that flowed from itforced people to re-evaluate who they were; ethnicity and religion took on newmeaning. The old ideas of a polyethnic kingdom were slipping away, nationalismdefined by language, religion or cultures were gaining a hold. This process washappening not just in Burma but in many other parts of Europe and Asia. IncreasinglyKaren 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 anddevelop inside the British Empire under the protection of British rule. This put themat odds with Burman Nationalist who wished to see Home rule with real power suchas enjoyed by Canada and Australia, leading to complete independence. The seeds ofconflict were sown; this difference would be at the very heart of the conflict betweenthe two peoples for the next 30 years and would be the dominant force in Saw Ba UGyi‟s political life.

Karen leaders such as Thapg‟h Tha Myat Kyi, knew that whatever the future held forKarens, they needed to be educated and his son needed to be an example. At that timethe new Burman speaking elite had been sending their sons to India and Britain foreducation. Tha Myat Kyi would do the same but only Britain would do. The power ofthe courts and law was well understood, during the 1890‟s Burmese people hadbecome quickly familiar with the colonial judicial system, and the fight over landrights were common. One British report stated “a Burman who has a little money athis command to spend on litigation is not indisposed to use it to gain an advantageover his poorer neighbour who has not the means of engaging in a prolonged contestin the courts” Saw Ba U Gyi would study law and train as a barrister. It was decidedthat Pe Tha , his cousin would go with him also to study law. They would then comehome 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 werebeing experimented with in Russia and Germany. Britain however, clung on to its oldImperial system. To get to England he would have to travel by boat for approximatelya month. More than likely, he would have travelled to Rangoon, Bombay, Aden, upthe Suez Canal, through the Mediterranean and on to London, England. A long wayfrom 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 Latinin order to meet the entrance standards for reading law at universities at the time. It isthought he went to Magdalene College, Cambridge University, in October 1922, andfinished his degree in the summer of 1926. Whilst at University he met Renee RoseKemp, an English woman from London. At the time she was working at Boots storeon 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 isrecorder 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 inclothes and was very proud of her appearance and her job. Like other young couplesat 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. Theymarried in the summer of 1926. They set up home together in Highgate, NorthLondon. They continued to live in Highgate until their son Michael Theodore wasborn 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 thepractical work of being a barrister, i.e writing opinions, drafting pleadings, conductingconference 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 dinnerswith the Inn of court in order to be deemed to have finished his training. Oncesuccessful he was “called” to the Bar by his Inn in a formal ceremony much like agraduation 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 Streetcrash. The economic down turn lead to a crash world in commodity prices. As anexporter of rice, Burma was hard hit by the drop in the price of rice. For decades ricehad been the main driver of Burma‟s economy, many indebted farmers of theIrrawaddy Delta now became landless. As always economic problems are blamed onthe Government of the day, immigrants and ethnic minorities. In Burma as in manyother 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 theIrrawaddy 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 Karenhigh school in the Karen District of Bassein. They chose to live in a wooden housebuilt on stilts in the Karen style, with an open veranda in the front leading into anupper living room and bedrooms. The house was connected to a road which was builthigher up on a low dyke by a long wooden bridge. At first Renee liked the house withthe vegetation all around it and its quaint little, but curious bridge. Nobody told her itwas the dry season and that in the monsoon, the ground flooded and became a sea ofmud. That first year must have been hard, for her, no running water, no electricity orgas so different from the London she was used to. It all became too much whenMichael almost drowned; he had been playing with his father‟s football boots, on theveranda 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 knowthem. His Barrister cousin, Saw Pe Tha was also there with his Scottish wife Jean andson Douglas. Both started their careers as barristers with the intention of helping theirfellow Karens. No doubt their young wives were able to help each other adapt to theirnew 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 threechildren, Theodore, Donald (Bhu Too) and Amelia ( No No)already lived there. Sothe 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, theswarms 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 theimportance 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 afootball pitch, athletic track and tennis court. Saw Ba U Gyi played tennis withstudents 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‟sgame”, golf. The golf course was a little way out of town near the municipal parkaround 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 theBassein court of law but took on cases elsewhere in Burma. On one occasion hetravelled 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 everchanging Burma. The leader of the non violent Burman nationalist movement, UOttama was imprisoned until his death in 1939 but the Wunthanu Athin (thenationalist association) was active throughout this period. There were also violentuprisings, in 1930, Saya San, an ex-monk who proclaimed himself king, his rebellionspread widely. The colonial government deployed 10,000 soldiers from the BritishIndian Army, including the Karen and Chin hills battalions, to suppress the poorlyarmed peasants who relied on magic tattoos for protection against bullets. On manyoccasions government forces resorted to brutal suppression. Entire villages were burnt

to the ground, suspected rebels were decapitated and severed heads displayed as awarning 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 Burmanand non Burman and lead to more intercommunity violence and the polarisationbetween those who worked with the British Empire and those that did not. It is theclassic outcome of divide and rule. For the Karen Christians the matter also became aquestion 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 ministerialBurma, as it became known as, with a Burma Prime Minister, and cabinet, but powerremained firmly in the hands of the British Governor and Westminster. The areas ofChin state, Kachin state, Shan state and Karrenni state were under directadministration of the British governor and were not represented in the LegislativeCouncil 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 butseemingly 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 wentaround that it would bring bad luck as this was the home of gnats (spirits) and theywould not like it. However this was dismissed as old superstition and the house wasbuilt 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 owngenerator and it even had its own sewage system. The bath room was most modernand was of great interest at the house warming party. One frequent visitor to Rosecottage was Ba Thet Gyi, a cousin. In many ways he was like his cousin, at ease withBritish Burma, he was a army reservist. The pursuit of love drew him away. The appleof his eye was the daughter of U Zan, a well know Karen judge in the Insein area , notfar 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 inthe 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 thefact that within a year Britain was fighting for its very survival, life in far of coloniessuch as Burma, changed little. People were apprehensive and anxious, but Churchillhad told them, “if Japan thought it could invade Burma, it had certainly missed thebus”. However the war between China and Japan was spreading inland and Britainand America were slowly being pulled into the conflict and provided support forChaing Kai- shek‟s Chinese nationalist army. Burman politicians such as U Saw, UNu and Auang San, saw war as an opportunity for gaining independence and by andlarge aligned themselves with Japan. The Japanese had been secretly active for year inBurma 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 landowner and lawyer. Life was changing, gone were the care free days, in came newresponsibilities 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 onreturning from England had gone into politics, not Saw Ba U Gyi. From time to timeDr San C Po and other elders consulted him but as a lawyer not a politician.  Onedawn, Saw Ba U Gyi packed his hold all, to go to Bagayet, war had been declared butit was imperative that he supervise the harvest. He would catch the early morningtrain, and be back soon. In spite of his reassurance, the family were sullen, the nanniescried, as they all watched him go into the dark. It would be four years before he wouldsee 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 firsttime. In January 1942 Japan‟s fifteenth army under the command of LieutenantGeneral Shojiro Jida attacked Burma. On 22nd of February the British blew up thebridge over the Sittang River on the eastern Burma border, but it did little to slow theadvancing Japanese army. They crossed the Sittang and moved west along the Peguroad, giving fright to the British and large Indian population of Burma. Within daysRangoon was abandoned, leaving Government House empty, the British and over ahundred thousand Indian were now fleeing in the direction of Arakan and to India forsafety. Along the middle Irrawaddy the river town of Prome fell, then Toungoo. Bythe 3rd of March Mandalay was on fire, the oil wells destroyed, nothing could stop theadvancing Japanese. The last British troops left Rangoon but first they destroyed theport installations. By the end of April most of Burma was under Japanese control, andthe monsoons was about to start reducing the roads and jungle to a sea of knee deepmud, sand flies, mosquitoes and leaches attacked the fleeing masses and the remainsof the British army. Malaria and dysentery would take its heavy toll. In India, theauthorities 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 headingfor Akayab,( Sittwe) where they had an old friend. He later learned from Ba Thet Gyithat his family had travelled on to India, first staying near Darjeeling, then moved onto Nagpur. Where he, Ba Thet, had met up with the family. It had been decided thatthey 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 ittheir 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 inBassien due to the intervention of Sir San C Po, but the Karens of Shegyin, Papun andMyaungmya 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 waswide spread fighting in many parts of the delta. Saw Ba U Gyi, went to seek theintervention of Colonel Suzuki, in spite of the fact that Suzuki was supposed to haveordered the destruction of the Karen village of Tayangr. The Colonel together withBIA General Auang San, did stop the massacres. The official report is 1800 deathsand the destruction of 400 Karen villages. The communal violence was a tragedy forall communities, both Burman and Karen died trying to defend their families. Foroften 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 UGyi, the manner of his death would be forever etched on his heart. After such an eventwould he ever be able to trust the Burmans again? These terrible events are the rootsfrom 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 warto win. On the 1st of August 1943 they declared Burma independent, a puppetgovernment under Ba Maw was formed, the BIA was reformed into the BurmaNational Army and placed under the command of Aung San, who was made a MajorGeneral. They reorganised their command structure to suit the new territorial situationThe allies did likewise and formed South East Asia Command under Admiral LouisMountbatten, 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 higherprofile Karen leader. He worked closely with General Auang San in reconciliationefforts. 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 andthe new Burma Government recognised the KCO and its ten leading members, ofwhich Saw Ba U Gyi  was but one, as an official agency to speak for the Karens. SirSan C Po was the KCO chairman and he plaid a pivotal role in explaining governmentpolicies to Karens, resolving disputes and investigating reports of anti- Japaneseactivity.

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 forthe Germans. Like Japan their armies had rolled over most of their enemies but by thewinter of 1942/43 the German army came to a grinding holt on the banks of the riverVolga, deep in the heart of Russia, at a city called Stalingrad. The name will bealways remembered as one of the most terrible battles in the history of war. TheGermans were defeated but it cost the Russians 500,000 dead. Other defeats swiftlyfollowed. At Kursk, the largest tank battle, the German army made a last attempt toregain the initiative but lost. The Japanese knew they must destroy British India tochange the face of Asia. India was in turmoil, with the “quit India” protests, andfamine in Bengal. The Japanese were banking on Indian help, but apart from a smallnumber of the Indian National army, help never came. With the promise ofindependence the Indian Imperial Army stayed loyal to the British.By the beginning of 1944 the British were getting ready to re-invade Burma. TheJapanese 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 werelong and were under constant attack by Brigadier Orde Wingate„s Chindits. This wasa long range penetration unit made up of guides from the hill tribes, some of whowere Karens, and a mixture of British and Ghurkha regulars. In the end the Japanesetroops starved. By the end of July 1944 the initiative fell to the British. They had usedtheir time carefully, planning and training troops both in India and Burma.

During this these years of Japanese occupation there was a growth of Karenpatriotism which moulded the Karen people together even more tightly. Many werestill working for the British, amongst them was Ba Thet Gyi. He was now a Captainand 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 eldersand burn down the village if he did not surrender! Ba Thet Gyi surrendered and wastaken to Rangoon. Luckily Saw Ba U Gyi, swiftly intervened and secured both hissafety and visits from Nita. After a time Nita and her younger brother stayed at theSanchaung house and Ba Thet Gyi was allowed to visit under escort. Eventually Nitaand 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 intoa less hostile Burma. During this period officers form Force 136, such as ColCromarty 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 spiritremained unbroken. However on the 6th August 1945, the US President, Harry STruman, 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 tothe Allied Powers. On this fatal day Ba Thet Gyi was killed by a Japanese unit thatrefused 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. Hispersonal liberal views brought him into conflict with the old colonial guard, nonemore so than the British Burma Governor, Dormant-Smith, who thought that Burmacould 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, Mountbattenmade 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 democraticBurma, 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 toDormant- Smith on the 16 October 1945.

The race was on, a new Burma had to be drawn up before the British lowered theirflag. However Burma was a country brutalised by years of war and intercommunityviolence, much of its infrastructure destroyed, trade set back years. The majority of itspeople were just trying to make a living, rebuilding their often fragmented lives andfamilies. In many areas law and order was breaking down, robbery and worse werecommon. Not helping matters was the mixed messages given by the Britishadministration, but even they were not in control of Burma or their own destiny. Themilitary reality was that British power relied predominantly on the Indian Army.India‟s leading politician, Nehru pronounced that, the use of Indian army troops tohold colonial territory could not be countenanced by the Indian congress party. Thislead to strict orders for Indian troops not to interfere in political affairs. Only the EastAfrican 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 andthe newly elected Labour Government were ready to oblige.

It is against this background that the emerging political situation must be seen. Theplethora 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 aquestion of power, but for many it was a matter of survival inside or outside theUnion of Burma. Not surprisingly many parties had armed militias and links to theirsupporters 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 officialspokes 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 forall Karens and made a personal appeal to Governor Dorman-Smith for a separateKaren 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 helpingwith his schedules, making appointments or setting up interviews in unofficialcapacity, typing memos, directives and in time the two became close. KCO issuednumerous demands for a Karen State, a Homeland separate or as equal partners in aFederated 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 inDormant-Smith and his replacement, Sir Herbert Rance, was sworn in as newgovernor 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 toreturn to being second class citizens in their own country. They wanted to be equalpartners, 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 agoodwill delegation of Karen, made up of Saw Tha Din , Saw Po Chit , Sidney LooNe, and Saw Ba U Gyi, to London.

On arrival at Tilbury Docks, London, Saw Ba U Gyi was met by his family. He hadnot seen them for four years. Both he and they had changed in those years apart. Hehad difficulty recognising his daughter, who had grown from a little girl to a youngwoman, soon to be engaged to a Polish army officer. His son was a tall young manwho was more interested in jazz and becoming a ballet dancer than politics andBurma. His wife, like so many other English women, had grown independent havingspent 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 goodwill only extended to nice meetings and thanks for past services. There was no goodwill to take on the problems that an independent Burma outside the commonwealthwould mean to Karens. Some of the press took up their case, urged on by past friendsbut to no availe. The Burma office and the British government stonewalled themission, by simply not recognising them as an official mission. Saw Ba U Gyi, knewit was a waste of time and on learning that he was asked to serve on Burma‟s newGovernor‟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 toBurma alone and that he and his wife would divorce, citting a love child, Thimu, asgrounds 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 Attleemade 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 themerits 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 joinedtogether to reorganise the KCO and became the Karen National Union (KNU). Thisassociation brought together Christians, Buddhists, and Animists with shared visionfor a separate Karen state. Saw Ba U Gyi was instructed to resign from the Aung sancabinet if no progress was made in negotiating Karen demands. On March 4th 1947Saw 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 alarge minority within a disunited country, emerging from colonial domination wheredivide 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 BuddhistBurman 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 at10:15 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, diedthe 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 Burma-British 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 futurePresident. 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 waslowered and the union of Burma flag raised. So departed the British, leaving theBurmans and Karens to sort out their problems.

Negotiations between KNU and the new Burmese government under U Nu wereattempted, but in spite of the acceptance of the need of a Karen state there was noagreement on boundaries. The KNU were attempting to incorporate and protect thevast majority of Karens who lived over a very sizable part of the country. U Nu wasprepared to offer the parts of the country where Karens were in the majority and setup a Karen Affairs Council for the Delta Karens. Although this was a generous offer itclearly tied Karens to Burman rule, be it democratic or otherwise. Given the recentpast, bad feelings and lack of trust this was not acceptable to Saw Ba U Gyi and themajority 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 ownstate, 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 wasconducted by rev Maung Bu of the Karen Theological Seminary, Insein. In the meantime Burma was fast sliding into civil war, on all fronts law and order was breakingdown. Red flag communists and mujahedeen Islamic insurgency were in open revolt.Aung San‟s militias were becoming anarchic, soon the Communist party of Burmarevolted. Some Karen‟s in the Moulmein area rebelled but many kept loyal and servedon the government‟s side. By April parts of the regular army began peeling awayfrom Rangoon‟s control. Other Karen‟s were working for all out independence, somesay egged on by some former Force 136 officers. It was a time of fear not just inBurma but in neighbouring countries such as in India and China. In Europe tensionsbetween 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, onepersons freedom may be at the expense of the next persons, one community againstanother.

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 eve1948, local militias known as Sitwundan attacked a Karen congregation worshiping inChurch in Mergui district in southern Burma. Karen neighbourhoods in the west ofRangoon were set on fire by angry mobs and Karen civilians gunned down as theytried to escape from their homes. The Karen national defence organisation (KNDO)seized the suburb of Insein, three battalions went into full rebellion. Battle for Inseinhad begun. The next day 1st February the Karen General Smith Dun was removedfrom office as Chief of staff of the Burma Army. He was replaced by Major GeneralNe 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 Britainand India, whereas the rebellion grew weaker. U Nu sent his friend and publicrelations man, U Thant, to attempt to arrange a cease fire. U Thant met Saw HunterTha 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 torepresent Burma at the United Nations but served as its general secretary for manyyears. After the fall of Insain, Saw Ba U Gyi moved the KNU head quarters toToungoo.

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 indifferent 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 theKNU leaders as could make it. The meeting decided to set up a provisionalgovernment of Kawthoolei with Saw Ba U Gyi as its first Prime Minister. In realitythe administration was ill equipped to run a territory, the Kawthoolie Armed Forceshad only a dwindling stock of weaponry and ammunition, the best organised Karenareas of Bassein and Rangoon were far away and cut off by government troops. Theoutcome was just a matter of time, after a long struggle Toungoo fell to governmenttroops 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 whichwas General Saw San Kay. They first stayed at Hwee Thee Ou village with therelatives of Saw Johnny Htoo, then moved on to Hto Kaw Koe village. Their progresswas slow, hampered by the heavy rain, to help mobility the party had no militaryescort, against the advice of Major General Ta Ka Baw. Saw Ba U Gyi, had notwished to bother the solders, also he trusted his people to keep him safe. However hewas mistaken, a Karen traitor informed on him and on the 12th of August, he and hiscolleagues were ambushed and killed. His body was taken to Moulmain foridentification and then disposed of in the river at Kaung Say Kyung, a village nearMoulmain.

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, ear-muff 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 pony’s 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 mygrandfather to be remembered.