Early days By early twentieth century, a nationalist movement began to take shape in the form of the
Young Men's Buddhist Association (YMBA), formed in 1906, modelled after the
YMCA, as religious associations were allowed by the colonial authorities. The YMBA was later superseded by the
General Council of Burmese Associations (GCBA) which was linked with
Wunthanu athin or National Associations that sprang up in villages throughout Burma. Between 1900 and 1911 the "Irish Buddhist"
U Dhammaloka publicly challenged Christianity and imperial power, leading to two trials for
sedition. A new generation of Burmese leaders arose in the early twentieth century from amongst the educated classes, some of whom were permitted to go to London to study law. They returned with the belief that the Burmese situation could be improved through reform. Progressive constitutional reform in the early 1920s led to a legislature with limited powers, a university and more autonomy for Burma within the administration of India. Efforts were undertaken to increase the representation of Burmese in the civil service. Some people began to feel that the rate of change was not fast enough and the reforms not extensive enough. Social discontent was also on the rise in the 1920s mainly against being disadvantaged in relation to the Indian and Chinese migrants who were financially better. Local population felt strongly against being economically exploited though the communities lived relatively at peace with each other. In 1909, minor changes were made to the Burmese constitution vis-a-vis major reforms to the Indian constitution. Further changes in 1920 aimed to ignore reforms in Burma which led to nationwide protests spearheaded by the barristers. In 1920, a student strike broke out in protest against the new University Act which the students believed would only benefit the elite and perpetuate colonial rule. 'National Schools' sprang up across the country in protest against the colonial education system, and the strike came to be commemorated as '
National Day'. There were further strikes and anti-tax protests in the later 1920s led by the
Wunthanu athins. Prominent among the political activists were Buddhist monks (
hpongyi), such as U Ottama and U Seinda in the Arakan who subsequently led an armed rebellion against the British and later the nationalist government after independence, and U Wisara, the first martyr of the movement to die after a protracted hunger strike in prison.
The rise In December 1930, a local tax protest by
Saya San in Tharrawaddy quickly grew into first a regional and then a national insurrection against the government. Lasting for two years, the
Galon Rebellion, named after the mythical bird
Garuda – enemy of the
Nagas, i.e. the British – emblazoned on the pennants the rebels carried, required thousands of British troops to suppress along with promises of further political reform. The eventual trial of Saya San, who was executed, allowed several future national leaders, including Dr
Ba Maw and
U Saw, who participated in his defence, to rise to prominence. During the
1930 Rangoon riot, the
Dobama Asiayone (We Burmans Association) was founded, whose members called themselves
thakin (an ironic name as
thakin means "master" in the Burmese language – rather like the Indian 'sahib' – proclaiming that they were the true masters of the country entitled to the term usurped by the colonial masters). The second university student strike in 1936 was triggered by the expulsion of
Aung San and
Ko Nu, leaders of the
Rangoon University Students Union, for refusing to reveal the name of the author who had written an article in their university magazine, making a scathing attack on one of the senior university officials. It spread to Mandalay leading to the formation of the All Burma Students Union. Aung San and Nu subsequently joined the Thakin movement progressing from student to national politics. ==Separation from India==