Mon State

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Mon State
မွန်ပြည်နယ် (Burmese)
တွဵုရးဍုင်မန် (Mon)
Other transcription(s)
 • Burmesemwan pranynai
 • Monတွဵုရး ဍုၚ် မန် (Tweuraḥ ḍuṅ Mon)
Burmese-Thai, Pa'O.
 • ReligionsBuddhism, Islam
Time zoneUTC+06:30 (MMT)
HDI (2021)0.610[2]
medium · 4th
Websitewww.monstate.gov.mm

Mon State (

Mawlamyine
.

History

Mon tradition holds that the

Dîpavamsa was their first kingdom (pronounced Suvanna Bhoum), founded around the port of Thaton
in about 300 BC, however, this is disputed by scholars.

Oral tradition suggests that they had contact with

Pali script. Much of the Mon's written records have been destroyed through wars. The Mons blended Indian and Mon cultures in a hybrid of the civilisations. By 825 they had firmly established themselves in southern and southeastern Myanmar and founded the cities of Bago (Pegu) and Thaton
. By the mid-9th century, they had come to dominate all of southern Myanmar.

Mon kingdoms

The first recorded kingdom that can undisputedly be attributed to the Mon was Dvaravati which prospered until around 1024 AD when their capital was sacked by the Khmer Empire and most of the inhabitants fled west to present-day Myanmar and eventually founded new kingdoms. These, too, eventually came under pressure from new ethnic groups arriving from the north.

Advent of the British

Anglo-Burmese
population; an area of the city was known as 'Little England' due to the large Anglo-Burmese community. Nowadays this community has dwindled to a handful of families as most have left for the UK or Australia.

Burmese independence

In 1947, the Mon sought

Union of Burma. Burmese Prime Minister U Nu refused, saying that no separate national rights for the Mon should be contemplated. The Burmese army moved into areas claimed by the Mon nationalists and imposed rule by force which resulted in a civil war. Mon separatists formed the Mon Peoples Front, which was later superseded by the New Mon State Party (NMSP) in 1962. Since 1949, the eastern hills of the state (as well as portions of Thaninthaya Division) have been under control of the NMSP and its military arm, the Mon National Liberation Front (MNLF). In addition to fighting the central government, the MNLF has fought the Karen people over control of lucrative border crossings into Thailand
.

In 1974, partially to assuage Mon

SLORC agreed a cease-fire. In 1996, the Mon Unity League
was founded. SLORC troops continued to operate in defiance of the agreement.

Government

Executive

Mon State Government

Legislative

Judiciary

Mon State High Court

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1973 1,314,224—    
1983 1,680,157+27.8%
2014 2,054,393+22.3%
Source: 2014 Myanmar Census[1]

The population was 2,054,393 according to

Buddhist
.

Religion

Religion in Mon (2014)[4]

  Buddhism (92.6%)
  Islam (5.8%)
  Hinduism (1.0%)
  Christianity (0.5%)
  Other religion (0.1%)

According to the

2014 Myanmar Census, Buddhists make up 92.6% of Mon State’s population, forming the largest religious community there.[5] Minority religious communities include Christians (0.5%), Muslims (5.8%), and Hindus (1%) who collectively comprise the remainder of Mon State’s population.[5] 0.1% of the population listed no religion, other religions, or were otherwise not enumerated.[5]

According to the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee’s 2016 statistics, 32,769 Buddhist monks were registered in Mon State, comprising 6.1% of Myanmar's total Sangha membership, which includes both novice samanera and fully-ordained bhikkhu.[6] The majority of monks belong to the Thudhamma Nikaya (79.8%), followed by Shwegyin Nikaya (14.9%), with the remainder of monks belonging to other small monastic orders.[6] 3,550 thilashin were registered in Mon State, comprising 5.9% of Myanmar’s total thilashin community.[6]

Geography

Limestone landscape near Mudon, south of Mawlamyaing.

Bordering Bago Division in the south of Sittaung River Mouth, Kayin State in the east, Thailand and Taninthayi Division in the south and Andaman Sea and Gulf of Mottama in the West, Mon state is situated between latitudes 14°52′ north and 17°32′ north and longitudes 96°51′ east and 98°13′ east.

Climate and weather

Mon State has a tropical climate. It has temperate weather as it is located in the low latitude zone and near the sea. The state has only slight changes in temperature. The average temperature of Mawlamyine in January is 78 °F (26 °C) and in April is 85 °F (29 °C). Annual rainfall in Mawlamyine is 190 inches (4.8 m) and in Thaton is 217 inches (5.5 m). Rain is especially heavy in July and August.

Economy

Mon State has a cultivated area of nearly 4,500,000 acres (1,800,000 ha), mostly under

Karen state. Moreover, modern business development includes growing of cashew
trees (acajoú, in Portuguese), from which they collect the cashew nut for market elsewhere.

Mawlamyine Bridge looks un-modernized, but it's the longest bridge of Myanmar that serves the flow of the north–south economy.

Other industries include paper, sugar, rubber tires.

Natural resources such as forest products, and onshore and offshore mineral resources, are exploited only by top Myanmar military leaders and foreign companies. At the present time one of the biggest foreign investments into Myanmar is for the exploitation of natural gas reserves in Mon State. The Yadana Gas project which connected pipelines alongside the towns of Mon state made harassed danger to the native Mon land and Mon people
.

Bridge near Kyaik Maraw, Mon State

In Mudon, a small town near

fertilization
of some other species.

The future plans with

Three Pagoda Pass is an alternative route which communicates Mon state with neighbour Kanchanaburi province
of Thailand.

According to the Mon State Directorate of Investment and Company, foreign direct investment from 1994 to 2016 in Mon State was more than 5.433 billion US dollar.[7]

Transport

Administrative divisions

Mon State Government Office

Mon state has a capital of

Ye
district for future plans. Ye has become the major city for Southern Mon State with Sector Operation Command of Air Defense, and Military Operations Command 19 based headquarters.

Mon State consists of two districts:

2 districts of Mon

Cities and towns and villages

Cities with large district Towns Villages
Mawlamyine Mudon Kawt-bane
Thaton Paung Kamawak
Thanbyuzayat Bilin Pha-auk
Ye
Mottama Pa-nga
Kyaikmaraw
Kyaik-kami
Jain-gyike
Kyaikhto
Sit-taung Thein-sake
Bakwai Lamine Mawkanin
Chaungzon Kamarwatt Ywar Lut
Islands
Belu-kyun
Kalar-goke island
Mawlamyine University, Mon State

Education

AY 2002-2003 Primary Middle High
Schools 1210 87 56
Teachers 6200 3200 900
Students 222,000 81,000 26,000

Almost all institutions of higher education in the state are located in Mawlamyine. Mawlamyine University is the main university and the largest university in the state.

Health care

The general state of health care in Myanmar is poor. Although health care is nominally free, in reality, patients have to pay for medicine and treatment, even in public clinics and hospitals. Public hospitals have limited number of basic facilities and equipment. The following is a summary of the public health system in the state, in the fiscal year 2002–2003.[9]

2002–2003 # Hospitals # Beds
Specialist hospitals - -
General hospitals with specialist services 1 350
General hospitals 10 341
Health clinics 14 224
Total 25 915

Notable sites

Kyaiktiyo Pagoda sits at an elevation of 3,615 ft (1,102 m)

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Census Report. The 2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census. Vol. 2. Naypyitaw: Ministry of Immigration and Population. May 2015. p. 17.
  2. ^ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  3. ^ Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch, Vol. 3 by Sir Charles Eliot
  4. ^ Department of Population Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population MYANMAR (July 2016). The 2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census Census Report Volume 2-C. Department of Population Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population MYANMAR. pp. 12–15.
  5. ^ a b c The 2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census Census Report Volume 2-C (PDF). Department of Population Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population. July 2016. pp. 12–15.
  6. ^ a b c "The Account of Wazo Monks and Nuns in 1377 (2016 year)". State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee. 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  7. ^ "China Eyes Mon State Investment". The Irrawaddy. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  8. ^ "Education statistics by level and by State and Division". Myanmar Central Statistical Organization. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
  9. ^ "Hospitals and Dispensaries by State and Division". Myanmar Central Statistical Organization. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2009.
  10. ^ "Sane Let Tin". Archived from the original on 1 September 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.

External links