Shan State
Shan State
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• Religions | Buddhism 81.7% Christianity 9.8% Animism 6.6% Islam 1.0% Hinduism 0.01% No religion 1.4% Others 0.5% |
Time zone | UTC+06:30 (MMT) |
HDI (2019) | 0.509[3] low · 14th |
Website | www |
Shan State (
The Shan state, with many ethnic groups, is home to several armed ethnic groups. While the
According to data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Shan State is the region that produces the most opium in Myanmar, though production has declined in recent years.[5]
Names and etymology
Muang Tai (Shan: မိူင်းတႆး) is the native name for the region as well as a term used for the Tai-inhabited parts of Myanmar outside of Shan State. Muang (မိူင်း) means country in Tai languages and is used before the names of other countries, e.g. Muang Maan (Myanmar).[6]
Shan Pyi (Burmese: ရှမ်းပြည်) derives from a Burmese corruption of the name Siam which is an old name for Lower Thailand. Pyi is a Burmese word meaning country and thus Shan Pyi can be translated as Shan State or Shanland. Officially, the region is called Shan State in English and Shan Pyine in Burmese but the ne in often dropped in colloquial speech.
History
Shan State is the unitary successor state to the Burmese Shan States, the
Historical
Early history
The founding of Shan States inside the present-day boundaries of Burma began during the
The newly founded Shan States were multi-ethnic, and included other ethnic minorities such as the
Toungoo and Konbaung periods (1555–1885)
In 1555, King
The reach of the Burmese sovereign waxed and waned with the ability of each Burmese monarch. Shan states became briefly independent following the collapse of the first Toungoo dynasty, in 1599. The Restored Toungoo dynasty under King
In the middle of the 18th century, the Burmese
The present-day boundary of southern Shan State vis-à-vis Thailand was formed shortly thereafter. Burma lost southern Lan Na (Chiang Mai) in 1776 and northern Lan Na (
Throughout the Burmese feudal era, Shan states supplied much manpower in the service of Burmese kings. Without Shan manpower, the Burmans alone would not have been able to achieve their victories in Lower Burma, Siam, and elsewhere. Shans were a major part of Burmese forces in the First Anglo-Burmese War of 1824–1826, and fought valiantly—a fact that the British commanders acknowledged.[12]: 123–124
After the Second Anglo-Burmese War of 1852, the Burmese kingdom was reduced to Upper Burma alone. The Shan states—especially that east of the Salween River, were essentially autonomous entities, paying token tribute to the king. In 1875, King Mindon, to avoid certain defeat, ceded Karenni states, long part of Shan states, to the British.[8]: 177 When the last king of Burma, Thibaw Min, ascended the throne in 1878, the rule of central government was so weak that Thibaw had to send thousands of troops to tame a rebellion in the Shan state of Mongnai and other eastern Shan states for the remainder of his six-year reign.[12]: 161
Colonial period (1886–1948)
On 28 November 1885, the British captured
During World War II, most of the Shan states were occupied by the Japanese. Chinese Kuomintang forces who illegally entered Burmese territory came down to northeastern Shan states to face the Japanese. Thai forces, allied with the Japanese, occupied Kengtung and surrounding areas in 1942, annexing the territory to the Thai state.[14]
After the war, the British returned, while many Chinese KMT forces stayed inside Burmese Shan states. Negotiations leading to independence at the Panglong Conference in February 1947 secured a unitary Shan State, including former Wa states, but without the Karenni states.[15][16] More importantly, Shan State gained the right of secession in 10 years from independence.
Independence (1948–2010)
Soon after gaining independence in January 1948, the central government led by U Nu faced several armed rebellions. The most serious was the Chinese Nationalist KMT invasion of Shan State in 1950. Driven out by the Chinese Communist forces, Nationalist KMT armies planned to use the region east of the Salween River as a base from which to regain their homeland. In March 1953, the KMT forces, with US assistance, were on the verge of taking the entire Shan State and within a day's march of the state capital Taunggyi.[12]: 274 The Burmese army drove the invaders east across the Salween, but much of the KMT army and their progeny have remained in the eastern Shan State under various guises to the present day. The Burmese army's heavy-handedness fueled resentment.[12]: 274
In 1961, Shan saophas led by
By the early-1960s, eastern Shan State festered with several insurgencies and warlords, and it emerged as a major opium-growing area, part of the so-called Golden Triangle. Narcotics trafficking became a vital source of revenue for all insurgencies. Major forces consisted of the SSA and the Communist Party of Burma (CPB), as well as those of the drug lords Khun Sa, and Lo Hsing Han. By the mid-1960s, CPB had begun receiving open support from China. Thailand also began a decades-long policy of support for non-communist Burmese rebels. Families of insurgent leaders were allowed to live in Thailand, where insurgent armies were free to buy arms, ammunition, and other supplies.[12]: 299
In the late-1980s and 1990s, the military government signed ceasefire agreements with 17 groups, including all major players in Shan State. An uneasy truce has ensued, but all forces remain heavily armed. Today, the 20,000-strong United Wa State Army (UWSA) is the largest armed group, and is heavily involved in the narcotics trade. Under the 2008 Constitution, endorsed by the Burmese junta, certain UWSA-controlled areas were given the status of an autonomous region.[17]
In recent decades, Chinese state and ethnic Chinese involvement in Shan State has deepened. Hundreds of thousands of immigrants from China have come to work in Upper Burma since the 1990s.
New constitution (2010–present)
In the general election of November 2010, 117 seats were open for Shan State Parliament (or Shan
In 2011, Aung Myat (aka Sao Aung Myat), a former military officer of the Myanmar Army and a USDP candidate of Pindaya constituencies, was named as Chief Minister of Shan State Government.[22] Two candidates from SNDP were named for the first Shan State Government. Sai Ai Pao (aka Sai Aik Paung) was named for Industry and Mining Minister and Sai Naw Kham (aka Tun Tun Aung) was named for Construction Minister.[23] In the Shan State cabinets (2011), one was from the Myanmar Army and six were from the Union Soldiery and Development Party (USDP).[24]
Sai Mauk Kham (aka Maung Ohn), one of the two vice presidents of Myanmar (2011–2015), was elected from Shan State No. 3 Constituency as a National Assembly candidate in the November 2010 election.[25]
According to data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the region produces the most opium in Myanmar, accounting for 82% (331 metric tons) of the country's total output (405 metric tons) in 2020.[26] However, opium poppy cultivation has declined year-on-year since 2015. In 2020, cultivation in Shan State declined a further 12%, with reductions taking place in East, North and South Shan with respective decreases of 17%, 10% and 9% from previous levels in 2019.[27]
Following the 2021 coup and the ensuing civil war, Shan State saw fierce fighting between the military junta and the alliance of ethnic armed rebel groups. In November 2023, the rebels launched an offensive which overran much of Shan State, taking multiple towns, military outposts, and border crossings with China.[28]
Geography
Most of the Shan State is a hilly
The road to Taunggyi via
A
Administrative divisions
Shan State is traditionally divided into three sub-states: Southern Shan State (1–2), Northern Shan State (3–7), and Eastern Shan State (8–11). It is officially divided into 11 districts:[32][33]
- Taunggyi (တောင်ကြီး)
- Loilen (Loilem) (လွလႅမ်)
- Kyaukme (ကျောက်မဲ)
- Muse(မူဆယ်)
- Laukkaing (Laogai) (လောက်ကိုင်)
- Kunlong (ကွမ်းလုံ)
- Lashio (လာရှိုး)
- Keng Tung (ကျိုင်းတုံ)
- Mong Hsat (မိုင်းဆတ်)
- Mong Hpayak (မိုင်းဖြတ်)
- Tachileik (တာချီလိတ်)
An additional district, Hopang District, was formed as the 12th district of Shan State in September 2011 by combining the townships of Mongmao, Pangwaun, Namphan, and Pansang from Lashio District with Matman Township from Kengtung District, as well as the townships and subtownships of Hopang, Panlong, and Namtit from Kunlong District.[34]
Government
Executive
The Shan State Government is the cabinet of Shan State in Myanmar.
Legislature
The
Judiciary
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2019) |
The Shan State High Court is the judiciary of Shan State.
Shan national anthem
The national anthem of Shan State (Shan: ၵႂၢမ်းၸိူဝ်ႉၸၢတ်ႈတႆး Kwam Jue Jaat Tai) was composed by Dr Panyan on 7 February 1947.
Shan Lyrics: | English Translation: | Literal Translation: |
---|---|---|
ၶိူဝ်းႁဝ်းၶိူဝ်းရႃႇၸႃႇ
ၸွမ်ပိဝ်သမ်ႉၸၼ်ႇတႃႇ လိူၼ်ၶမ်းၸဝ်ႈၸၵ်ႉၵျႃႇ ၸၢတ်ႈႁဝ်းမီးတေႇၸႃႇ ၽွမ်ႉပဵင်းၸႂ်ဝႃႇၸႃႇ သူၵဝ်ႁဝ်းပဵၼ်ၽူႈမီးၸႂ်သၸ်ၸႃႇ |
"We are a chosen race,
We fly our mighty flag with grace, Adorned in three, the golden moon shines, We join together, our hearts and minds, Our nation, abundant in riches have we, Forever, we are united and free." |
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Transport
Airports
- Heho Airport
- Lashio Airport
- Tachilek Airport
- Kengtung Airport
- Momeik Airport
- Mong Ton Airport
- Mong Hsat Airport
- Nansang Airport
- Namtu Airport
Roads
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2023) |
Demographics
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1973 | 3,179,546 | — |
1983 | 3,716,841 | +16.9% |
2014 | 5,824,432 | +56.7% |
Source: 2014 Myanmar Census[2] |
The people of Shan State can be divided into ten primary ethnic groups: the
The valleys and tableland are inhabited by the Shan people, who resemble the
The
There is a dwindling population of
, a hold-over from the colonial period.Religion
According to the
According to the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee’s 2016 statistics, 77,513 Buddhist monks were registered in Shan State, comprising 14.5% of Myanmar's total Sangha membership, which includes both novice samanera and fully-ordained bhikkhu.[41] Shan State is home to Myanmar's largest samanera community.[41]
The majority of monks belong to the Thudhamma Nikaya (97%), followed by Shwegyin Nikaya (2.9%), with the remainder of monks belonging to other small monastic orders.[41] 3,814 thilashin were registered in Shan State, comprising 6.3% of Myanmar's total thilashin community.[41]
Economy
Silver, lead, and zinc are mined, notably at the Bawdwin mine, and there are smelters at Namtu. Rubies are extracted in large quantity in Mong Hsu Township with output peaking in the late-1990s and early 2000s.[42]
There are some border trading centers along the Shan State border and neighboring countries.
The construction project of
Education
Educational opportunities in Myanmar are limited outside the main cities of Yangon and Mandalay. It is especially a problem in Shan State where vast areas are beyond government control. According to official statistics, only about 8% of primary school students in Shan State reach high school.[51]
AY 2002–2003 | Primary | Middle | High |
---|---|---|---|
Schools | 4199 | 206 | 112 |
Teachers | 11,400 | 3500 | 1500 |
Students | 442,000 | 122,000 | 37,000 |
Taunggyi University is the main university in the state, and until recently the only four-year university in the state. The military government, which closed down universities and colleges in the 1990s to quell student unrest, has "upgraded" former colleges and two-year institutes. The government now requires that students attend their local universities and colleges, such as Lashio University, Kyaingtong University, Panglong University.
Health care
The general state of health care in Myanmar is poor. The military government spends anywhere from 0.5 to 3% of the country's GDP on health care, consistently ranking among the lowest in the world.[52][53] Although health care is nominally free, patients have to pay for medicine and treatment, even in public clinics and hospitals. Public hospitals lack basic facilities and equipment. The following is a summary of the public health system in the state, in fiscal year 2002–2003.[54]
2002–2003 | # Hospitals | # Beds |
---|---|---|
Specialist hospitals | 1 | 200 |
General hospitals with specialist services | 4 | 800 |
General hospitals | 60 | 2013 |
Health clinics | 63 | 1008 |
Total | 128 | 4021 |
See also
Notes
References
Citations
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- ^ "China's Ambitions in Myanmar". July 2000.
- ^ Wai Moe (9 April 2009). "Shan State 'Extremely Unstable': Researchers". The Irrawaddy. Archived from the original on 11 April 2009. Retrieved 11 April 2009.
- ^ http://www.altsean.org/Research/2010/Key[permanent dead link] Facts/Constituencies/Division and State Parliaments/Shan State.php
- ^ "Bio-data, Sao Aung Myat, Shan State Chief Minister". Archived from the original on 25 July 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
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- ^ "Shan Government (2011)". Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
- ^ http://www.altsean.org/Research/2010/Key[permanent dead link] Facts/Results/National Assembly Winners.php#Shan
- ^ "Myanmar Opium Survey 2020: Cultivation, Production and Implications" (PDF). February 2021.
- ^ "Myanmar Opium Survey 2020: Cultivation, Production and Implications" (PDF). February 2021.
- ^ Mcpherson, Poppy; Ghoshal, Devjyot (10 November 2023). "Losing ground to rebel alliance, Myanmar junta faces biggest test since coup". Reuters. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- Tabaung.
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(help) - ^ "Map of Shan State" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
- ^ Page 10 Column 3[permanent dead link]
- ^ "တပ်မတော်သား တိုင်းဒေသကြီးလွှတ်တော် သို့မဟုတ် ပြည်နယ်လွှတ်တော်ကိုယ်စားလှယ် အမည်စာရင်း ကြေညာချက် အမှတ် (၃/၂၀၁၆) (In Burmese)" (Press release). Union Election Commission. 19 January 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ^ Nixon, Hamish (September 2013). State and Region Governments in Myanmar (PDF). Myanmar Development Resource Institute. p. 92.
- ^ mizzima (11 December 2016). "Shan State parliament's branding Northern Alliance 'terrorists' disturb peace process". Mizzima. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- ISBN 0-8442-4919-X.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d "The Account of Wazo Monks and Nuns in 1377 (2016 year)". State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee. 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
- ^ "allaboutgemstones.com". allaboutgemstones.com. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
- ^ Douglas, Jeremy (15 November 2018). "Parts of Asia are slipping into the hands of organized crime". CNN. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
- ^ "Transnational Organized Crime in Southeast Asia: Evolution, Growth and Impact" (PDF). UNODC. June 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
- ^ Allard, Tom (14 October 2019). "The hunt for Asia's El Chapo". Reuters. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
- ^ "Fire and Ice: Conflict and Drugs in Myanmar's Shan State" (Report Number 299). International Crisis Group. 8 January 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
- ^ "Department of Border Trade". Archived from the original on 7 May 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
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- ^ "Education statistics by level and by State and Division". Myanmar Central Statistical Organization. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
- ^ "PPI: Almost Half of All World Health Spending is in the United States". 17 January 2007. Archived from the original on 5 February 2008.
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Sources
- Conway, Susan "The Shan, Culture Arts and Crafts", River Books, 2006
- Forbes, Andrew; Henley, David (2011). Traders of the Golden Triangle. Chiang Mai: Cognoscenti Books. ASIN: B006GMID5K
- Milne, Leslie, The Shans at Home. London, 1910.
- Sāimöng, Sao, The Shan States and the British Annexation. Cornell University, Cornell, 1969 (2nd ed.)
- Scott, J. G., Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan States. 5 vols. Rangoon, 1900–1901.
- Scott, J. G., Burma and beyond. London, 1932.
- Shan State – Myanmar – Mimu
External links
- Official government website
- "Shan State" relief map showing major towns and revised township boundaries, 18 November 2010, Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU)
- Shan Herald Agency for News S.H.A.N.
- Taipei American Chamber of Commerce; Topics Magazine, Analysis, November 2012. Myanmar: Southeast Asia's Last Frontier for Investment, BY DAVID DUBYNE
- Chronology for Shans in Burma