To be Burmese is to be Buddhist : Formations of Buddhist modernity in colonial Burma 1

This chapter seeks to nuance the different ways in which Burmese Buddhists—both monks and lay people—participated in the construction of an emerging nationalist sentiment and identity as a response to the challenges posed by colonial modernity. The gradual expansion of the British Empire into lower and then upper Burma during three Anglo-Burmese Wars was a catalyst for profound and complex transformations in Buddhist institutions and practices. Colonialism initiated social transformations that shaped the formation of modern Buddhist identities in Burma. In the early twentieth century the nationalist discourse focused on the presence of colonial rule and foreigners in Burma, on the need for modern education in support of a civil society, and on a popular desire for spiritual renewal among Buddhist communities. Interwoven in the history of Buddhist nationalist organizations are the biographies of monks who came to assume important political roles in the struggle for independence. The nationalist struggle of the 1920s agitated many segments of Burmese society.