Mogok Township မိုးကုတ်မြို့ခရိုင
—  Township  —
Mogok Township
Coordinates: 22°55′N 96°30′E / 22.917°N 96.5°E / 22.917; 96.5Coordinates: 22°55′N 96°30′E / 22.917°N 96.5°E / 22.917; 96.5
Country	Burma
Region	Mandalay Region
District	Pyin Oo Lwin
Capital	Mogok
Time zone	MMT (UTC+6:30)

Mogok Township is a township of Pyin Oo Lwin District in the Mandalay Region of Burma (Myanmar). It is located north of the city of Mandalay and surrounds the area of Mogok City.

External links[link]

• "Pyin Oo Lwin / Mogoke Map" Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU)
• "Mogok Google Satellite Map" Maplandia

v t e Mogok Township of the Mandalay Region Capital: Mogok Aunglut Baman Bawlon Bernardmyo De-o Gwebin Höwit Htanghseng Huna Hwenut Ingyauk Ingyintaung Kabaing Kathe Kawnghkam Kin Konsan Kyatpyin Kyaukkyau Kyaukpok Kyaukpon Kyaukpya Kyaukpyatthat Kyaukpyu Kyauksaung Kyauksin Kyauktalon (22°57'0"N 96°23'0"E) Kyauktalon (22°50'0"N 96°33'0"E) Laungzin Legyi Le-u-gale Lezawchaunggyi Loihsawchaung Loikalom Loimon Loisang Lwelammogôk Lwe-ngin Maing-nwe Mogok Myeme Myintada (22°55'0"N 96°29'0"E) Myintada (22°54'0"N 96°30'0"E) Nahkam Namhsuhka Namkong Namwa Naungwhe Nawi Nyaungbin Nyaungbintha Nyawngtawk Ongaing Painkong Palaungchaunggyi Panma Panmagaing Panpau Peitswe Petkun Pinpyit Pinthabye Pyaunggaung Pyu-yaung Shwedwingyi Shwenyaungbin Sinkwa Tada-u Taungteik Thapanbin Wangkapa Yaunggwin Yebu Ye-e Yehe Yewe

v t e Districts and townships of Mandalay Region Mandalay District Aung Myay Thar Zan Township · Chan Aye Thar Zan Township · Mahar Aung Myay Township · Chan Mya Thar Si Township · Pyi Gyi Tan Kon Township · Amarapura Township · PaTheinGyi Township Pyin Oo Lwin District Pyin Oo Lwin Township · Madaya Township · Singu Township · Thabeikkyin Township · Mogok Township Kyaukse District Kyaukse Township · Sintgaing Township · Myittha Township · Tada-U Township Myingyan District Myingyan Township · Thaungtha Township · Natogyi Township · Kyaukpadaung Township · Nganzun Township Nyaung-U District Nyaung-U Township Meiktila District Meiktila Township · Mahlaing Township · Thazi Township · Wundwin Township Yamethin District Pyawbwe Township  · Yamethin Township Naypyidaw Union Territory Pyinmana Township · Tatkon Township  · Lewe Township · Ottarathiri Township · Dekkhinathiri Township · Pobbathiri Township · Zabuthiri Township · Zeyathiri Township

This Mandalay Region location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Mogok မိုးကုတ် Mogoke[1]
Mogok Location of Mandalay, Burma
Coordinates: 22°55′N 96°30′E / 22.917°N 96.5°E / 22.917; 96.5Coordinates: 22°55′N 96°30′E / 22.917°N 96.5°E / 22.917; 96.5
Country	Burma
Region	Mandalay Region
District	Pyin Oo Lwin
Township	Mogok
Government
• Mayor
Population (2005)
• Total	150,000
• Religions	Theravada Buddhism
Time zone	MST (UTC+6.30)

Large Ruby (corundum) crystal from Mogok. Size: 5.5 x 3.2 x 3 cm.

Mogok (Burmese: မိုးကုတ်, pronounced: [móɡoʊʔ]; Shan: မိူင်းၵုတ်ႈ) is a city in the Pyin Oo Lwin District of the Mandalay Region of Burma (Myanmar), located 200 km north of Mandalay and 148 km northeast of Shwebo.

Geography[link]

At 1170 meters in elevation, the city has fairly temperate climate year-round, and is home to mostly Bamar, with large minorities of Shan, Lisu, Palaung, Karen ethnic groups, as well as Chinese, Indians and Gurkha.

Repute for gemstones[link]

Mogok and other villages nearby have been famous since ancient times for its gemstones, especially ruby and sapphire, but semi-precious stones such as lapis lazuli, garnet, moonstone, peridot and chrysoberyl are also found. The gems are found in alluvial marble gravels by means of panning, tunneling and digging pits by hand. There is little mechanization of the mining. The gravels derive from the metamorphosed limestones (marbles) of the Mogok metamorphic belt.^[2][3]

Gems are sold in markets in Mogok; however, foreigners require special permits to visit the town, and purchase/export of gems from Myanmar at non-government licensed dealers is illegal.

90% of the world's rubies come from Myanmar. The red stones from there are prized for their purity and hue. Thailand buys the majority of Myanmar's gems. The "Valley of Rubies", the mountainous Mogok area, 200 km (120 mi) north of Mandalay, is noted for its rare pigeon's blood rubies and blue sapphires. Working conditions in the mines, however, are said to be horrendous. Debbie Stothard of the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma stated that mining operators used drugs on employees to improve productivity, with needles shared, raising the risk of HIV infection: "These rubies are red with the blood of young people." Brian Leber (jeweler who founded The Jewellers' Burma Relief Project) stated that "for the time being," Burmese gems should not be something to be proud of.^[4]

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• The Burma Ruby Mines, Ltd.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Minerals of Mogok

v t e Mogok Township of the Mandalay Region Capital: Mogok Aunglut Baman Bawlon Bernardmyo De-o Gwebin Höwit Htanghseng Huna Hwenut Ingyauk Ingyintaung Kabaing Kathe Kawnghkam Kin Konsan Kyatpyin Kyaukkyau Kyaukpok Kyaukpon Kyaukpya Kyaukpyatthat Kyaukpyu Kyauksaung Kyauksin Kyauktalon (22°57'0"N 96°23'0"E) Kyauktalon (22°50'0"N 96°33'0"E) Laungzin Legyi Le-u-gale Lezawchaunggyi Loihsawchaung Loikalom Loimon Loisang Lwelammogôk Lwe-ngin Maing-nwe Mogok Myeme Myintada (22°55'0"N 96°29'0"E) Myintada (22°54'0"N 96°30'0"E) Nahkam Namhsuhka Namkong Namwa Naungwhe Nawi Nyaungbin Nyaungbintha Nyawngtawk Ongaing Painkong Palaungchaunggyi Panma Panmagaing Panpau Peitswe Petkun Pinpyit Pinthabye Pyaunggaung Pyu-yaung Shwedwingyi Shwenyaungbin Sinkwa Tada-u Taungteik Thapanbin Wangkapa Yaunggwin Yebu Ye-e Yehe Yewe

v t e Mandalay Region Capital: Mandalay Kyaukse District Kyaukse Township Myittha Township Sintgaing Township Tada-U Township Mandalay District Amarapura Township Aungmyethazan Township Chanayethazan Township Chanmyathazi Township Maha Aungmye Township Patheingyi Township Pyigyidagun Township Meiktila District Mahlaing Township Meiktila Township Thazi Township Wundwin Township Myingyan District Kyaukpadaung Township Myingyan Township Natogyi Township Ngazun Township Taungtha Township Nyaung-U District Nyaung-U Township Pyinoolwin District Madaya Township Mogok Township Pyinoolwin Township Singu Township Thabeikkyin Township Yamethin District Pyawbwe Township Yamethin Township Main cities and towns Amarapura Bagan Inwa Kyaukpadaung Kyaukse Lewe Madaya Mahlaing Mandalay Meiktila Mogok Myingyan Myitnge Myittha Natogyi Nganzun Nyaung-U Pyawbwe Pyinmana Pyinoolwin Thabeikkyin Sintgaing Tada-U Tatkon Taungtha Singu Thazi Wundwin Yamethin

In this Burmese name, Bogyoke is an honorific.

Aung San အောင်ဆန်း
Nickname	Buffalo General
Born	13 February 1915 Natmauk, Magwe, British Burma
Died	19 July 1947 (aged 32) Rangoon, British Burma
Buried at	Martyrs' Mausoleum, Myanmar
Allegiance	Burma National Army Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League Communist Party of Burma
Rank	Major General
Battles/wars	World War II

This article contains Burmese script. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Burmese script.

History of Burma
Prehistory 11,000–200 BCE Pyu city-states 200 BCE–1050 CE Mon kingdoms 825?–1057 Arakanese kingdoms 788?–1406
Pagan Dynasty 849–1298 Pagan Empire 1044–1287 Mongol invasions 1277–1301 Warring states period Upper Burma 1298–1555 Myinsaing 1298–1313 Pinya 1313–1364 Sagaing 1315–1364 Ava 1364–1555 Prome 1482–1542 Ramanya 1287–1539 Shan states 1215–1557 Arakan 1430–1785 Toungoo Dynasty 1510–1752 Toungoo Empire 1530–1599 Nyaungyan period 1599–1752 Restored Hanthawaddy 1740–1757 Konbaung Dynasty 1752–1885 Anglo-Burmese wars 1824–1885
British colonial period 1824–1948 Nationalist movement 1900–1948 Japanese occupation 1942–1945 State of Burma 1943–1945
Modern era 1948–present Union of Burma 1948–1962 Socialist Republic 1962–1988 Union of Myanmar 1988–2010 Republic of the Union of Myanmar 2010–present
Timeline List of capitals List of leaders Military history
v t e

Bogyoke (General) Aung San (Burmese: အောင်ဆန်း; MLCTS: buil hkyup aung hcan:, pronounced: [bòdʑoʊʔ àʊɴ sʰáɴ]); 13 February 1915 – 19 July 1947) was a Burmese revolutionary, nationalist, and founder of the modern Burmese army (Tatmadaw), and considered to be the Father of (modern-day) Burma.

He was a founder of the Communist Party of Burma and was instrumental in bringing about Burma's independence from British colonial rule in Burma, but was assassinated six months before independence. He is recognized as the leading architect of independence, and the founder of the Union of Burma. Affectionately known as "Bogyoke" (General), Aung San is still widely admired by the Burmese people, and his name is still invoked in Burmese politics to this day.

Aung San had a daughter, Aung San Suu Kyi, who is a recipient of a Nobel Peace an a Burmese politician.

Youth[link]

Aung San was born to U Pha, a lawyer, and his wife Daw Suu in Natmauk, Magway District, in central Burma on 13 February 1915. His family was already well known in the Burmese resistance movement; his great uncle Bo Min Yaung fought against the British annexation of Burma in 1886.

Aung San received his primary education at a Buddhist monastic school in Natmauk, and secondary education at Yenangyaung High School. He went to Rangoon University (now the University of Yangon) and received a B.A. degree in English Literature, Modern History, and Political Science in 1938.

Names of Aung San[link]

• Name at birth: Htein Lin (ထိန်လင်း)
• As student leader and a thakin: Aung San (သခင်အောင်ဆန်း)
• Nom de guerre: Bo Tayza (ဗိုလ်တေဇ)
• Japanese Name: Omoda Monji (面田紋次)
• Chinese Name: Tan Lu Sho
• Resistance period code name: Myo Aung (မျိုးအောင်), U Naung Cho (ဦးနောင်ချို)
• Contact code name with General Ne Win: Ko Set Pe (ကိုစက်ဖေ)

Struggle for independence[link]

Portrait of the 1936 Oway magazine's editorial committee

After Aung San entered Rangoon University in 1933, he quickly became a student leader.^[1] He was elected to the executive committee of the Rangoon University Students' Union (RUSU). He then became editor of their magazine Oway (Peacock's Call).^[2]

Portrait of the Rangoon University Student Union in 1936.

In February 1936, he was threatened with expulsion from the university, along with U Nu, for refusing to reveal the name of the author of the article Hell Hound At Large, which criticized a senior University official. This led to the Second University Students' Strike and the university authorities subsequently retracted their expulsion orders. In 1938, Aung San was elected president of both the Rangoon University Student Union (RUSU) and the All-Burma Students Union (ABSU), formed after the strike spread to Mandalay.^[2][3] In the same year, the government appointed him as a student representative on the Rangoon University Act Amendment Committee.

Dobama Asiayone protests

In October 1938, Aung San left his law classes and entered national politics. At this point, he was anti-British, and staunchly anti-imperialist. He became a Thakin (lord or master – a politically motivated title that proclaimed that the Burmese people were the true masters of their country, not the colonial rulers who had usurped the title for their exclusive use) when he joined the Dobama Asiayone (Our Burma Union), and acted as their general secretary until August 1940. While in this role, he helped organize a series of countrywide strikes that became known as ME 1300 Revolution (၁၃၀၀ ပြည့် အရေးတော်ပုံ, Htaung thoun ya byei ayeidawbon), named after the Burmese calendar year.

He also helped found another nationalist organization, the Freedom Bloc (ဗမာ့ထွက်ရပ်ဂိုဏ်း, Bama-htwet-yat Gaing), by forming an alliance between the Dobama, the ABSU, politically active monks and Dr Ba Maw's Sinyètha (Poor Man's) Party, and became its general secretary. What remains relatively unknown is the fact that he also became a founder member and first secretary-general of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) in August 1939. Shortly afterwards he co-founded the People's Revolutionary Party, renamed the Socialist Party after the Second World War.^[2] In March 1940, he attended the Indian National Congress Assembly in Ramgarh, India. However, the government issued a warrant for his arrest due to Thakin attempts to organize a revolt against the British and he had to flee Burma.^[3] He went first to China, seeking assistance from the government there^[4] (China was still under nationalist government during World War II), but he was intercepted by the Japanese military occupiers in Amoy, and was convinced by them to go to Japan instead.^[2]

World War II period[link]

Aung San married Khin Kyi in September 1942.

Aung San in Japan, flanked by Bo Letya (Thakin Hla Pe) to his left and Bo Sekkya (Thakin Aung Than) to his right.

Whilst Aung San was in Japan, the Blue Print for a Free Burma, which has been widely but mistakenly attributed to him, was drafted.^[5] In February 1941, Aung San returned to Burma, with an offer of arms and financial support from the Fumimaro Konoe government. He returned briefly to Japan to receive more military training, along with the first batch of young revolutionaries who came to be known as the Thirty Comrades.^[2] On 26 December 1941, with the help of the Minami Kikan, a secret intelligence unit formed to close the Burma Road and to support a national uprising and headed by Colonel Suzuki, he founded the Burma Independence Army (BIA) in Bangkok, Thailand (which was aligned with Japan for most of World War II).^[2]

The former capital of Burma, Rangoon (now Yangon), fell to the Japanese in March 1942 (as part of the Burma Campaign in World War II). The BIA formed an administration for the country under Thakin Tun Oke that operated in parallel with the Japanese military administration until the Japanese disbanded it. In July, the disbanded BIA was re-formed as the Burma Defense Army (BDA). Aung San was made a colonel and put in charge of the force.^[3] He was later invited to Japan, and was presented with the Order of the Rising Sun by the Emperor.^[3]

Aung San in Burma National Army uniform.

On 1 August 1943, the Japanese declared Burma to be an independent nation. Aung San was appointed War Minister, and the army was again renamed, this time as the Burma National Army (BNA).^[3] Aung San became skeptical of Japanese promises of true independence and of Japan's ability to win the war. He made plans to organize an uprising in Burma and made contact with the British authorities in India, in cooperation with Communist leaders Thakin Than Tun and Thakin Soe. On 27 March 1945, he led the BNA in a revolt against the Japanese occupiers and helped the Allies defeat the Japanese.^[2] 27 March came to be commemorated as 'Resistance Day' until the military regime later renamed it 'Tatmadaw (Armed Forces) Day'.

Post-World War II[link]

After the return of the British, who had established a military administration, the Anti-Fascist Organisation (AFO), formed in August 1944, was transformed into a united front, comprising the BNA, the Communists and the Socialists, and renamed the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL). The Burma National Army was renamed the Patriotic Burmese Forces (PBF) and then gradually disarmed by the British as the Japanese were driven out of various parts of the country. The Patriotic Burmese Forces, while disbanded, were offered positions in the Burma Army under British command according to the Kandy conference agreement with Lord Louis Mountbatten in Ceylon in September 1945.^[2] Aung San was offered the rank of Deputy Inspector General of the Burma Army, but he declined it in favor of becoming a civilian political leader and the military leader of the Pyithu yèbaw tat (People's Volunteer Organisation or PVO).^[2]

In January 1946, Aung San became the President of the AFPFL following the return of civil government to Burma the previous October. In September, he was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Executive Council of Burma by the new British Governor Sir Hubert Rance, and was made responsible for defence and external affairs.^[2] Rance and Mountbatten took a very different view from the former British Governor, Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith, and also Winston Churchill, who had called Aung San a 'traitor rebel leader'.^[2] A rift had already developed inside the AFPFL between the Communists and Aung San, leading the nationalists and Socialists, which came to a head when Aung San and others accepted seats on the Executive Council, culminating in the expulsion of Thakin Than Tun and the CPB from the AFPFL.^[2][3]

Aung San was to all intents and purposes Prime Minister, although he was still subject to a British veto. On 27 January 1947, Aung San and the British Prime Minister Clement Attlee signed an agreement in London guaranteeing Burma's independence within a year; Aung San had been responsible for its negotiation.^[2] During the stopover in Delhi at a press conference, he stated that the Burmese wanted 'complete independence' not dominion status and that they had 'no inhibitions of any kind' about 'contemplating a violent or non-violent struggle or both' in order to achieve this, and concluded that he hoped for the best but he was prepared for the worst.^[3]

Two weeks after the signing of the agreement with Britain, Aung San signed an agreement at the Panglong Conference on 12 February 1947 with leaders from other national groups, expressing solidarity and support for a united Burma.^[2][6] Karen representatives played a relatively minor role in the conference and, as subsequent rebellions revealed, remained alienated from the new state. U Aung Zan Wai, U Pe Khin, Major Aung, Sir Maung Gyi and Dr. Sein Mya Maung and Myoma U Than Kywe were among the negotiators of the historical Panglong Conference negotiated with Bamar representative General Aung San and other ethnic leaders in 1947. All these leaders unanimously decided to join the Union of Burma.

In general elections held in April 1947, the AFPFL won 176 out of 210 seats in the election for a Constituent Assembly, while the Karens won 24, the Communists 6 and Anglo-Burmans winning 4.^[7] In July, Aung San convened a series of conferences at Sorrenta Villa in Rangoon to discuss the rehabilitation of Burma.

Assassination[link]

On 19 July 1947, a gang of armed paramilitaries of former Prime Minister U Saw^{[citation needed]} broke into the Secretariat Building in downtown Rangoon during a meeting of the Executive Council (the shadow government established by the British in preparation for the transfer of power) and assassinated Aung San and six of his cabinet ministers, including his older brother Ba Win, father of Sein Win leader of the government-in-exile, the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB). A cabinet secretary and a bodyguard were also killed. U Saw was subsequently tried and hanged. During his trial a number of middle-ranking British army officers were implicated in the plot; they also were tried and imprisoned. Rumours of higher-level British involvement, and/or involvement by Ne Win, Aung San's long-term rival for leadership within the AFPFL, are unproven and probably unfounded.^[8]

Family[link]

Aung San, his wife Khin Kyi and their eldest son, Aung San Oo

While he was War Minister in 1942, Aung San met and married Khin Kyi, and around the same time her sister met and married Thakin Than Tun, the Communist leader. Aung San and Khin Kyi had four children. Their youngest surviving child, Aung San Suu Kyi, is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and leader of the Burmese Opposition, the National League for Democracy (NLD), and was until 13 November 2010, held under house arrest by the military regime. Their second son, Aung San Lin, died at age eight, when he drowned in an ornamental lake in the grounds of the house. The elder, Aung San Oo, is an engineer working in the United States and has disagreed with his sister's political activities. Their youngest daughter, Aung San Chit, born in September 1946, died a few days after her birth.^[9] Aung San's wife Daw Khin Kyi died on 27 December 1988.

Legacy[link]

Statue of Aung San on the northern shore of Kandawgyi Lake in Yangon

A statue of Aung San in Mandalay

His place in history as the Architect of Burmese Independence and a national hero is assured both from his own legacy and due to the activities of his daughter. Aung San Suu Kyi was only two when her father died. A martyrs' mausoleum was built at the foot of the Shwedagon Pagoda and 19 July was designated Martyr's Day (Azani nei), a public holiday. His literary work entitled "Burma's Challenge" was likewise popular.

Aung San's name had been invoked by successive Burmese governments since independence until the military regime in the 1990s tried to eradicate all traces of Aung San's memory. Nevertheless, several statues of him adorn the former capital Yangon and his portrait still has pride of place in many homes and offices throughout the country. Scott Market, Yangon's most famous, was renamed Bogyoke Market in his memory, and Commissioner Road was retitled Bogyoke Aung San Road after independence. These names have been retained. Many towns and cities in Burma have thoroughfares and parks named after him. His portrait was held up everywhere during the 8888 Uprising in 1988 and used as a rallying point.^[2] Following the 8888 Uprising, the government redesigned the national currency, the kyat, removing his picture and replacing it with scenes of Burmese life.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Aung San

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Aung San

• Aung San's resolution to the Constituent Assembly regarding the Burmese Constitution, 16 June 1947
• Who really killed Aung San? Vol 1 on YouTube BBC documentary on YouTube, 19 July 1997
• Kin Oung. Who Killed Aung San? White Lotus, 2^nd edition. ISBN 974-8496-68-6