This book is a political history of the Mon people of lower Burma and Thailand - the people of the Golden Sheldrake. The Mon are renowned for their important civilising role in pre-colonial southeast Asia and achievements in the fields of art and religion. However, contemporary Mon society has until now received less attention. Charting Mon history from the earliest times to the present, Ashley South describes the origins of Burma's ethnic politics in the pre-colonial era and developments during the British (and Japanese) colonial periods. Following independence in 1948, Burma was plunged into a civil war which still drags on today. The book explores the background to and major episodes in the war, and compares the experiences of various parties to the conflict, including the Mon, Karen and Kachin ethnic communities and insurgent organisations. It provides unique insights into the dynamics of armed conflict in Burma, and examines the controversial series of ceasefire agreements negotiated since 1989, between various insurgent armies and the military government.
Exploring the relationship between the Burmese democracy movement led by Aung San Suu Kyi, the ethnic insurgents, international and local non-government organisations, and Burma's one million-plus refugees, the author concludes by looking at the future of the ethnic question' in Burma. This is one of the most important contributions in recent years to the literature on Burma. Situating events in a regional perspective, Mon Nationalism and Civil War in Burma: The Golden Sheldrake will be of interest to students of Southeast Asian history and politics. Anthropologists will appreciate the sustained focus on issues of identity and assimilation, whilst the author's first-hand accounts of the humanitarian crisis along the Thailand-Burma border are of particular relevance to the study of displacement and under-development.