The political situation in Myanmar has always been characterized by a state of anarchy and political takeover by the military, undermining the civil rights of the citizens of the country and plunging the nation into a state of armed conflict. Myanmar has had a long history of military rule since its existence as an independent nation, but the turn of the century had created hope for the formation of a democratic government in Myanmar. However,  the recent events in Myanmar since February 2021 have quashed the hopes of a stable democratic government in Myanmar. To understand the present of Myanmar in a better way, we need to look into its history, wherein lies the root of the problem in Myanmar’s political rule. 

Myanmar, or Burma, as it was known earlier, was part of British East India after the Anglo-Burmese wars until the Burma Independence Act of 1947, which laid the way for the formation of the Union of Burma in 1948. Like many other countries in South and Southeast Asia, Myanmar also gave an iron hand to its military to resolve its internal conflicts and bring political stability to Myanmar. But in the long run, the military undermined the democratic values of the country, leading to a military coup in 1962, which lasted for 26 years. Even though the military leader Ne Win was removed in 1988, direct military rule was replaced by an indirect military-supported militia called the “military junta.” The protest that led to this political shift was led by Suu Kyi, the daughter of independence hero General Aung San, who rose to prominence during the 1988 protests. After the establishment of the military junta, she, along with other members of the National League for Democracy (NLD), was detained for more than 15 years from 1989 to 2005. Her struggle received widespread coverage in the international media, due to which she received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 while under house arrest. The revolution finally ripened in 2007 with the Saffron Revolution, which sparked widespread protests against the state, particularly by the Buddhist monks wearing the saffron robes, thus the nomenclature. The intensity of the revolution forced the military junta to make radical reforms, including a new constitution. Eventually, the military Junta dissolved in 2011, giving rise to a new bureaucracy, which unfortunately gave too much space to former defense personnel under the leadership of erstwhile army bureaucrat Thein Sein. These reforms were hardly anything more than concessions provided to the country’s citizens to keep them silent, but not enough to make them satiated. The reforms made under the new regime were hopeful, but not enough. Political prisoners were provided amnesty, the economy was opened for foreign direct investment, and political control was relaxed. Ang Suu Kyi, who had by now emerged as the voice of liberation and democracy for the nation, achieved a landslide victory in the elections in 2015. But despite coming to power, the NLD couldn’t control the main areas of the government, which were still controlled by the military. One of the major reasons for the 2021 Myanmar crisis is the failure of Ang Suu Kyi to achieve what she strived for and fought for for so many decades. Charges of mismanagement and corruption were levied against her, and she was detained, giving rise to a new cycle of military control over the country.