General Aung San

Aung San was a revolutionary nationalist leader of Burmeseorigin. He is regarded as the father of modern-day Burma. Hetook the initiative to set up the Communist Party of Burma andplayed a vital role in the independence of Burma from theBritish rule. His political activity reflected his anti-British andanti-imperialist ideology. At the beginning of his political careerin national politics, be became a ‘Thakin’ after joining theDobama Asiayone or Our Burma Union. He worked for theestablishment of the All-Burma Peasants League. Along with Dr.a Maw, he was instrumental in setting up the Freedom Bloc.During the World War II, Japanese Emperor Hirohito conferredhim the Order of the Rising Sun. With the help of the Japanese,he formed a Burmese military force namely the BurmaIndependence Army. Later, he became sceptical about thepromises made by the Japanese about true independence ofBurma and switched to the Allies. He played a crucial part in theformation of the Anti-Fascist organization. He led the BurmesNational Army in a revolt against the Japanese occupiers andhelped the Allies defeat the Japanese. His successfulnegotiation at the Panglong Conference was an important steptowards the independence of Burma. Unfortunately, he wasassassinated six months before Burma attained independence.