"Trials in Burma" by Maurice Collis - extracts dealing with the Peasants' Rebellion of 1930 Artwork

Myanmar Oral History Project - life stories

Oral histories of Myanmar - life stories; some starting as far back as the late 1920’s.From my years of involvement in Myanmar I have become aware of the increasing scarcity of the generation of Myanma citizens who were born during the colonial period and have lived through the tumultuous years since that time. For me, these men and women are "national treasures" whose experience, perseverance and wisdom gained during their long lives will be lost unless we capture their stories in some way. To this end I have decided to interview a number of these elderly citizens. My hope is that these interviews will be of interest to historians, sociologists and other researchers in the future as well as for the family and friends of those interviewed.

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Myanmar Oral History Project - life stories

"Trials in Burma" by Maurice Collis - extracts dealing with the Peasants' Rebellion of 1930

August 03, 2022 • Peter Church • Season 1 • Episode 56

Maurice Collis was born in Dublin in 1889, the son of an Irish solicitor, and went to Rugby in 1903 and then in 1907 to Oxford. He was posted to Burma in 1912. He had postings at Sagaing and elsewhere in Burma. In 1917, the British army raised a Burmese brigade with which Collis went to Palestine. In 1919, he went on leave and travelled in Europe. In the 1920s he was district commissioner in Arakan State. In 1929–1930, a period when relations between Burmese, Indians and British became particularly difficult, he was district magistrate in Rangoon and much of the book deals with that period and three particular cases; the political trial of J.M Sen Gupta, the mayor Calcutta and two criminal trials. My particular interest however is in the sections dealing with the Peasants' Rebellion in 1930 and Collis' deep understanding of the Burmese and the failings on the British Government. He left Burma in 1931 and wrote a number of books on the country and died in 1973.

The book can be purchased as an ebook from Amazon - https://www.amazon.com.au/Trials-Burma-Maurice-Collis-ebook/dp/B00Z4M9N3E - and possibly other ebook sellers.

The photo of Collis is from the National Portrait Gallery, London

Please feel free to contact me with suggested interviewees at church.peter@gmail.com.

Thank you for listening .

Peter Church