After collecting my baggage, I joined other

co-passengers to face the immigration

counter at Yangon airport. Being on a

research trip, I was expecting the usual

grilling and curious questions from

immigration officials. The grilling was

particularly more intense during my

previous visit to Bangladesh. For almost

half an hour, the customs officials posted

at the Dhaka airport had interviewed me

to get a clearer understanding on the exact

purpose of my visit to Bangladesh

Kulkarni, Sanket Sudhir

NIAS Repository

9PHOTO ESSAYMyanmar Undergoing an Exciting Phase:An Indian Traveller's ImpressionSanket Sudhir KulkarniThe writer is a PhD Scholar at National Institute of Advanced Studies,BangaloreAfter collecting my baggage, I joined otherco-passengers to face the immigrationcounter at Yangon airport. Being on aresearch trip, I was expecting the usualgrilling and curious questions fromimmigration officials. The grilling wasparticularly more intense during myprevious visit to Bangladesh. For almosthalf an hour, the customs officials postedat the Dhaka airport had interviewed meto get a clearer understanding on the exactpurpose of my visit to Bangladesh.Now as my turn to face the immigrationofficials at the Yangon airport came, I gotincreasingly nervous. Before my turncame, I diligently took out all thepermission letters and documentswhich would ascertain mycredibility as a researcher. Iprepared myself to face prettyintensive questioning from thetwo lady officers in charge ofclearing my immigration papers.But to my utter surprise, uponpresenting my passport and visadocuments, the lady officer at thedesk did not even bother to lookPHOTO ESSAYat me. She and her colleague were having a lighthearted chat in their local dialect and within notime I was happily standing at the other end ofthe immigration counter, waiting for my othercolleagues to join me.This episode as insignificant as it may sound,nevertheless speaks volumes about Myanmar'sconscious efforts to open up to the outsideworld.1  It also reflects the efforts undertakenby the decision makers to make their societymore liberal,2   from within and outside. Barringa few exceptions, in the next few days as Itravelled across three different cities namelyYangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw, this initialimpression that I had gathered at the airportDowntown Yangon1  Joshua Kurlantzick, ‘The Mysterious Opening of Myanmar’, The Boston Globe, 04th December20112 UNDP, ‘Democratic Governance in Myanmar Current trends and implications’, United NationsDevelopment Programme, Myanmar, 01st December 201310Photo Essayincreasingly got strengthened. Exception,I say here because there were a couple ofencounters which still reminded us aboutthe subtle but effective control of themilitary on the country. If Yangon isbubbling with confidence and excitementthen in contrast Nay Pyi Taw, still reelsunder an air of formality and militarystyled discipline. If Yangon's culturesymbolises the on-goingpolitical transition, thenNay Pyi Taw in many waysis indicative of theprevailing military controlover the country's politicaland societal affairs.The result of the openingup is that within a shorttime frame, Myanmar hasmade immense progress.Forget about governmentand privately releasedfigures and statistics. During my interviews withmultiple respondents representing Myanmar'sindustry, political parties, and activists etc. allexuded an air of confidence about the on-goingpolitical transition and future economic growth.Roaming across the streets of Myanmar's threeimportant cities gives a clear indication that thecountry is slowly, yet steadily heading towardsa phase of rapid economicdevelopment.3   One need not to be aneconomist to be able to figure out thecauses behind such an optimisticassumption for Myanmar. Theconditions for such economic growthwere already present and it becomesvery apparent to the visitor during hisstay. To start with, Myanmar hasabundant labour force at its disposalwhich can contribute significantlytowards rapid industrial development.4During the trip, I got an impressionthat people in Yangon, mostly youngand falling in the ideal working agegroup, always seemed to be in a hurry.5Nay Pyi Taw, the capital of Myanmar with usual sight of isolated streetsLike on the streets of Kolkata and Dhaka, Cycle Rickshawsare a common site in Yangon too(Image Courtesy: Dr. Hippu Salk Kristle Nathan)3 Aung Hla Tun, ‘Myanmar projects economic growth of 9.3 pct for 2015-16’, Reuters, 24th April20154 ADB, ‘Myanmar in Transition : Opportunities and Challenges’, Asian Development Bank, August20125 ADB report on Myanmar points to similar observations. For details See Ref No. 411Photo EssayTo add to this, the available labouris also hardworking and honest.Another interesting feature withregard to labour availability that Iexperienced was that the Burmesesociety appeared to be extremelygender neutral and lets itswomenfolk to be an equalcontributor to economic prosperity.This is quite contrary to what arecent report in The Guardian notesthat in Myanmar women enjoy asecondary role with respect to her malecounterparts.6  In fact one respondentduring his interview noted that the ladiesin Burma are able to strike a good balancebetween work and family life. During myfield trip, I could notice significantpresence and participation of womenworkforce in the services andmanufacturing industry. The situation wasquite similar in Nay Pyi Taw and Mandalay too.I could notice good number of womenparticipation in the education, bureaucracy,private sector, industry etc. Within the sphereof education particularly, women students inmany instances outnumbered their malecounterparts. Given this trend, it could beexpected that in the coming years Myanmarwould also see an increasing trend of womenparticipation in politics and critical decisionmaking. These and other suchimpressions particularlyreminded me of a recent lectureat Nalsar University of Law givenby Mr. Mohan Guruswamy whowhile referring to India noted thatavailability of larger labour forceacted as a boon for its economicdevelopment.7,8 He further notedthat availability of such youngpopulation also had a great impacton consumption pattern withinA mosque adjacent to the Sule Pagoda in YangonBuildings designed in the colonial style in Yangon6 Sara Perria, ‘On the road with the women building Myanmar’, The Guardian, 25th January 20167 Mohan Guruswamy, ‘India: A Nation in Search of a State’, Lecture given at NALSAR University ofLaw, 18th February 2016, Available at- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYnwthA2-3E,(Accessed on 11/04/2016)8 Anamitra Roychowdhury, C P Chandrashekhar, Jayati Ghosh, ‘The ‘Demographic Dividend’ andYoung India’s Economic Future’, Economic & Political Weekly, Volume 41, Issue No. 49, 09thDecember 2006, Available at-  http://www.jsk.gov.in/articles/the_demographic_dividend_cp_chandrasekhar.pdf12India.9  In the years to come, one canexpect a similar trend in Myanmar too.10Another characteristic of the people inMyanmar is that they are hardworking,graceful and forgiving. Couple ofrespondents with whom I had a chance tointeract had spent long years in jail. Butdespite such gruesome past they gave animpression that they have decided to makepeace with their past. Nowhere during theinterview, could I trace any element ofremorse and hatred towards the militaryregime. They are more optimistic abouttheir future and want to let go off the past.One respondent in fact thanked India forits consistent support for the pro-democracy groups in Myanmar in theinitial years. Another example whichin a small way indicates that peoplein Myanmar are forgiving and burytheir past could be gathered from theinteraction among different religiouscommunities in Yangon. Forexample, quite contrary to news andmedia reports, I could not sense anytension throughout my stay amongthe Muslim and the Burmesepopulation. Muslims shopkeepers andstreet vendors freely went about withtheir business and interacted freelywith their Buddhist brethren. Alsoduring the days leading up toChristmas, many office employeesorganised Christmas celebrations inthe evening hours.To complement these inherentadvantages, Myanmar needs to workon a few areas which will firmly putthem on a dedicated path towardsprosperity and enduring stability. Two areaswhich require urgent attention are physicalinfrastructure and development ofknowledgeable human resource. For example inYangon, the city's colonial inspired buildings asnostalgic as they may appear are neverthelessin poor shape.Also, the highway that connects Yangon withNay Pyi Taw and Mandalay is pretty smooth, butin many sections, I got a feeling that it could havebeen constructed in a better way.These two examples are merely indicative of thelarger infrastructural problems that MyanmarYangon-Nay Pyi Taw-Mandalay Highway(Image Courtesy: Dr. Mayilvaganan)An inside view of Mandalay Station(Image Courtesy:  Dr. Mayilvaganan)9 See Ref No. 710 Linda Yueh, ‘Burma: Asia’s last frontier is opening up’, BBC, 02nd Jun 201313faces. For example, the railway stationsthat we visited in Yangon and Mandalay,apart from their colonial charm confirmedthe view reflected in a report thatMyanmar's railway connectivityinfrastructure is not in a good shape.11  Itis essential for Myanmar to focus itsresources on building transportationinfrastructure. These will help in long termfacilitation of free movement of labour andresources within different regions ofMyanmar.Other aspect which requires urgentattention is knowledge creation and anexcellent human resource across differentparts of Myanmar. For example, take thestatus of English speaking in Myanmar.Normal interaction even at the streets ofYangon proved generally difficult.According to one respondent there werevery few English teaching schools in thecountry. Myanmar needs to consciouslycultivate resources in improving thestandards of English education in thecountry. Upon enquiring about the statusof technical education in in Myanmar, fewrespondents noted that they are lookingA Mini train spotted at Yangon Railway station(Image Courtesy:  Dr. Hippu Salk Kristle Nathan)at outside countries to improve thelevel of technical education.But there are a few bright spots too.The communication network in thecountry has been developed in anefficient manner. During my 8 hourjourney to Mandalay even at isolatedpatches, I could easily access internet.Along with it quite a few respondentsproudly boasted about the fact thatthere were no restrictions onaccessing any websites hinting at thelevel of political freedom allowed by thetransition government.These are indeed challenging, but exciting timesfor Myanmar. I certainly felt happy to havevisited it during its most crucial phase.(Acknowledgement: The author would like tothank Dr. Mayilvaganan, Dr. Hippu Salk KristleNathan, Dr. Subir Rana for their guidance inwriting this photo essay. Also the author wouldlike to especially thank Dr. Mayilvaganan andDr. Hippu Salk Kristle Nathan for permitting touse some of their photographs taken during thesame trip to Myanmar.)An inside view of the Shwedagon Pagoda, Yangon11 KPMG, ‘Infrastructure in Myanmar’, 30th May 2013, Available at- http://www.kpmg.com/mm/en/issuesandinsights/articlespublications/pages/infrastructure-in-myanmar.aspx , (Accessed on11/04/2016)

Myanmar Undergoing an Exciting Phase: An Indian Traveller's Impression

http://eprints.nias.res.in/1055/1/2016-sanket%20sudhir%20kulkarni-insight%20southeast%20asia-vol5%281%29.pdf

Myanmar Undergoing an Exciting Phase: An Indian Traveller's Impression

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

NIAS Repository