The Young Men's Buddhist Association (YMBA) ( my, ဗုဒ္ဓဘာသာကလျာဏယုဝအသင်း) is a Buddhist cultural organization in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

History

The YMBA was founded in

Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

in 1906 as a federation of lay Buddhist groups dating back to 1898, with prominent founders including Ba Pe, Sir Maung Gyi and Dr. Ba Yin. It was modelled on the

Young Men's Buddhist Association The YMBA, or Young Men's Buddhist Association, was created in Sri Lanka in 1898. The main founder was C. S. DissanayakeHuman Rights Watch (2009)''The Resistance of the Monks: Buddhism and Activism in Burma'' p. 12. as part of a bid to provide Budd ...

founded in

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

in 1898, and was created to preserve the Buddhist-based culture in Burma against the backdrop of British colonialism including the incorporation of Burma into India. The YMBA started its first open campaign against British rule in 1916, and after many protests obtained a ruling that abbots could impose dress codes on all visitors to Buddhists monasteries. The organization split in 1918 when older members insisted that it should remain apolitical, whilst younger members sought to enter the political sphere, sending a delegation to India to meet the Viceroy and Secretary of State to request the separation of Burma from India. Further lobbying delegations were sent to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1919 and 1920. Following its key involvement in the 1920 student strike, the most nationalist elements of the YMBA broke off and formed a political party known as the

General Council of Burmese Associations The General Council of Burmese Associations (GCBA), also known as the Great Burma Organisation ( my, မြန်မာအသင်းချုပ်ကြီး; ''Myanma Ahthinchokgyi''), was a political party in Burma. History The GCBA was for ...

,Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
''The Irrawaddy'', 8 November 2009 whilst a senior faction later formed the Independent Party. The YMBA is closely identified with the

Myanmar military Tatmadaw (, , ) is the official name of the armed forces of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence and composed of the Myanmar Army, the Myanmar Navy and the Myanmar Air Force. Auxiliary services include th ...

, and bestowed Military Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing with titles and the role of permanent patron. In February 2021 they were the first civil organization to issue a public statement supporting the

Tatmadaw Tatmadaw (, , ) is the official name of the armed forces of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence and composed of the Myanmar Army, the Myanmar Navy and the Myanmar Air Force. Auxiliary services include th ...

in their

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such ...

Activities

The organization has founded multiple schools. It was one of the key organizations in the start of nationalist sentiment in Burma.

History

Activities

References

Further reading