People's Revolutionary Party (Burma)
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The Burma Socialist Party (), initially known as the People's Freedom (Socialist) Party or PF(S)P, was a
political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
in
Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
. It was the dominant party in Burmese politics after 1948, and the dominant political force inside the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL - ).Win, Kyaw Zaw.
A history of the Burma Socialist Party (1930-1964)
'
Because of its inclusion in AFPFL, it was colloquially known as (''AF Social''). The party was a successor to the wartime People's Revolutionary Party () and founded by Ba Swe, Kyaw Nyein and five others in order to counter the influence of the
Communist Party of Burma The Communist Party of Burma (CPB), also known as the Burma Communist Party (BCP), is an underground communist party in Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is the oldest existing political party in the country. Founded in 1939, the CPB initially fo ...
within the AFPFL and to prevent a communist take-over of the umbrella organization.Rose, Saul. ''Socialism in Southern Asia''. London: Oxford University Press, 1959. p. 106 For the same reason, to counter the communist All Burma Trade Union Congress, the socialists also launched the Trade Union Congress (Burma) in November 1945. Before the foundation of the PF(S)P, the communists had openly emerged as a bloc inside AFPFL. The ideological rivalry extended to the politicized military. Non-communists within the military supported the build-up of the socialist party as a counter force since many communists most prominently Kyaw Zaw were also in leading positions within the military. In 1945,
Thakin Mya ''Thakin'' Mya (, ; 7 October 1897 – 19 July 1947) was a Burmese lawyer and politician who served as the Minister of Home Affairs and in June 1947 transferred as Minister of Finance in Myanmar's pre-independence government.https://ro.u ...
became the chairman of the party. Ba Swe served as general secretary and Kyaw Nyein as joint secretary. In 1947, after Thakin Mya was murdered alongside
Aung San Aung San (, ; 13 February 191519 July 1947), known honorifically as '' Bogyoke'' Aung San, was a Burmese politician, independence activist and revolutionary. He was instrumental in Myanmar's struggle for independence from British rule, but he w ...
, Ko Ko Gyi became the new party chairman in July 1947. In the summer of 1948, he was asked to resign from his positions in both the party and government. After his resignation, Ko Ko Gyi joined the underground insurgency. The post of chairman was abolished and the party was from then on led by Ba Swe and Kyaw Nyein. In 1948 the name of the party was changed to 'Burma Socialist Party'. In 1949, it became the 'Union of Socialist Party'. From 1950 onwards it was again called the 'Burma Socialist Party'. The party published ''The Socialist Front Weekly Journal''. The party initially relied on support from affiliated mass organizations such as the Workers' Asiayone, Peasants' Asiayone, Women's Asiayone, etc. After 1950, the party developed more into a cadre party but retained strong links to the Trade Union Congress (Burma). In December 1950 the left-wing faction of the party broke away and formed the Burma Workers and Peasants Party. The membership of the Burma Socialist Party is estimated to have dropped from around 2,000 to just 200 as a consequence of the split.Rose, Saul. ''Socialism in Southern Asia''. London: Oxford University Press, 1959. p. 116 The party recovered and its membership was estimated of having reached 6,000 in 1956. In 1964 the party was banned by decree of the
Union Revolutionary Council The Union Revolutionary Council (), officially the Revolutionary Council of the Union of Burma () or simply the Revolutionary Council (RC; ), was the supreme governing body of Burma (now Myanmar) from 2 March 1962, following the overthrow of U N ...
led by
Ne Win Ne Win (; ; 24 May 1911 – 5 December 2002), born Shu Maung (; ), was a Burmese army general, politician and Prime Minister of Burma from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1974, and also President of Burma from 1962 to 1981. Ne Win was Burma's mili ...
.


References

{{Burmese political parties 1945 establishments in Burma 1964 disestablishments in Burma Burma in World War II Defunct political parties in Myanmar Political parties disestablished in 1964 Political parties established in 1945 Socialist parties in Myanmar