Letters from Burma by Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Peacock and the Dragon

The 10th day of the waning moon of Tazaungdine marks National Day in Burma. It is the anniversary of the boycott against the 1920 Rangoon University Act which was seen by the Burmese as a move to restrict higher education to a privileged few.

This boycott, which was initiated by university students, gained widespread support and could be said to have been the first step in the movement for an independent Burma. National Day is thus a symbol of the intimate and indissoluble link between political and intellectual freedom and of the vital role that students have played in the the politics of Burma.

This year the 75th anniversary of National Day fell on Nov. 16. A committee headed by elder politicians and prominent men of letters was formed to plan the commemoration ceremony. It was decided that the celebrations should be on a modest scale in keeping with our financial resources and the economic situation of the country. The program was very simple; some speeches, the presentation of prizes to those who had taken part in the essay competitions organized by the National League for Democracy, and the playing of songs dating back to the days of the independence struggle. There was also a small exhibition of photographs, old books and magazines.

An unseasonable rain had been falling for several days before the 16th but on the morning of National Day itself the weather turned out to be fine and dry. Many of the guests came clad in pinni, a hand-woven cotton cloth that ranges in color from a flaxen beige through varying shades of apricot and orange to burnt umber. During the independence struggle pinni had acquired the same significance in Burma as khaddi in India, a symbol of patriotism and a practical sign of support for native goods. Since 1988 it has also become the symbol of the movement for democracy.

A pinni jacket worn with a white collarless shirt and a Kachin sarong (a tartan pattern in purple, black and green) is the unofficial uniform for democracy men. The dress for democracy women is a pinni aingyi (Burmese style blouse) with a traditional hand-woven sarong. During my campaign trip to the state of Kachin in 1989 I once drove through an area considered unsafe because it was within a zone where insurgents were known to be active. For mile upon mile men clad in pinni jackets on which gleamed the brave red badge of the National League for Democracy stood on guard duty along the route, entirely unarmed. It was a proud and joyous sight.

The sight on the 75th anniversary of National Day too was a proud and joyous one. The guests were not all clad in pinni but there was about them a brightness that was pleasing to both the eye and the heart. The younger people were full of quiet enthusiasm and the older ones seemed rejuvenated.

A well-known student politician of the 1930s who had become notorious in his mature years for the shapeless shirt, shabby denim trousers, scuffed shoes (gum boots during the monsoons) and battered hat in which he would tramp around town was suddenly transformed into a dapper gentleman in full Burmese national costume. All who knew him were stunned by the sudden picture of elegance he represented and our photographer hastened to record such an extraordinary vision.

The large bamboo and thatch pavilion that had been put up to receive the thousand guests was decorated with white banners on which were printed the green figure of a dancing peacock. As a backdrop to the stage too there was a large dancing peacock, delicately executed on a white disc. This is the symbol of the students who had first awoken the political consciousness of the people of Burma. This is a symbol of a national movement that had culminated triumphantly with the independence of the country.

The orchestra had arrived a little late as there had been an attempt to try to persuade the musicians not to perform at our celebration. But there spirits had not been dampened. They stayed on after the end of the official ceremony to play and sing nationalist songs from the old days.

The most popular of these was Nagani. Red Dragon Nagani was the name of a book club founded by a group of young politicians in 1937 with the intentions of making works on politics, economics, history and literature accessible to the people of Burma. The name of the club became closely identified with patriotism and a song was written about the prosperity that would come to the country through the power of the Red Dragon.

Nagani was sung by a young man with a strong, beautiful voice and we all joined in the chorus while some of the guests went up on the stage and performed Burmese dances. But beneath the light-hearted merriment ran a current of serious intent. Our national movement remains unfinished. We have still to achieve the prosperity promised by the dragon. The time is not yet for the triumphant dance of the peacock.