Communal Geographies and Peasant Insurgency in Colonial Myanmar

Saha, Jonathan

Abstract

This article makes two arguments, one theoretical and the other empirical. The first is that Ranajit Guha’s classic text, Elementary Aspects of Peasant Insurgency in Colonial India, contains generative but overlooked spatial concepts for uncovering communal geographies. The second is that the Hsaya San peasant rebellion, which rocked British authority in Myanmar from late 1930 until 1932, fostered a new communal geography. These two arguments come together through my elaboration and utilisation of Guha’s ideas to interpret rebel violence against Chin villages.

Citation

Saha, J. (2023). Communal Geographies and Peasant Insurgency in Colonial Myanmar. South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, 46(6), 1240-1256. https://doi.org/10.1080/00856401.2024.2303213

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 25, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Jan 29, 2024
• Publication Date: 2023
• Deposit Date: Oct 27, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 26, 2024
• Journal: South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies
• Print ISSN: 0085-6401
• Electronic ISSN: 1479-0270
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 46
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 1240-1256
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00856401.2024.2303213
• Keywords: Myanmar, Ethnic Violence, Communal Geography, Peasant Rebellion, Hsaya San
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1818974