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Remembering Burma

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Remembering Burma Remembering Burma Tamil Migrants & Memories Stephanie Ramamurthy 1994 Submitted for the degree of MPhil School of Oriental and African Studies University of London ProQuest Number: 10672877 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10672877 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Abstract This thesis examines the meanings of memoiy for a group of interrelated Indian Tamil families, who belong to a Western-educated middle class, or "salariat" (Alavi 1987). Encouraged by the colonial authorities, these families migrated to Burma between 1890 and 1922, but were forced to return to India when the Japanese invaded in 1942. Despite their distinctive position - separated socially from their colonial masters, the Burmese people and from the mass of labouring Indians - these families belong to a group which, except for Chakravarti's (1971) political and economic study, has been ignored. Nowadays anthropology and history are recognised as supporting one another, yet memoiy, which is recognised as an important component of history, has largely been disregarded in anthropology. Following an introductory first chapter, Chapter 2 falls into two parts, which provide a necessary background to the whole work. Part 1 describes the three families with whom the thesis is chiefly concerned. These families have been migrants for generations, so Part 2 is on anthropology and migration. In Chapter 3 I define and discuss various ways of recalling the past. In addition to history, these include oral traditions, individual memoiy and social memoiy. I show how different kinds of memoiy are important in allowing people to put forward their own interpretation of the past. Taken together they allow for a "thicker11 description than would be possible using only historical sources. Moreover, memory is selective; what is recalled gives meaning to the present and guidance for the future. In Chapters 4, 5 and 6 (Aspects of life in Burma, Relations between Burmese, Indians and British and The evacuation from Burma), I examine differences between written texts and memories of life in Burma. Thus, I offer an account of the social organisation and values of these families during their Burma years, contrasting their recollections with historical accounts written by British, Burmese and Indian writers. In Chapter 7, The return to India and after, I show how different kinds of memoiy continue to influence these families. Personal memories teach a pattern of individual behaviour which the families believe should be copied. I argue that social memoiy, by which information about appropriate behaviour for family members is transmitted, has been turned into cultural capital, through which the past is recreated and reinterpreted to transmit a paradigm for present behaviour which has enabled them to recover from the losses Remembering Burma: Tamil Migrants & Memories 2 Abstract incurred in fleeing from Burma and also taught them how to cope to their own satisfaction with the contemporary experience of diaspora. Remembering Burma: Tamil Migrants & Memories 3 Contents Abstract........................................................................................................................................2 Acknowledgements .....................................................................................................................6 Chapter 1: Introduction .............................................................................................................. 8 Chapter 2: On The Families in particular and migration in general .................................... 20 The Three Families ........................................................................................ 20 Anthropology and migration ......................................................................................27 Chapter 3: Remembrance of things past ................................................................................ 35 Memoiy ........................................................................................................................ 35 Individual memory .......................................................................................... 36 Social memory ................................................................................................40 The historical approach...............................................................................................42 Oral tradition, myths and oral history ........................................................................44 Voices in the chorus of history ...................................................................................46 Chapter 4: Aspects of life in India and Burma ...................................................................... 53 Historical and ethnographic background .................................................................. 53 The Families' lifestyle before Burma days .................................................................58 Arriving in Burma - personal stories .........................................................................65 "Rosy" Burm a ....................................................................................................71 Social relations — The Family and beyond .................................................................74 How women adapted ..................................................................................................77 Religion in The Families ..............................................................................................81 Education in Burma .................................................................................................... 84 Chapter 5: Relations between Burmese, Indians and British ............................................... 90 Indian migration and colonialism - general ...............................................................90 Indians in Burma - historical summary ..................................................................... 91 Reasons for Burmese anti-Indian feeling .................................................................. 94 Political developments in Burma ................................................................................ 95 Variations in accounts of Burmese - Indian relations .............................................100 The Families, work and the British..................................................................... 107 The Families and the Burmese.................................................................. 109 Remembering Burma: Tamil Migrants tfe Memories 4 Abstract Chapter 6: The evacuation from Burma ................................................................................120 Why they left Burma...................................................................................................120 The evacuation from Burma - the story from records .............................................125 Evacuation from Burma - personal accounts ...........................................................131 Chapter 7: The return to India and after ...............................................................................139 The Families' later moves...........................................................................................140 Marriage patterns .......................................................................................................142 Non-movers ................................................................................................................144 Questions of gender ....................................................................................................147 Conclusion - their capital for the future .................................................................. 153 Glossary ....................................................................................................................................158 Abbreviations ..............................................................................................................161 Note on names of places ............................................................................................161 Transliteration ............................................................................... 161 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................ 162 List of Maps Map of India showing position of North Arcot ..................................................................... 51 Map of Burma ...........................................................................................................................52 Map of Burma showing Indian evacuation routes ............................................................... 119 List of Diagrams Diagram 1: Connections between the Three Families ............................................................18 Diagram 2: The Ramakrishnan Family...................................................................................
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