Railway openings in Burma 1988 – 2008

* 1943 – Burma Railway ( Burma-Thailand Railway ) is completed.

Map of the Burma Railway

The living and working conditions on the Burma Railway were horrific.

The construction of the Burma Railway is counted as a war crime committed by Japan in Asia.

Three cemeteries maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission contain the vast majority of Allied military personnel who died on the Burma Railway.

Depicts life on the Burma Railway.

* Arthur Rex Crane, former President of the Ex POW Association of Australia who claimed to have been captured by the Japanese and sent to work on the Burma Railway during WWII in order to claim service and disability pension payments.

It was here that Asian forced labourers and Allied POWs, building the infamous Burma Railway, constructed a bridge ; an event immortalised in the film Bridge on the River Kwai.

In fact, he had been taken prisoner by the Japanese and remained a prisoner of war at the Changi Prison until 1945, working on the construction of the Burma Railway which crossed Thailand, a feat that inspired the Pierre Boulle book ' Bridge Over the River Kwai ', and the film adaptation by David Lean.

* Burma Railway

Edwards had been crucified for 63 hours by Japanese soldiers on the Burma Railway.

His government also presided over the decolonisation of a large part of the British Empire when India, Pakistan, Burma, Ceylon and Jordan were granted independence.

The independence of Burma and Ceylon was also negotiated around this time.

Lord and Lady Mountbatten had two daughters: Patricia Mountbatten, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma ( born on 14 February 1924 ), sometime lady-in-waiting to the Queen, and Lady Pamela Carmen Louise ( Hicks ) ( born on 19 April 1929 ), who accompanied them to India in 1947-48 and was also sometime lady-in-waiting to the Queen.

'" Orwell wrote later that he felt guilty about his role in the work of empire and he " began to look more closely at his own country and saw that England also had its oppressed ..." Orwell made changes to his appearance in Burma that remained for the rest of his life.

Strong trade ties also made the region an important cultural center and established it as a base that would influence nearby kingdoms and regions in Burma, Sri Lanka, Maritime Southeast Asia, and Indochina.

Since then, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Burma, and Cambodia also have joined ASEAN.

The Republic of the Union of Myanmar ( also known as Burma ) is the northwestern-most country on the mainland of southeast Asia.

Burma ( also known as Myanmar ) is unitary presidential constitutional republic under the 2008 constitution.

Burma also lacked a formal monetary system until the reign of King Mindon Min in the mid-1800s.

Burma also had a wealth of natural and labor resources.

Burma is also the world's second largest producer of opium, accounting for 8 % of entire world production and is a major source of illegal drugs, including amphetamines.

Burma is also the 2nd largest supplier of opium ( following Afghanistan ) in the world, with 95 % of opium grown in Shan State.

The current state of the Burmese economy has also had a significant impact on the demographics of Burma, as economic hardship results in extreme delays of marriage and family building.

Burma also has a low fertility rate, of 2. 07 children per woman ( 2010 ), especially as compared to other Southeast Asian countries of similar economic standing, like Cambodia ( 3. 18 ) and Laos ( 4. 41 ), representing a significant decline from 4. 7 in 1983, despite the absence of a national population policy.

The Myanmar Armed Forces, officially known as Tatmadaw (, ) is the military organization of Burma, also known as Myanmar.

The United States has also imposed countermeasures on Burma due to its inadequate measures to eliminate money laundering.

Burma is also designated a Tier 3 Country in the Trafficking in Persons Report for its use of forced labour, and is subject to additional sanctions as a result.

President Obama also issued an executive order expanding existing sanctions against individuals who violate human rights to include those who threaten Burma ’ s political restructuring process.

In Burma, polygyny was also frequent.

Rogue states can also be differentiated from ' pariah states ' such as Burma ( Myanmar ) and Zimbabwe who allegedly abuse the human rights of their populations while not being considered a tangible threat beyond their own borders, although the terms have been used interchangeably.

Before the modern era, the Bhikkhuni Sangha spread to most Buddhist countries including Burma ( also known as Myanmar ), with the notable exceptions being Tibet and Thailand.

Burma also gained independence from the British Empire, but declined membership in the Commonwealth.

* The Indochinese tiger ( Panthera tigris corbetti ), also called Corbett's tiger, is found in Cambodia, China, Laos, Burma, Thailand, and Vietnam.

A minor producer of opium, heroin, and marijuana ; major illicit transit point for heroin en route to the international drug market from Burma and Laos ; eradication efforts have reduced the area of cannabis cultivation and shifted some production to neighboring countries ; opium poppy cultivation has been reduced by eradication efforts ; also a drug money-laundering center ; minor role in amphetamine production for regional consumption ; increasing indigenous abuse of methamphetamines and heroin.

The British also took possession of Tenasserim with the intention to use it as a bargaining chip in future negotiations with either Burma or Siam.

In the pariah castes, Tibet had untouchables known as Ra-gyap-pa, just like Eta-Hinin of Japan, Para-gyoon of Burma, and Baekjeong of Korea.

** In Burma it is known as Thingyan ()

When European imperialism brought a new phase in Southeast Asian commerce in the late 1800s, Thailand ( known then as Siam ) was able to maintain its independence as a buffer zone between British-controlled Burma to the west and French-dominated Indochina to the east, but losing over 50 % of its territory in the process.

* August 8 – 8888 Uprising: Thousands of protesters in Burma, now known as Myanmar, are killed during anti-government demonstrations.

* Burma followed a policy of autarky known as the Burmese Way to Socialism under dictator Ne Win, who ruled the country from 1962 to 1988.

They are known to have been eaten in Ancient Greece as well as China, Malaysia, Burma, Latin America, and the Congo.

Chickpea flour is also used to make " Burmese tofu " which was first known among the Shan people of Burma.

Burma ( otherwise known as Myanmar ) was one of the first countries to recognize Israel ( first in Southeast Asia ) and establish diplomatic relations with Israel.

As an activist, Lumley is best known for her support for Gurkhas, the exiled Tibetan people and government, the Kondha indigenous people of India, and the Prospect Burma charity, which offers grants to Burmese students, for whom she broadcast a BBC Radio 4 charity appeal in 2001.

** ( now known as Myanmar ) ( Burma Socialist Programme Party ) 1964-1988

Based primarily out of Rangoon, Burma and Kunming, Yunnan, Chennault's 1st American Volunteer Group ( AVG ) – better known as the " Flying Tigers " – began training in August 1941 and fought the Japanese for seven months after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Naypyidaw (, officially spelled Nay Pyi Taw and Naypyitaw ; ) is the capital of Myanmar, also known as Burma.

They were known as the " Wild Wa " by British administrators during Britain's colonial control of Burma.

General Joseph Warren Stilwell ( March 19, 1883 – October 12, 1946 ) was a United States Army four-star General known for service in the China Burma India Theater.

In Burma, it is known as Bombay toast.

In 1955, following a stint as an economic advisor to the government of Burma, he published the short paper " Economics in a Buddhist Country ," his first known critique of the effects of Western economics on developing countries.