Panglong Conference

   (1947)

   Although a first Panglong Conference was held in March 1946, the term is generally used to refer to the second conference, held February 7-12, 1947, at the town of the same name in what is now Shan State. At the conference, Aung San and leaders of the Kachin, Chin, and Shan communities agreed to a basic framework for the Union of Burma, incorporating both Burma Proper and the Frontier Areas. It was held against the background of the January 1947 Aung San-Attlee Agreement, which recognized the inclusion of the two regions in the new independent state. The conference resulted in the agreement to establish Kachin State, recognition of the autonomy of the sawbwas within Shan State, and the inclusion of the Chins in Burma. Further commitments were made to ensure fair and equal treatment of the Frontier Area peoples through representation in the highest levels of government and economic development. The Frontier Areas Committee of Enquiry was charged with further investigating minority sentiment-especially among the smaller groups.

   Aung San's accommodating attitude at Panglong won the trust of minority leaders, but the Karennis (Kayahs), who regarded their states as essentially independent, did not commit themselves to joining the Union, and the Karens (Kayins), who demanded a separate state under British protection, refused to participate. The decisions made at the conference were embodied in the Constitution of 1947, which combined the features of both a federal and a unitary state. The anniversary of the conclusion of the conference, February 12, is celebrated as Union Day.

   See also Administration of Burma, British Colonial Period; National Unity.