Maha Bandula

   (ca. 1780-1825)

   General who fought the British during the First Anglo-Burmese War. Born near Monywa in what is now Sagaing Division, he served both Kings Bodawpaya and Bagyidaw. A renowned commander, he was Bagyidaw's viceroy in Assam after the country was occupied by Burmese troops and planned to subjugate not only the small states of northeastern India but also British Bengal. Launching an attack on Bengal from Burmese-occupied Arakan (Rakhine) when war was declared on March 5, 1824, Maha Bandula was forced to withdraw to Lower Burma after a British expeditionary force landed at Rangoon (Yangon) in May. He fought pitched engagements against the British in and around Rangoon, but in April 1825 he was killed during a battle at Danubyu, a stockade located northwest of the city. Among Burmese, Maha Bandula's name is synonymous with impetuous courage.