Ba Pe, U

   (1883-?)

   A prominent figure in the early 20th-century history of Burmese nationalism, Ba Pe was a founding member of the Young Men's Buddhist Association in 1906 and also established Thuriya (The Sun), one of the most important Burmese (Myanmar) language newspapers during the British colonial period, in 1911. After the split in the General Council of Burmese Associations in 1922, he became leader of the "Twenty-One Party," which advocated cooperation with the colonial authorities in carrying out the dyarchy reforms. Though he served as legislator and cabinet minister in a number of governments during the 1930s, his popularity declined as a new generation of nationalists came on the scene. Yet in the words of historian U Maung Maung, "[I]t can truly be said that Burmese politics was fathered by U Ba Pe . . . ."