A hundred years ago February 17, 1922 | Agitators in Burma

One comes away from Burma deeply impressed by two things. The first is the wide gulf which separates Burma from India and the earnestness and universality of the desire for political separation. Not only are the Burmans by race, temperament and religion, quite apart from the rest of the Indian Empire, but they particularly dislike Indians. Indians, it is true, are getting the business and commerce of Burma into their hands, and are supplanting Burmans in all the more important positions. But that does not make a people like them better. Indian agitators also are working up the Burman masses to a purely artificial political discontent, though anything more absurd than to suppose that there can be any enthusiasm in Buddhist Burma over Punjab wrongs, the Khilafat, or even Swaraj (Home Rule), according to Mr. Gandhi’s plans, can hardly be imagined. But the Burman is easily led, is impulsive, and is likely to move politically as indeed he has moved in the last two years, much more quickly than the Indian.