14. Initially turning to the Empire of Japan to assist with their separatist movement, Burmese nationalists were later forced to rely on the support of their colonial masters – Great Britain – to escape from the control of Imperial Japan
Opposing increasingly strict and harsh British rule in Burma, support for self-government in the colony gradually increased during the twentieth century. A student activist, Aung San rapidly became an influential political leader within the Burmese nationalist community. Infuriating Japan through their support for Nationalist China, the Japanese decided to support San’s movement and encourage internal dissidence within Burma in retaliation against the British. Formed in 1941, the Burmese Independence Army assisted their Japanese benefactors in their conquest of the country as part of World War Two a year later.
However, upon attempting to form an independent government per their agreement, the movement was dissolved by the Japanese. Instead, a puppet government was imposed under Ba Maw in 1943, cracking down on liberties and imposing martial law. Embarking upon a second separatist enterprise, Aung San successfully made contact with the British and changed sides. Rebelling against the Japanese, the Burmese nationalists, now part of the Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League and renamed the Patriotic Burmese Forces, drove out their former allies. Following the conflict, San continued his struggle for independence but in an entirely peaceful capacity in the post-war period. Assassinated in 1947, Burma was granted independence the following year.