The Government of The Union of Burma, now in the sixth year of its existence as an independent Democratic State, is confronted with the problem of unifying many diverse tribes into a single Nation. Many of these tribes are fiercely independent. They are seeking local autonomy and a greater degree of participation in the Government. Some of them are not willing to submit to the degrees of the central Government in Rangoon. They are in rebellion against the constituted Government, and through none of them has the strength to overthrow the Government, they can and do cause local unrest in many areas. The internal conflicts between the tribes and the Government is a constant drain upon the revenues of the country, because so much money and effort must be devoted to extinguishing the small fires of rebellion. The insecurity of the population in these areas retards agricultural and business pursuits, with a resulting drop in the annual national income. The Government and the general population long for peace and security, so that normal life may be resumed.
The Pa - O are one of the tribes causing serious trouble to the Shan State Government. At the present time a fairly large proportion of the territory in the southwest parture of the Shan State, in which the population is predomin antly Taungthu, is under the domination of the insurgents. Although they do have the men or the arms to occupy and control all of the areas, they roam though the area and collect tribute from their fellow Pa - O of money and food for the support of the insurgent movement. The Sawbwas' tax - collectors dare not enter much of the area for collection of taxes and, a side from occasional raids by the armed forces of the Burma Union, no representatives of Government exert authority in this territory. A narrow Pa -O Nationalism, engendered at the time when the Karen National defense Organization occupied the southern Shan States in 1949, is blocking the Government program for the unification of the country as a federal union of five states. If the present impasse is to be resolved intelligently some solution which will satisfy the needs and aspirations of the Pa - O people and their leaders must be found.
It is the purpose of this concluding chapter to set forth some of the cogent facts and reasons for the conflicts of interests, and the salient points at which attempts toward reconciliation of divergent ideals and aspirations may be directed. The future of the Pa - O people lies in their Union with other tribes, making their contribution to the common good, and be coming an integral part of a united nation. The Government of the Union must find a way to woo this tribe away from their desires for Pa - O Nationalism may be transformed into a Burma Nationalism the Pa - O themselves must be convinced that their own interests are fulfilled in the national interest. They must recognize the feasibility of meeting their Religious, Cultural, Economic, and Social needs in cooperation with other. They must feel that they have contributions to make to the life of National Burma which will afford them recognition and standing in the eyes of their fellow citizens.
Although the Pa - O people have lived in this area for hundreds of year, in company with many other tribes, they have remained isolated from them. They have lived together in villages from which people of other tribes were virtually excluded. They have spoken only one language with in the villages: although they have learned a little of other languages for purposes of trade, they have conversed with each other only in their own tongue, thus shutting out all others from their social life. By encouraging cross cousin marriage, they have limited their marriage contacts to their immediate acquaintances. This clannishness was a contributing factor to ethnocentrism, with its resultant lack of understanding and appreciation of others.
Politically, the Pa - O have been subject to the rulers of the native states, the Sawbwas and have been exploited and oppressed. The small is organized groups of Pa - O with no political unity beyond the village communities, could retaliate against the organized forces of the Sawbwas only by acts of defiance against the poorly defended out lying villages of the Shan, which they considered favored by the Shan rulers. The Shan, the Pa - O were characterized by the Shan as crude, ignorant farmers, and were blamed for every act of law lessness and banditry. As the minority group they feared contacts with the Shan, for in these contacts they would be exploited and dominated. Thus they cut themselves off from the life of the towns except for strictly necessary Economic contacts.
The Pa - O have been excluded from an active pert in the development of the country, except in agriculture, usually the last area of life to benefit from new ideas and progress. Whatever benefits were offered by the Sawbwas in return for taxes accued to the towns people; the village people derived no benefits from the payment of taxes. When the British took over the administration of the central Government of the Shan States, they urged the Sawbwas to provide education, medicine, and welfare services for their people. These benefits seldom reached the rural villages. Except for the establishment of village schools by the American Baptist mission, there would have been no village schools in the Ashe Hlet district prior to the Japanese invasion in 1942. No medical aid was a available to the people of this district, though there was a hospital at Yawng whe town. In the administration of Government, the highest position held by Taungthu was that of circle headman, Hta - mon. This man was merely the tax collector for a group of villages, in the eyes of the Sawbwas' Governments.
Under the Sawbwas the Pa - O found it difficult to engage in trade and industry in the towns, except in rare instances, Because of the petty persecutions of the Shan officials. This interference and persecution by minor officials, usually without the knowledge of the Sawbwas himself, was unnatural result the mutualdistrust and antagonism between the two people. No conscious effort was made by either group to bring about mutual understanding. The venture some Pa - O who tried to establish a business in a town soon became discouraged and withdraw to the village again. Because there were no Pa - O business men, the villager who sold his products in the town was at the mercy of Shan, Indian, and Chinese brokers. Their exploitation became a source of much discontent, for the brokers became wealthy where as the Pa - O villager remained poor.
As long as the Pa - O remained in comparative isolation on the higher hills and in the less frequented parts of the Shan States, they were unaware of their disadvantageous position. The village life patterns which had come down from the past without serious alteration due to outside influences, satisfied their fundamental Religions, Social, and Economic needs. They had but few unfulfilled aspirations, because their seclusion and withdrawal from outside contacts kept them in ignorance of other attainable goals. There are many villages today whose outside contacts have been very limited, and who do not aspire do anything much beyond the peaceful life of their community. However, there are a growing number for whom village life does not satisfy felt needs. A few who have had educational opportunities for their people. A few others, during the second world war and the years immediately following it, served in military units which traveled widely. These military men brought back stories of winders of buildings, transportation, and wealth compared to which the simplicity of village living began to seem unsatisfying. Ex - military men are well represented in the insurgent movement.
The availability of cheap and more sufficient transportation has opened opportunities to many village men and women to travel greater distances than ever before to religious festivals and to observe the marvels towns, pagodas, monasteries, and buildings. These Religious, and Social occasions, with their gambling, exotic foods imported wares from many parts of the globe, and new forms of entertainment cause many villagers to be dissatisfied with the simpler social pleasures of their hamlets. Some of them are now seeking the means for enjoying such pleasures more often. With people leadership from the better educated, they are ready to do something to raise the status of the Pa - O people, and to gain some material advantages which have here to fore been denied them.
Numerically the Pa - O are in a better position then ever before to press for greater recognition and a higher status. The rapid increase of the Pa - O population which has been recorded since 1900, an estimated 80 percent in fifty years, has made them numerically the dominant element in the population in much of the southwestern Shan States. As an increasing proportion of this population becomes aware of its ascendancy and is organized by leaders into larger administrative units then the small deme - communities which have been characteristic of the Pa - O local Governments in the past, it is inevitable that the Taungthu ask for a greater voice in Government and more extensive participation in Economic, Social, and Religious activities. The period of rehabilitation since 1945 has seen the rise of Pa - O Nationalism.
One set of factors which has kindled nationalism among the Pa - O is those which created the various states of the Union of Burma along tribal lines. The constitution calls for a union of five states, that is Burma, the Shan State, the Kachin State, the Chin State, and a Karen State. The Pa - O were automatically included in the Shan State because of their subjection to the Sawbwas of the former Shan States. However, some of the Taungthu leaders conceived the possibility of a Pa - O State within the union, although there were few Pa - O who had more than a faint hope of overthrowing the Shan overlords. The growth of national consciousness and the desire for autonomy was in an embryonic state. Although a Pa - O National Organization was in existence. It had a small popular following, and certainly was not a potent force in January 1949.
The Karen National Defense organization's insurrection in early 1949, with its subsequent invasion of the Shan State and the capture of Taunggyi in August 1949, Gave new impetus to the “freedom” movement of the Pa - O National Organization. The initial success of the KNDO in the Shan State, and the apparent ease with which it conquered the Sawbwas' forces and the few Union Government troops, encouraged the Pa - O leaders to believe that they might depose the Sawbwas in some states. In order to enlist man power from among the Taungthu, the Karen rebel leaders and some advance agents the Pa - O leaders to help establish a Pa - O state in return for any aid the Pa - O might give them in wresting a large Karen State from the reluctant Union of Burma Government. The KNDO had stores of arms and ammunition either cached since the war years (1942 - 1945) or captured from Government troops in engagements. They supplied limited quantities to the Pa - O , who up this time had been unable to secure such supplies because of exceedingly strict control of arms by the Sawbwas' Governments. Individual Karen officers, many of whom had received valuable military experience with allied units during the war, became advisors to the Pa - O leaders, and stayed with them after the KNDO withdrew under pressure of Government forces in November 1949.
Together with Karen forces, the Pa - O enjoyed some temporary successes against the Sawbwas' militia. Only when the battle - trained Kachin units of the Burma army engaged them did they suffer defeat and withdraw. The successes against the Shan had a psychological effect. They encouraged the Pa - O to believe that they might be able to overthrow their rulers and set up autonomous Government. Never before had they been able to challenge successfully the Shan princes' Governments. The new psychological advantage, coupled with arms and military advice, is the basis upon which a growing nationalist movement is built and a rapidly developing Pa - O National Organization is operating. Either by negotiation backed by a show of unity and force or by the use of military might, the Pa - O hope to secure more local autonomy, and especially the removal of Shan Sawbwas from ruling positions in native states where Pa - O are the largest element in the population.
The aspirations of the Pa - O to become rulers in their own homeland are the natural outgrowth of nationalism in all of Burma. The independence of Burma, attained through the efforts of Burmese patriots over a period of almost thirty years of agitation, was a triumph of democracy over colonialism. The desires of Pa - O leaders to set up democracy in the place of the feudalistic, nepotic, autocratic system under which their people would always be at a disadvantage can be understood in the light of the revolutionary movements for self - rule and democratic Government found in many nations of southeast Asia.
The high motives which have led the Pa - O to fight for a greater degree of autonomy must not be attacked and destroyed by the union Government. It is the wiser course to find the way by which these aspirations may be fulfilled, to the benefit of both the Union Government and the Pa - O people. No country can afford to overlook the valuable contributions which any large group within its population may be able to make to the general welfare and prosperity. y In making such a contribution the group concerned becomes aware of its own importance in the life of the national interests, but such modification would be possible if the Union Government and the Pa - O leaders could recognize the mutual benefits to be deprived from working together.
This study has revealed that the Pa - O have several desirable characteristics which can make them valuable citizens. These qualities are distinct assets to the nation, and must be retained and cultivated in any program which would integrate tribal groups into a Burma national culture.
The conservatism and resistance to change of the Pa - O may be both an asset and a liability. However, the balance is on the asset side in an area in which many new ideas are breaking down the social organization of the past with resulting chaos and disintegration. The Pa - O will not be stampeded easily into radical movements for change. They must know the proponent of an idea well before they consider accepting it. For those who project programs on an eighteen month or two years basis, this characteristic may be the cause of much frustration, but it is valuable because it maintains stability in the face of many challenges to the customs and traditions which have been responsible for the survival of the social group.
The Pa - O are willing to accept new ideas and practices which are not in serious conflict with their mores. If the innovations do not challenge long held religious and ethical be life's, they accept them quite readily. This is illustrated by the adoption of wheat and potato culture with such rapidity that these two crops are now among the most important cash crop in the area. 168 new varieties of rice and new methods of rice cultivation have not been adopted widely because the nats are believed to be concerned with maintaining the old methods. 169 thus those who would bring about change with the least disruption to village life and with the greatest probability of success, must week out the points of least resistance to modification of accepted ways.
The industriousness of the Pa - O has been commented on by many visitors to the area. Only by great industry have they been able to wrest a living from the marginal lands of a rough hilly country. By hard work they produce agricultural products from unpromising lands and under rather unfavorable weather conditions. Almost all families produce some other products for sale during the slack seasons from industrious man who is a good provider for his family is given prestige, and industry is considered an important virtue.
An outstanding characteristic of these people is the social control which is exerted within the community. 168. see page 176. see page 202.
without any apparent organization, the interpersonal relations within the group are governed and social pressure is exerted upon any individual who deviates too much or the too often from the accepted patterns. Every individual within the community accepts a chare of the responsibility for the smooth functioning of all interaction between members of the community and, to a leaser degree, with out - siders. Thus all affairs are governed and laws are enforced by the people. The sence of social responsibility for the welfare of all goes beyond mere restraint from law - breaking to positive provision for widows, orphans, the aged, and all other unfortunates what ever the cause of their misfortune. This voluntary assumption of duties and obligations of membership in the group is a trait highly desirable for a citizen of any nation.
The community loyalty of the Pa - O is a complementary characteristic to social control. Of course, if the community is too narrowly defined, as has been the case in the past, this quality may be a detriment to unity among diverse tribes. The habitual loyalty to one's group, however, may be valuable inbuilding new loyalties to the nation. In contrast to strongly individualistic traits and loyalties, it forms a nucleus from which a broader allegiance may develop.
A democratic independence on the part of all members of the society is a characteristic which will make the Pa - O good citizens in the democratic Union of Burma. Although they have been dominated for years by the Shan Sawbwas; the Pa - O have maintained within their own social group the recognition of the value of each individual. As in all societies, age and experience are recognized, Leadership is often exerted by the older men. However, a “good” young men, as defined by the prestige tactors of the community, can rise to a position of leadership in any Pa - O community. Numerous instances were observed during the period of this study, when young men of less than thirty years of age were nominated as hta - mons in a number of large villages, as for caste and class distinctions, there are none in the villages. Rank does not effect the relationships between individuals as it does in the Shan system of autocratic Government. Though women are usually quiet in the presence of men, they enjoy as much or more freedom than women in western European societies, and are relatively free to carry out Economic, Religious, and social activities as they choose. A “golden”mean between concern for the welfare of the society and the rights and privileges of the individual is maintained, so that each man has the opportunity to pursue happiness without any oppressive control by the group. The rights and privileges of the individual are only as they are consonant with his duties and obligations to the community.
The devout religiosity of the Taungthu constitutes a high qualification for good citizenship in almost any country, and especially in Buddhist Burma to the Pa - O, Buddhism is a way of life and an ethical system of a high order. The many pre - Buddhistic beliefs held by the villagers constantly remind them that they must make and keep their peace with the supernatural powers of the universe. Popular Buddhism recognizes the supernatural powers and believes that they sanction the ethical precepts of Gautama, the Enlightened one. The Pa- O are staunch Buddhists, devoting much time and effort to the worship of the spirits and of Buddha, and seeking to develop ideal human character as exemplified in the life and teachings of Buddha like adherents to any other religious faith, they fall short of attaining the ideal; never the less, in their devotion to it, they maintain a high degree of morality which makes them worthy citizens.
The high standard of morality is expressed in a love of family and children and on the absence of sexual immorality. The respect for all life, the strong belief that every being should be allowed to live out its allotted time, is evident in the low incidence of crimes of violence. It is expressed in the serious disapproval of the use of harmful narcotics, drugs and intoxicating liquors.The relatively infrequent occurrence of pilfering and thieving in the community may also be attributed, in part, to a moral view that borrowing is permissible, but depriving another of property is unethical of receiving them it will the above - mentioned characteristics of the Pa - O are those which may, through a wise program of Education and modification, help them to become loyal citizens of the Shan State and the Union of Burma. Whether this desirable end is accomplished will depend on whether the present Government of the Shan State, The Union Government, and all other agencies which are seeking to help this undeveloped tribes to emerge into its rightful place in the nation, recognize the facts and approach the problem with understanding. The knowledge derived from this study of the Pa - O, though admittedly limited in scope, should help in the formulation of a program which will have some chances for success. This success will be measured in terms of how quickly and completely the present conflict can be resolved, how well integrated into the life of the state and nation the Pa - O people can become, and how little disintegration and disorganization of Pa - O social structure and values take place during the process. Values may have to be modified, but not destroyed. The modification and eventual transformation of some attitudes and ideals may be necessary, but the process must be gradual and the Pa - O themselves must accept the changes as the best possible avenue for the attainment of their aspirations and happiness. The following are a few suggestion as to methods which may be employed to accomplish this purpose.
Initially, in order to bring about a truce to discuss problems and propose methods of resolving them it will be necessary to negotiate with the Pa - O leaders, civilian and military. For this propose, some third party should be brought into dispel some of the mutual distrust which underlies the reasons for the conflict. In 1950, after a Government amnesty had been declared, numerous Pa - O insurgents surrendered with their arms, being assured that they would be fully pardoned. The majority were permitted to return to their villages and were not molested. However, there were a few instances in which the leaders, particularly, were imprisoned or shot, this mistrust which these incidents engendered must be removed and the basis for free and open discussion established. The mutual distrust and antagonism of the Pa - O and the Shan is of long standing, and will have to be removed by a consistent policy of friendly understanding and trust worthy action.
A compromise solution of the problem of local autonomy in line with democratic principles of self - government must be worked out. The virtual exclusion of the Pa - O from all positions of responsibility in Government is no longer tolerable. There must be full recognition by the Shan State Government that a quarter of a million of its people occupying approximately nine thousand square miles of territory must be given more voice in Government, beginning at the local level. Though there are other tribes represented in the population of this area, the Taungthu are the most numerous, and are justified in their agitation for a larger share in democratic Government.
Some positions of leadership on the local and Shan State Governments must be given to Pa - O. It must be admitted that few Pa - O are qualified to fill high positions in the state Government, because of their lack of opportunity for training. However, there have been a few instances of discrimination, which must not be allowed to recut, if the allegiance of the Pa - O is to be won. To remedy the situation in which the lack of training excludes Taungthu from Government positions, a positive campaign of in service training should be instituted, and those in lower division services prepared for more responsible appointments. Only such a course will remove the persistent suspicion on the part of the Pa - O that they are objects of discrimination.
A determined effort to break down the isolation and exclusiveness of the Taungthu must be made by state and Union Government officials, the average villager reacts with awe and fear to the presence of officials, who are Shan or Burmese, strangers speaking another language. Their fear of strangers until they have been able to gauge their bun cause them to avoid all contacts with officials, if possible, and thus excludes them from most of the services of Government. Only a few of the officials make any effort to learn their language; conversational difficulties prove an additional barrier to contact. The Government officers must make the effort to surmount these barriers if trust is to be built up. Visits to the Pa - O villages and conversations with the headmen and elders will give the officers an appreciation of the good qualities of the village people, and may well transform the distrust Government to a belief that it is interested in the welfare of its citizens.
The experience of the Pa - O for centuries has been that Government officers ate their enemies, come to collect taxes, to punish or persecute them, and seldom to give anything in return until to accomplish the aims of Government services for the people.
The services of Government which are now confined largely to the town must be extended to the rural people. The Pa - O have had some justification in complaining that though they pay intaxes on all their produce, they do not receive benefits consonant with the payments, some of the leaders have stated that the advantages of the towns are paid for by the taxes on the agricultural produce of the Pa - O. The practice of exempting from taxation relatives of the Sawbwa's family and those who render him some from of service, often permits more than half the residents of the towns to pay no tax. 170
170. Hendershot, op . cit . p. 173-174
The school system must be greatly expended in order that children in the villages may have a school within walking distance. A primary education for the village children would do much to break down the ethnocentrism of the Pa-o. If Burmese is taught as a second language ,a difficult barrier to social intercourse will be removed. The Education Department has plans for such a program ,but implementation has been slow. It must be pursued with greater vigor if integration is to take place with sufficient rapidity to overcome forces and of disintegration.
The building of roads, the extension of medical help through establishment of dispensaries and traveling medical unit ,and the improvement of agricultural practices through extension of new ideas, are all essential to the program of aiding the pa-o to advance into full partnership with the other peoples of the Burma Union.
The extension of the work of the mass Education Council to the Pa-o villages is an important part of any program to educate the pa-o for National citizenship. This work has been started in a number of villages in the area around Taunggyi and has had a limited success. It cannot be widely successful, however, because the program and materials used are those which have been prepared for distinctly Burmese villages, and have not been modified and adapted for us among the Taungthu. Immedietely the program is suspect among them because it is strange, because the language of communication is Burmese :and because the entire curriculum is conceived for persons of lower Burma village backgrounds. Before there is any prospect of success in mass Education, the leaders in this field, appointed to the Shan state by the central office, must understand the Pa-o village better village teachers and other leaders among the Taungthu must be drawn into the planning of methods and program in order that mass Education techniques may attract the now semi-literate villagers, who see little or no value in the subject matter now being taught. They must guided to recognize what their needs are, and educated to see how the proposed program will help them to fulfill those needs. This process of developing recognition of as yet unfelt need and the understanding of what methods can fulfill them requires a consummate educational skill involving an understanding of the background of the person s to be educated something of their ideals and aspirations a program and teachers acceptable to the villagers, and the zeal, persistence, and devotion of a missionary. The imposition of a program conceived in Rangoon upon minority peoples of tribal background is doomed to failure, whereas, with changes in emphasis and in some of the minor details and with an approach calculated to dispel the suspicion of strangers and win acceptance from village leaders, assentially the same program may become the most potent single factor in integrating the Pa-o and other tribes into the national culture.
the faithful practice of Buddhism by the overwhelming majority of the Pa-o is a powerful factor in the processes of acculturation and assimilation which will take place in the years head. Because the religious beliefs and practices of the Taungthu are essentially the same as those of the Burmese, one great sphere of common understanding is already establish.The Union Government has made a few effort to capitalize upon it. The Sacred relics of two of Buddha's most worthy disciples were brought to Taunggyi in order that Taungthu Devotees might pay homage to them.These daht-daw were on display for more than a week at a large monastery and thousands of Taungthu paid obeisance to them. The time of this religious event was immediately following the K.N.D.O. withdrawal from the Shan State, and it was hoped that the Pa-o insurgent would be willing to lay down their arms and live in peace with their Burmese and Shan co-religionists. Government Information officers emphasized that the being influence of the daht-daw should bring about peace, prosperity, and good health for the whole countryside.
The cultivation of religious unity as a basis for political harmony has been used by Governments throughout history .when singleness of purpose can be fostered though general devotion to moral and ethical standard sanctioned by supernatural beings ,a common ground for agreement and cooperation in many aspects of minority group may recognize that the religious appeal is used as too for the suppression of minorities, and react adversely to it. The Burmese Buddhist must be willing to accept Buddhist of other tribal groups as equals--brother disciples of Gautama-- and accord them the same rights and privileges, without prejudice, in other areas of life political ,economic ,and social . The Burma themselves must guard against an expression of their cultural superiority over less advanced peoples, and recognize that to be successful, the interchange of cultural materials must be on an exchange basis, with The Pa-o making their contribution and thus feeling that they are essential to the transaction. Infact, the Burmese will undoubtedly make the greater contribution because
of their more advanced cultural attainments, but in order to encouraged to give their share to the total national welfare.
The social isolation of the Taungthu Will be slowly broken down as more contacts are made with the Burmese people. A grater degree of participation in Government, education of the children and instruction in Burmese, mass Education program emphasizing the unity of all of group and their common aims, better roads and means of transportation: the improvement of the economic condition of village people though better agricultural extension, and broader social contacts through religious festivals will all contribute to the removal of social barriers. A considerable portion of the Mon population in lower Burma has been assimilated by the Burmese and the Thaton Pa-o are almost assimilated into the Burmese culture: this process has been carried out without the benefit of any specific program. The social acceptance on the Taungthu into the Burmese population will follow the progress made in the other element of the program. The aim and object of all Government program among the Taungthu should be the social integration of these people into the national life, so that they become conscious that they are Burmese Nationals first, and that their tribal loyalties as Pa-o are of less importance.
In the above discussion of program for aiding the Pa-o to bring themselves abreast of the Burmese Politically, Economically, Educationally, and socially, we have recognized that the major effort and program will be that of the Government of the union of Burma, working through the Shan Sate Government. As an independent Nation, Burma must attack with great vigor the problem of bringing unity among so many diverse tribes and peoples. No other organization, political or philanthropic cannot dictate a policy to be followed, but can only offer assistance and advice. The Union of Burma Government must plan the strategy and ask for the advice and assistance of those whose experience in solving similar problems elsewhere may have some bearing upon her problems.
Any agency of the United Nation; the United States Government, the church missionary societies, or other philanthropic organization must be Governed by the same principles and carry out its program within the same general structure of method as those used by Government agencies. Programs formulated in Geneva, Washington , and New York have less chance of success than those issuing from Rangoon. The multiple factors which are encountered in varying degrees in each new area in which a program is to be executed call for an intimate knowledge of physical and psychological factors in the situation. This knowledge can be gained only by long residence in the area and personal contact through participation in the life of the people by one trained for such observation :the interpretation of such knowledge into understanding of the thought processes of the social group is even greater impotence in the understanding how the program should be organized in order that success may be more like to be attained. Contacts with both the leader and the common people are essential, in order that their readiness to accept certain form of help may be determined. Only after a long period of preliminary investigation and consultation should any program be launched. Only when there is a carefully worked out plan, and an agreement on objectives between the Union Government, the people themselves and the outside agency, is it advisable to proceed with supplying money, tools, and other material, the misinterpretation of objectives, and the eventual failure of the program resulting in enemies rather than friendly allies,--all these are the outcome of lack of intelligent planning based on a study of the pertinent facts.
the pa-o recognize that they are a backward people in comparison with the Burmese and the Shan. They are ready and willing to be helped by any agency which will accept them as they are, work together with them to bring about progress, and honor them for their good qualities. They will resist aid form those who do not understand them and approach them with an attitude of superiority. Though they are aware that they are underdeveloped and have much to learn from the other peoples of the world, they are also fiercely proud of much of their own cultural heritage, and cannot tolerate a condescending attitude on the part of those who would help them. The material of this dissertation is presented as a body of the pertinent facts which should be of assistance to those who would help the Pa-o to plan more intelligently, in order that they may become good citizens of the Union of Burma.
