Will
Government or its officials redeem past neglect by lending an ear to a
national
request? The Karens have not proclaimed it from the house-tops, but
they have
time and time again, through their representatives, called the
attention of Government
to this earnest wish of theirs. If Government is convinced that the
Karens are
deserving of a fair trial, have they not the courage of their
convictions
before it is too late to do the Karens a good turn, and in turn get the
full
benefit of the co-operation of a loyal people of proven worth?
And
what is this request which the Karens submit for consideration? They
ask for a
fair share of the administration of the country which they have on
several
occasions helped to save from insurrection and rebellion. It has been
estimated
that there are seven Burman’s to one Karen, and the Karens have tried
unsuccessfully to obtain this ratio in the results of competition with
the Burmans.
The reasons have been fully stated in the preceding pages of this book.
The
obstacles are insurmountable, and the only practical solution is to
allot the
Karens one-seventh of the province for administration. There are seven
divisions in the province, excluding Rangoon, one-seventh of it means
one
division. In this division the entire administration should be by
Karens
directly under British supervision. Tenasserim division would be the
division
of choice, as it is mostly inhabited by Karens, and one in which
administration
is not so well developed as in other parts of the province the
administrators
can therefore exercise or adopt any scheme or plan that will suit the
peculiar
needs of the country and its intended administration. The inhabitants
of that
part of the country, like any other part, will not be in any way
disturbed. The
Karens in other parts of the province can remain where they are if they
wish it
just as people of other nationalities domiciled in Tenasserim can
remain there,
as long as it as recognized that Tenasserim is a Karen country. The
division
will advance and progress independently under the able guiding hands of
sympathetic and efficient British officers.
The
present-day ideal is self-determination; but the Karens, in their
desire for
self-determination, realize that self-determination in their case must
be
determined according to the method and mode mapped out by experienced
British officers
with whom they have fought, with whom they have worked, and with whom
they
would ever co-operate. If the Karen nation, like all other
nationalities of
Burma, is left as it is, and not given their legitimate aspirations in
a proper
direction as inspired by its feeling of patriotism and loyalty to the
government and law and order, it is greatly to be feared that a new
group or
generation of Karen extremists or obstructionists will arise.
The
Reforms Scheme has not been a benefit to them nor will it be for
generations to
come. Their wish is to work with be under the direct supervision of the
British
in a section of the country to which they feel they have a right by
their
number and the solid work that they have put in ever since the British
Government annexed the country. The Burmans have claimed the right of
self-determination and so far they have been allowed a good share of
it.
Surely, they cannot object to the Karens having a proportionate share?
Like
the powerful British nation formed of four
mighty nations in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, a great Burmese
nation
may be formed of the four principal races of the country, the Burmese,
the
Karens, the Arakanese, and the Shans; each nation with its own country
and its
own distinctive national characteristics, ready to unite for the good
of the
whole country. “Gallant little Wales” occupies a position, in many
respects in
relation to its more powerful neighbor England not dissimilar to that
of the
Karens in relation to the Burmese. The distinct nationality and
language of
Wales is being more and more recognized. This enables her the better to
develop
her peculiar genius, and contribute her special gifts to the common
stock.
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