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Burma, officially
the Union of Myanmar, is the largest country by
geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia,
or Indochina. The country is bordered by the People's
Republic of China on the northeast, Laos on the
east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on
the west, India on the northwest, and the Bay
of Bengal to the southwest with the Gulf of Martaban
and Andaman Sea defining its southern periphery.
One-third of Burma's total perimeter, 1,930 kilometers
(1,199 mi), forms an uninterrupted coastline.
The country's culture, heavily influenced by neighbours,
is based on Theravada Buddhism intertwined with
local elements. Burma's diverse population has
played a major role in defining its politics,
history and demographics in modern times, and
the country continues to struggle to mend its
ethnic tensions. The military has dominated government
since General Ne Win led a coup in 1962 that toppled
the civilian government of U Nu. The Burmese Way
to Socialism drove the formerly prosperous country
into deep poverty. Burma remains under the tight
control of the military-led State Peace and Development
Council.
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In
the Burmese language, Burma is known as either Myanmah
or Bama, depending on the register used. Since British
colonial rule, the country was known in English as "Burma".
In 1989, the military government officially changed
the English version of the country's name from "Burma"
to "Myanmar", and changed the English versions of many
place names in the country along with it, such as its
former capital city from "Rangoon" to "Yangon" (which
represents its pronunciation more accurately in Burmese
though not in Arakanese). This prompted one scholar
to coin the term "Myanmarification" to refer to the
top-down program of political and cultural reform in
the context of which the renaming was done.
The
renaming proved to be politically controversial on several
grounds. Opposition groups continue to use the name
"Burma", because they do not recognize the legitimacy
of the ruling military government nor its authority
to rename the country in English. Various non-Bamar
ethnic groups choose to not recognize the name because
the term Myanmah has historically been used as a label
for the majority ethnic group rather than for the country
Various
world entities have chosen to accept or reject the name
change. The United Nations, of which Myanmar is a member,
endorsed the name change five days after its announcement
by the junta. However, governments of many English speaking
countries including the United States, the United Kingdom,
Australia and Canada still refer to the country as "Burma",
with varying levels of recognition of the validity of
the name change itself. Others, including the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations and the governments of Germany,
France,Japan, China and Russia recognise "Myanmar" as
the official name.
Media
usage is also mixed. In spite of the usage by the US
government, American news outlets including The New
York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The International
Herald Tribune and CNN, and US-based international news
agencies the Associated Press and Reuters have adopted
the name "Myanmar". Others do still use "Burma", including
Voice of America, The Washington Post, and Time. Canada's
National Post also uses "Myanmar" in spite of the Canadian
government's usage. Other sources often use terms such
as "Burma, also known as Myanmar".
The
name "Myanmar" is derived from the local short-form
name Myanma Naingngandaw, the name used by the regime
currently in power in the country. While the etymology
of the name is unclear, it has been used since the 13th
Century primarily as a reference to the Myanma ethnic
group. Until the mid-19th century, rulers in the region
identified themselves with the areas that they ruled.
For example, the 18th Century king, Alaungpaya alternately
referred to himself as the ruler of Tampradipa and Thunaparanta,
Ramanadesa, and Kamboza (all alternate names of places
in the Irrawaddy Valley) in correspondence with the
East India Company. The Court of Ava was the first to
use this name to refer to its kingdom in the mid-19th
Century, when its power was declining, when the kingdom
was confined to the Irrawaddy Valley which was predominantly
Myanma in character, and at a time when the Myanma ethnic
identity first began to develop a political identity.
In older English documents the usage was Bermah, and
later Burmah, possibly from the Portuguese Birmania
which is thought to be a corruption of the Indian word
for Burma, Bama.[citation needed] Burma is known as
Birmanie in French, Birmania in both Italian and Spanish,
and Birmānia in Portuguese.
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