Prestigious are the people who have their own nation and territory

As for me, interesting questions are “Who were nation builders?” and “Who were the people that played a leading part in enabling the nation to overcome the usual difficulties and setting it on the path to development. Every nation has to face many turning-points. And when a nation is in her turning-point we cannot say that she is finished. But we can say she is in a critical moment.

We normally refer our nation’s history starting from Bagan. In reality, we should start our history from the Pyu city states that emerged in many parts of the nation. Only then will we be able to find an answer to the question “Why did a united nation like Bagan emerge in history?” Excavation sites and ancient edifices bear witness to the fact that Pyu city states did flourish throughout history. The excavations at old towns — Beikthano, Hanlin, Srikestra and Myanadi — prove that the people of Pyu city states are highly intelligent and civilized. They knew how to construct large religious edifices, city drainage canals, clean water supply works and irrigation facilities. And there still remain many Pyu city states in Myanmar that have not been excavated yet.

Though we cannot say the exact time of the Pyu civilization that flourished in Myanmar, the carbon dating of the charred items at Beikthano old town indicated that they were nearly two thousand years old. So, I dare say that Pyu city states emerged in Myanmar much earlier than that time.

As Pyu city states were small and sparsely populous, they often faced the aggression and invasion of the peoples of the neighbouring areas. It is usual in history that loss of lives and property under such conditions was serious and great. But we the people of Myanmar had the tradition of raising the city states again from their ruins. The Pyu people re-built their cities whenever they were destroyed by the enemy. And if they failed to do so, there cannot be a prosperous and resource-rich country called “Myanmar” at present. The past experiences taught the Pyu people to coordinate and cooperate among themselves to build a new city state at a place near Bagan. After passing through time and different stages Bagan became a prominent city state in round about 9th century. The persons who built and developed Bagan were none other than the people of Myanmar.

According to a stone inscription recorded during the time of King Narapati Sithu, Bagan developed from a city state to a nation whose size was nearly that of present-day Myanmar. Moreover, Bagan was a reliable state for all other city states existed during the time in the present-day territory of Myanmar. When Juan invaders attacked Bago, Bagan had to help the city state drive out the enemy troops. But Bagan itself was not always peaceful. Even King Anawrahta, the founder of the state, fell in a battle. But Bagan continued to develop and flourish with greater momentum after his demise.

Like Myanmar, many of the world nations have the history of trying to maintain their ancient states. Because it is the nature of a nation. Although Bagan fell in the 13th century, not all its sovereign land fell into enemy hands. Using Myinsai as their base, Shan and Bamar brethren fought back the Mongols to save Bagan from being destroyed by the invaders.

The life span of Myinsai was short and it was not a large city. But the name “Myinsai” continues to live on in our hearts as a symbol of unity to kindle patriotism to fight back intruders. Myinsai manged to repulse the enemy relying on the internal strength.

Mongols were skilled warriors of central Asia. They killed people and burnt down every thing in their occupied territories. They even reached today’s Palestine and took hold of some eastern European nations. A general once wrote that Mongols were good at fighting and they could have their meals on horsetack while marching; and that they could make swift maneuvers to launch surprise attacks against their enemies.

Although they reached Bagan in central Myanmar they could not stay there for long. Some said that they left the city earlier because of the dry weather. But I thought that there might be more important factor behind their earlier retreat. It might be because of the guerrilla tactics of the Myanmar people living in and around Bagan. Beside Tuyin hill, many temples like Dhammayangyi pagoda offered ideal places for guerrillas to attack and resist the enemy.

Mongol troops retreated and stationed near Ngahsaungchan, known as Bhamo at present. It was rather brazen of Kyaw Swa of Bagan to ask Mongols to rcognize him as the king of Bagan. Why did he do so? It was because he had not been nurtured and taught well. It was also an assumption that he was the youngest son and only his elder brothers deserved to ascend the throne. So, he was not given a chance to undergo any training, and he was not active. He did not have enough qualification and was incapable of discharging national defence duties effectively. It seemed that he therefore felt depressed for his weak points despite having ascended the throne. That was why he asked the enemies to recognize him as the king of Bagan even though he was reigning Bagan that had fine traditions. His appeal prompted Myanmar national patriots and Myinsai troops to be united. Then, Myinsai troops and national races dethroned King Kyaw Swa. The downfall of King Kyaw Swa prompted Mongol troops to station in Ngahsaungchan to besiege Myinsai.

Myinsai was a small region but occupied a strategic point as it was a garrison town, the entrance to mountain ranges of Shan State. Myinsai, whose people were men of lion heart, came under fierce attacks launched by Mongols.

Before and after intruding into Myanmar, Mongols, war warriors, always won victory over their opponents in the battles. Surely, they marched to Myinsai to occupy it with the anticipation of victory. Myanmar nationals’ concept was that the art of warfare was vital, not superior or inferior power. They always repulsed in unison their enemies with unyielding spirit. Myinsai survived the invasion despite the fact that both sides suffered heavy casualties. National patriots safeguarded the motherland at risks to their lives, putting an end to the record of the ever-winning victory of Mongols who therefore had to retreat from the territory of Myanmar. A lot of people from the entire nation including Myinsai sacrificed their lives. However, their relatives could be proud of the supreme sacrifices to protect and safeguard the nation, people and the Sasana. The Myinsai troops repelled the intrusion of Mongols whose strength was much superior to them. They were in fact the ancestors of present Myanmar people. They handed down the invaluable land to their posterity. It means Myanmar people inherited the dignity and prestige from their ancestors.

Mongols made an official request for making peace. It was because they all could meet their tragic end if Myanmar troops chased them for elimination when they were retreating. After the retreat of Mongols, King Saw Nit reigned Bagan but Myinsai had become the heart of Myanmar troops. Myinsai was just a garrison town, so it could not become the centre of power of Myanmar. At that time, Thiha Thu was in search of a suitable region for establishment of a new town. Innwa royal city was established for four times. But, every time just after the establishment, the city came under ruin. So, he chose an appropriate region to establish a royal city titled Wizaya Pura that was later well-known as Pinya. However, Pinya period lasted just for 53 years. But, the short history of the town went down in the annals of Myanmar.

It is incumbent upon each and every citizen to reconstruct their country if the motherland has gone to rack and ruin. Only those who are brave and capable of discharging huge tasks with a sense of duty can bring glory to the nation. Thiha Thu mobilized the troops in Myinsai while repulsing the attacks of Mongols. He had to choose a proper place to establish a State. The region he chose was fine, but he could not improve the new town. He failed to tackle and overcome the geographical barriers so he had to found Pinya in hill region.

Pinya is a small town and its period was rather short, but it links the past periods of ancient Myanmar and those of present Myanmar. Some historical researchers billed the city states that came into existence after the fall of Bagan State as alternative and uncivilized feudal nations. Here, I would like to argue that those city states were different but not uncivilized ones. It is because they well preserved and enhanced the dignity of a nation with sovereignty between the past Myanmar and the present Myanmar.

Author : Dr Ma Tin Win (Institute of Education)