History

  • India – Myanmar/Burmese relations date to antiquity and cultural exchanges included Buddhism and the Burmese script, which was based on the Indian Grantha script.
  • In particular, Theravada Buddhism has tremendously influenced Burmese society and culture for millennia, with around 90% of Burma’s population continuing to follow the religion.
  • Myanmar (formerly Burma) was made a province of British India in 1885 by British rulers through 3 indo Burmese war and again separated in 1937.
  • It was in Japanese-occupied Burma that Indian nationalist Subhas Chandra Bose delivered his “Give me blood and I will give you freedom!” slogan.
  • India established diplomatic relations after Myanmar’s independence from Britain in 1948.
  • A number of agreements enhancing bilateral Cooperation have been signed between the two countries. Institutional mechanisms for facilitating regular dialogue on a range of issues of bilateral interest have also been established.
  • For many years, Indo-Burmese relations were strong due to Myanmar previously having been a province of India, due to cultural links, flourishing commerce, common interests in regional affairs and the presence of a significant Indian community in Myanmar.
  • India provided considerable support when Myanmar struggled with regional insurgencies.
  • The overthrow of the democratic government by the Military of Myanmar led to strains in ties. Along with much of the world, India condemned the suppression of democracy and Myanmar ordered the expulsion of the Burmese Indian community, increasing its own isolation from the world.
  • Only China maintained close links with Myanmar while India supported the pro-democracy movement.
  • A major breakthrough occurred in 1987 when the then-Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi visited Myanmar, but relations worsened after the military junta’s reaction towards pro-democracy movements in 1988, which resulted in an influx of Burmese refugees into India.
  • However, since 1993 the governments of the Indian Prime Ministers P. V. Narasimha Rao and Atal Bihari Vajpayee changed course and began to establish warmer relations between the two nations,
  • India-Myanmar joint operation destroyed several militant camps of Arakan Army on the Indo-Myanmar border.
  • During 2002, the Indian Consulate General in Mandalay was re-opened and the Consulate General of Myanmar was set up in Kolkata.
  • Presently our relation with Myanmar is complicated, Rohingya issue continues to fester and it strains Myanmar’s relations with Bangladesh & China’s expanding economic foot print in Myanmar and the continuing impasse on India-China border are the present day realities.