--- description: Since Myanmar gained independence, it has been swept by waves of strife. In 1949, LIFE sent correspondents to document one such crisis title: Myanmar in Crisis: Photographs of 'Turmoil of Burma' in 1949 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta0e888490e45ddd0/6988df75ab6d7759a36aff67/burma-war-1949-01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [photography](/tag/photography/) ## photography Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 'The Turmoil of Burma' in 1949: The Constant Conflict of Myanmar by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/) and [Liz Ronk](/author/liz-ronk/) Oct 24, 2017 1:30 PM CUT  Caption from LIFE. In the rubble of a Buddhist temple destroyed by Baptist Karens, a Buddha's head lies serenely where it fell during the Battle for Bassein. Caption from LIFE. In the rubble of a Buddhist temple destroyed by Baptist Karens, a Buddha's head lies serenely where it fell during the Battle for Bassein.Jack Birns—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/) and [Liz Ronk](/author/liz-ronk/) Oct 24, 2017 1:30 PM CUT As Rohingya Muslim refugees [continue to stream](http://time.com/4985453/bangladesh-myanmar-rohingya-refugees/ "undefined") toward Bangladesh, fleeing persecution in Myanmar, [tens of thousands](http://time.com/4988995/rohingya-bangladesh-refugees-unhcr-camps-myanmar/ "undefined") of people have now been uprooted in the face of the[ latest wave](http://time.com/4986882/myanmar-rohingya-killed-amnesty/ "undefined") of what the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights has [called](http://time.com/4936882/myanmar-ethnic-cleansing-rohingya/ "undefined") ethnic cleansing by the forces of the Buddhist-majority nation. The [shocking images and stories](http://time.com/rohingya-exodus-myanmar-refugees-kevin-frayer/ "undefined") that have emerged from the crisis have drawn international attention to Myanmar, and to its leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was [formerly](http://time.com/4951180/myanmars-shame-aung-san-suu-kyi/ "undefined") hailed as a human rights champion. The current crisis is unfolding seven decades after Myanmar gained its independence, a period during which the nation has been regularly swept by ethnic and religious strife.  LIFE correspondent Roy Rowan (left) and photographer Jack Birns in Burma. Jack Birns—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images It was in 1949 that LIFE Magazine sent photographer Jack Birns and correspondent [Roy Rowan](http://time.com/4501004/roy-rowan-obituary/ "undefined") to the nation, then known as Burma (as it was [until the late 1980s](http://time.com/vault/issue/1989-08-21/page/46/ "undefined")), to document one such conflict. Some of the images from that story, as well as photographs from the trip that were never published by the magazine, can be seen in the gallery above. After Japan and the U.K., of which Burma had been a colony, fought over the territory during World War II, the founders of an independent Burma [rejected](http://time.com/vault/issue/1946-12-30/page/26/ "undefined") a place in the British Commonwealth and became their own nation early in 1948, its many factions unified [largely](http://time.com/vault/issue/1954-08-30/page/21/ "undefined") by the Buddhist religion. But 33-year-old leader Aung San — father of Aung San Suu Kyi — was assassinated, along with many of his advisors, in July of 1947, prior to independence. That violence was perhaps a harbinger of what was to come next, what LIFE called simply “the turmoil of Burma.” A new round of violence began in the late 1940s, at least as [LIFE presented it](https://books.google.com/books?id=Vk4EAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PP1&pg=PA36#v=twopage&q&f=false "undefined") to American readers in 1949, as “one more Communist uprising in Asia.” But as civil war broke out, a group from the Karen minority — Baptists by religion, thanks to the work of American missionaries — entered the fray. Both the Communists and the Karens opposed the new largely Buddhist regime. The uprising by the Karens would be the start of a conflict that continued, [in one form or another](http://time.com/vault/issue/1990-06-18/page/47/ "undefined"), for decades. “All this violence is racking a country which by logical standards should be the most content in Asia,” LIFE noted. “Its 17 million people are neither overcrowded nor underfed. Its rice surpluses are normally the largest in Asia, and India must buy Burmese rice to avoid famine. In an Asia straining against old colonial ties Burma is exceptional. After the U.S. in 1776, Burma in 1947 became the first colony to gain full independence of Great Britain.” A [coup](http://time.com/vault/issue/1962-03-09/page/37/ "undefined") in 1962 put the nation under a long run of military control (the free elections held there in 2015 were the first in decades) but the Karen conflict continued steadily, if less explosively, throughout. Two years ago, Myanmar’s leaders [signed a cease-fire](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/16/world/asia/myanmar-ceasefire-armed-ethnic-groups.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined") designed to end conflict with many of the nation’s ethnic minority groups — including the Karen, in what was [billed](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-politics/myanmar-signs-ceasefire-with-eight-armed-groups-idUSKCN0S82MR20151015 "undefined") as one of the most significant victories for the negotiators. At the time, the chairman of the Karen National Union called the cease-fire “a new page in history” for the group and the government of Myanmar. And yet, in the years since, [for the Karens](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/02/memories-scared-karen-refugees-haven-victoria "undefined") and for others, it has become painfully clear that the “turmoil of Burma” continues nonetheless.  Caption from LIFE. In the rubble of a Buddhist temple destroyed by Baptist Karens, a Buddha's head lies serenely where it fell during the Battle for Bassein. Jack Birns—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Karen school at Bassein, built with U.S. Baptist aid, was burned by government forces who retook city. Jack Birns—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. West of Mandalay a government-charted flying boat rests on the Chindwin River, surrounded by native fishermen. The plane removed $1.4 million in Burmese rupees from Monywa after Karens captured Mandalay 65 miles away. Jack Birns—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Women sitting on dilapidated stoop of bombed-out building in Rangoon. Jack Birns—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Mounds of rice awaiting export. Jack Birns—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Squatter's hut sitting perched atop bombed out building. Jack Birns—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Girl selling lottery tickets at government lottery booth. Jack Birns—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Indian vegetable vendors with wares laid out on canvas mats in the streets of Rangoon. Jack Birns—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  An umbrella shop in Bassein. Jack Birns—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Beggar sleeping with hand outstretched for alms on Rangoon street corner. Jack Birns—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Swinging their arms like British troops, a squad of Burmese recruits strides along a shady road toward Bassein to join the government's army. Their rifles are British enfields, remnants of the war against Japan. The countryside in this area is largely controlled by Karen rebels. Jack Birns—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Skirted soldiers, flying to Shwebo, covered uniforms since rules bar military from commercial planes. Jack Birns—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Arriving at Shwebo, skirts removed, well-armed government troops collect weapons for the nearby front. Jack Birns—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. In the trenches an infantryman finds life pleasanter with his shoes off. The Karens are 200 yards away. Jack Birns—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Wounded soldiers resting in makeshift hospital. Jack Birns—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Soldier who was wounded during civil uprising receiving care in hospital ward. Jack Birns—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Women and children aged 7 and 8 make cigars in Sparks St. factory in Rangoon. Jack Birns—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Three large Buddhas left standing in wrecked temple in Bassein. Jack Birns—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. A placid spectator in the turmoil of Burma is this huge reclining Buddha in Rangoon's ancient golden Shwe Dagon pagoda. Like any of the many Buddhas, this one is male, though the expression and dress might be a woman's. Burmese worshipers like his expression of pleasant detachment from the gross and noisy affairs of the earth. Jack Birns—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Burmese girl picking flowers with huge Buddha looming in the background. Jack Birns—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4958097/burma-1949-conflict-turmoil-burma/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4958097/burma-1949-conflict-turmoil-burma/"},"headline":"'The Turmoil of Burma' in 1949: The Constant Conflict of Myanmar","datePublished":"2017-10-24T13:30:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:50:18.549Z","description":"Since Myanmar gained independence, it has been swept by waves of strife. 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