Dr. Nath (Yebaw Tun Maung)

Amar Nath, alias Yebaw Tun Maung or U Hla (born 1917, d. 1968), was one of the founding leaders of the communist movement in Burma.[1][2][3][4] Dr. Nath was active in the struggle for Burmese independence.[5] He was an important leader of the Communist Party of Burma, but was killed in an ambush in 1968.

Nath was of Bengali origin.[6] He was involved the Bengali revolutionary groups active in Burma.[7] On August 15, 1939 Nath took part in the founding meeting of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB).[2]

During the Second World War he went to India to study. He obtained a M.B.B.S. degree there.[6] During his stay in India he was active in the Communist Party of India. He led the field work of the Bengal Medical Relief and Coordination Committee. He worked closely with Dr. B.K. Bose (from the Congress Medical Mission to China), organizing relief efforts for the people of Bengal suffering from plague and famine. He was also active in organizing the Tramway Workers Union.[3]

In 1947 he returned to Burma and began to practice at the Rangoon General Hospital.[6] However, politics would soon put an end to his career. Dr. Nath went underground in March 1948. He set forth to travel to Pyinmana, where the party headquarters was located, reaching the site in May 1948.[6]

Dr. Nath served as a member of the Central Committee of the party.[8] As a medical practitioner in the communist movement, Dr. Nath trained the first batch of medical brigades of the party. He was a key figure in the party in the 1950s. Dr. Nath was a Political Commissar for the party in the North-West Military Region, operating in Sagaing and Magwe.[6] He served as the principal of the Central Medical School of the Communist Party of Burma.[9]

On November 9, 1968 the 77th Division of the Burma Army attacked the CPB Medical School in the Pegu Yoma mountain range.[8] Several students of the school were killed in the attack. Dr. Nath and a small group of followers managed to escape, but was killed by Army forces on November 11, 1968.[4][8]

References

  1. ↑ Klaus Fleischmann (1989). Die Kommunistische Partei Birmas: von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart. Institut für Asienkunde. p. 416. ISBN 978-3-88910-056-6.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Shelby Tucker (20 September 2001). Burma: Curse of Independence. Pluto Press. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-7453-1541-6.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Marxist Miscellany. People's Publishing House. 1971. pp. 144, 152.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 British Broadcasting Corporation. Monitoring Service (November 1968). Summary of World Broadcasts: Far East. Monitoring Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation.
  5. ↑ The Current Digest of the Soviet Press. American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies. 1969. p. 20.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Bertil Lintner (1999). Burma in revolt: opium and insurgency since 1948. Silkworm Press. p. 512. ISBN 978-974-7100-78-5.
  7. ↑ The Quarterly Review of Historical Studies. Institute of Historical Studies. 1980. p. 45.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Forward. Department of Information and Broadcasting. 1968. p. 5.
  9. ↑ Himmat. R.M. Lala. 1968. p. 93.