Being and becoming Kachin: histories beyond the state in the border worlds of Burma

• Published in: Sojourn (Singapore) Vol. 29; no. 2; pp. 467 - 482
• Main Authors: Farrelly, Nicholas, Maran, La Raw, Sadan, Mandy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01-07-2014
• Subjects: Burma; Constitution; Fear; Geopolitics; Multiethnic countries; Nomenclature; Politics; Threat
• ISSN: 0217-9520
• DOI: 10.1355/sj29-2h

'What if they just change the name to 'Northern Region'?' The question, when put to me, hangs awkwardly in the steamy tropical air. The subtext, a plea for recognition and status, is one that I have heard before. It is born of trepidation about the future of the Kachin, and their Kachin State, in Myanmar's new politics. Names are powerful. In 2014 the notion that Kachin State makes a natural contribution to the world's geopolitical imaginary is facing one of its most serious threats. The fear is that Myanmar's 2008 Constitution could, under certain circumstances, be used to 're-name' Kachin State. For many Kachin, this is a direct rebuke to the multi-ethnic foundations of Myanmar's union. Yet any nascent plan to neutralize the widely understood ethnic nomenclature carries its own potent message about the multi-ethnic character of Myanmar as a whole, and of Kachin State as a place where the Kachin live side by side with Shan, Bamar, Chinese and so many others. But that perspective receives scant respect from those who have fought for the right to be Kachin. Adapted from the source document.