Flag of Myanmar – Colors, Meaning, History ??

The flag of Myanmar was first hoisted on October 21, 2010, to signify the change in the country’s name from the Union of Myanmar to the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. As with most flags, his banner evokes a deep history and a troubled past, including regime changes that have seen the country change its name from Burma to Myanmar. The tricolored yellow-green-red flag is a reminder of the changes, invasions, and resilience of the country.

History of the Flag of Myanmar

Myanmar (formerly Burma) is located on the Western side of Southeast Asia and consists of a mixture of Indo-Aryans who began settling in the area from around 700 B.C. In the 13th century, Mongolians under Kublai Khan invaded the region. In 1044-1077, Anawrahta unified the tribes as Myanmar. Before British rule, the country had a flag with a green background and a golden Hinthar at the center, which was believed to have been introduced in the early Mons between 1300 and 1500. This banner was recognized as The Golden Flag of the Hanthawaddy Kingdom. From 1752 to 1885, the region was under the flag of the Konbaung Dynasty, which consisted of a plain white background with a peacock at its center. Myanmar came under the British colony in 1824 and came to be known as the colony of British India. This was after three wars against the Kings of the Konbaung dynasty.

The impact of colonial rule varied across Myanmar’s regions. For instance, some territories, such as the Tenasserim coast, were under British control longer than other areas. The flag that was used in the colonial land consisted of a British Raj red ensign. Later, in 1853, Burma was under the rule of King Mindon, who shifted his capital to Mandalay in 1857. He had a three-pointed flag with a red background and a black cross at the center. Some historians argue that the flag may be associated with Christianity as missionaries had already arrived in the region. British troops entered Mandalay in 1885. The flag of the new British colony consisted of a plain red field with a Union Jack on the upper left-hand corner. It also had the star of India at the central-right position. In 1939, British Burma gained its flag, which consisted of a British blue ensign with the Union Jack at the upper left corner and a peacock at the right-hand side. The new colony was attached to the Indian empire on February 26th, 1886.

In 1941, the flag of Burma changed again, and the British Union Jack was removed. The new banner consisted of a blue background with the peacock at the center. In 1942, the Japanese Empire invaded the country during World War II and replaced the blue banner with its flag as the official banner in the country. The Japanese flag consisted of a white background with a red circle at the center and was in use from 1942 to 1943. On August 1, 1943, the Japanese instituted a puppet government and introduced a new tri-colored flag. This flag consisted of horizontal stripes of yellow, green, and red with a peacock insignia at the center. Around the same year, a stylized version of the flag was also introduced year, which consisted of a golden peacock at the center.

At the end of the Second World War, the British regained Burma from the Japanese. And the British flag with the blue insignia was temporary in use. The country at the time was in turmoil as there were calls to assassinate the then-revolutionary, Major General Aung San. During World War II, he had partnered with the Japanese before switching sides to join the British. Aung played a significant role in negotiating for independence. He founded the Union of Burma and worked towards uniting the country’s ethnic groups. However, Aung was assassinated six months before independence. Later, in 1947, several other leaders of the pre-independence movement were also murdered. This event piqued tensions between Burma and the British. As a consequence, Burma decided not to join the British Commonwealth and became the Independent Union of Burma.

The first flag of the Independent Union of Burma was hoisted on January 4, 1948. It consisted of a plain red field with a blue canon at the top left and a massive, white, five-pointed star surrounded by five smaller 5-pointed stars. The most enormous star symbolized the union, whereas the five smaller ones represented the States of Burma. In 1974, Burma became a socialist republic. As a result, the insignia on the flag changed from the stars to a corncob and a cogwheel surrounded by 14 small stars. In 1988, the country changed its name from the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma to the Union of Myanmar. However, the flag remained the same.

In 2006, the country adopted a new flag, which consisted of three horizontal stripes of the colors green, yellow and red. At the top left corner of the green line was a five-pointed star. This design is similar to the 1943 flag with the only difference being the removal of the peacock insignia. Although the proposed flag consisted of the star at the upper left corner, the one that was officially adopted had a sizeable five-pointed star at the center. On October 21, 2010, at about 3:00 pm, officials were ordered to lower the old flags, which were all burned and the new flag was officially hoisted. The military regime that has been in charge since the 1962 coup ordered for the adoption of the new banner as well as changes to the country’s name.

What is the meaning behind the colors of the Myanmar Flag?

Colors
The flag of Myanmar consists of horizontal tri-colors yellow, green, and red with a central, five-pointed star overlapping the stripes. There is no official explanation for the meaning of the colors. Yet, the generally accepted implication is that the colors the following:

Green: Peace, tranquility and the lush green landscape of the country
Yellow: Solidarity or national unity
Red: Courage and determination

The new flag evokes different emotions as the country is still experiencing internal conflicts. Generally, the government’s intent of adopting a new flag was to give the country a sense of newness.

Shape
The height to width ratio of the flag is 2:3. The horizontal stripes are all equal, and the star at the center is ⅔ of the width of the cloth.

Emblem
At the center of the flag is a massive five-pointed star, which is a symbol of unity in the country. It was adopted in favor of the royal peacock insignia that was initially there. The socialist flag also consisted of one massive star with fourteen smaller stars. However, the recent change in regime coupled with the destruction of the rebellious movement triggered the adoption of one-line star. The flag of the President of Burma still retains the peacock insignia, which is a symbol of royalty, the sun, Buddhism, happiness, and unity.

Interesting Facts about the Flag of Myanmar

The colors of the flag of Myanmar are traditionally Pan African colors. As a result, the flag has been criticized as looking strikingly similar to a Lithuanian flag.
The decision to change the flag was based on an astrological prediction.
When the new flag was officially adopted on October 21, 2010, the old flag had to be lowered by someone born on Tuesday, whereas the new flag had to be raised by someone born on a Wednesday.
Critics of the ruling government state that the new flag is the government’s attempt at forced assimilation of the local ethnic groups.
A majority of the people identify the older flag with its red and blue canton. At the upper left corner of the flag was a cogwheel with two stalks of rice within it and a ring made up of 14 stars. The blue symbolized peace and stability, red represented courage and brevity, whereas 14 stars symbolized the 14 states of the country. The rice stalks symbolized the farmers. Some of the people identified more with this flag as they felt that it was a more accurate representation of the country.
The flag of the Shan State consists of the same colors, with the only difference being a white circle at the center.
The country’s first military flag was not rectangular. It had a red background with a yellow circle and three-pointed strips at the end. The yellow loop was surrounded by 7 smaller circles, which represent the most powerful animals on earth such as the peacock (black circle), elephant (red circle), monkey (gold circle), galone – a mythical creature (white), beloo (yellow), lion (green), dragon (light pink). This flag was known as the Hero’s flag and was in use from 1300-1885.
Some historians argue that Myanmar had a flag before Europe. The earliest record of flags in Europe was in the 1500s, whereas in Myanmar, there is evidence of the use of flags as early as the 1300s.
Myanmar is the most ethnically diverse country on earth. As a result, the flag is controversial as some feel that it does not accurately represent the rich diversity of the country.
Although the military government initiated the change of the flag, they did not explain these modifications. As a consequence, whereas most countries associate deep patriotism to their flag, Myanmar’s feel that the new flag is alien to them and does not embody their identity as a society.