LOCATION
Lies between 19 and 24 degrees latitude North, and stretches from 96 to 101 degrees longitude East; covering approximately 64,000 square miles. It is bordered in the north by China, in the east by Laos, in the south by Thailand and the Karenni, and in the west by Burma.

GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES
Bisected north to south by the Salween, one of the longest rivers in Asia. It lies at an average at 2,000 feet above sea level, and the highest point (in the Shan plateau), Mount Loileng, is 8,777 feet, It is composed of broad valleys, thickly wooded mountain ranges and rolling hills, forming scenic landscapes.

CAPITAL
Taunggyi, Keng Tung (South East Shan), Lashio (North East Shan)

POPULATION
Approximately 8-10 million, most of whom are Tai, of the same ethnological stock as Thais and Laotians, plus several other racial groups including Pa-O, Palaung and Wa of the Mon-Khmer stock; and Kachin, Akha and Lahu of the Tibeto-Burma stock.

According to historians, the Shans (who call themselves Tai) lived as an independent people, south of the Yangtse River in China, round about 650 B.C. Certain descendents of those Tai / Shan people are said to have migrated into Burma and the Shan State. Their kins, descended from the same ancestors, now inhabit northeast Assam, Yunnan, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. The Shan people had been gradually pushed south, at about the beginning of the Christian Era by the advance of the Tartars. About 650 A.D. the Shans formed a powerful state in Nanchao, the mordern Yunnan, and could resist Chinese attempts at conquest until 1253.During the years 754 to 763 A.D. the Nanchao Shans extended their rule into the upper basin of the Irrawaddy River and came into contact with the Pyu who were then rulers of the Upper Burma Plains. The Pyu were a race which later merged with others to form the Burmese. Trade and commerce and internal and external relations developed through these contacts, with Nanchao and with China. Even in those days some Shans ventured beyond Upper Burma into Lower Burma to mingle and live together with the Mons.

Even before the fall of the Nanchao Kingdom, the Shans had crossed Upper Burma to establish the once powerful. Ahom Kingdom, in the northeastern part of India now known as Assam. The Shans moved into the area now known as the Shan State in large numbers and settled down and were well established by the time King Anawrahta ascended his throne in the 11 th century.

The Shans tried desperately to defend their city and their kingdom of Nanchao from the Chinese attackers, but in 1253 the Kingdom fell into the hands of the Chinese. The Shans, unwilling to live under foreign domination, move towards the south in strength, to seek freedom. They joined up with the Shans already settled in the area, and in 1262 took over Chiengrai, in 1296 Cheingmai and in 1315 took Ayuddhya, and established their own kingdoms. In Upper Burma the Shans established the Kingdoms of Mogaung (Mong Kawng), and Mohnyin (Mong Yang), and in the Shweli basin, the Mao Kingdom.

Looking at the relationships between the Shans and the Burmese, we note that King Anawrahta ascended the Burmese throne in Pagan in 1044 A.D. and during his 43 year reign, he was able to unify Burma under his rule for the first time in history. During this time he sent detachments of his army into the Shan State to ensure the security of his Kingdom. However, he had no intention of annexing the Shan State. He merely wished to defend the low lying plains of Burma from raids by the Shans. For this purpose he established a string of fortified towns along the length of the foothills. Relations between Shans and Burmese became friendlier under Anawrahta's successors, but the Kingdom of Pagan fell to the Chinese attackers in 1287 A. D. and was destroyed. Then in1312 A. D. a Shan Prince took the Kingly Title of “Thihathu” and ascended the Burmese throne in the City of Pinya.

The (Mao) Shans who had established Kingdoms in Mohnyin, Mogaung and the Shweli areas then overran the Kingdoms of Pinya and Sagaing in 1364 A.D. After they had withdrawn, a Shan Prince from Ava, whose title was Thadominbya, combined Pinya and Sagaing and established a new Kingdom, over which he ruled. The Shans ruled Upper Burma from 1282 A.D. to 1531 A.D.

In 1527 A.D. due to the attacks of the Chaofa of Mohnyin on Ava, the Shans and Burmese of the area left their homes and descended southwards towards Toungoo, where they established a new city and Kingdom. Thohanbwa, the son of the Chaofa of Moehnyin who became King of Ava, was soon assassinated due to his lack of skill in statecraft and administration, and in 1543 A.D. Onbaung Khun Maing succeeded him on the throne.

Meanwhile from Toungoo, in the year 1555 A.D. King Bayinnaung succeeded in unifying the whole of Burma for the second time in the history of Burma . He was able to “persuade' the Shan Chaofas the to submit his suzerainty. In accordance with the traditions of the earlier Burmese Kings, the administrative setup was that the Shan Chaofas who submitted to the suzerainty of the Burmese King retained full powers to rule over their own State. Because of this relationship was based on mutual respect, the Shans and the Burmese developed a cooperation that was very close. The military forces of Burma include contingents of Shan soldiers who proved their valour on the foreign battlefields.

That is why Shans and Burmese had lived closely together, like brethren, till the fall of Upper Burma to the British in 1886 . So close were the relationships between the Shans and the Burmese that after the fall of Upper Burma, the Shan Choafas,with the intention of restoring freedom to Burma and to the Shan State, chose the Burmese Princes Limbin and Saw Yan Naing to head their confederacy, and started waging war against the British. It was, of course a vain effort. The noble intentions could not be achieved. Instead, the Shan State ended up being carved up in 1893 and confined within its present borders, for the convenience o British administration. From 1886 to 1893, the British Government administered the Shan State by following the traditional methods adopted by Burmese Kings. They recognized Chaofas by presenting them with Sanads , and allowing them to administer their states in accordance with Shan States in accordance with Shan State custom. However, they introduced the British Frontier Area Service “Assistant Superintendents” into the Shan State.

Between 1897 and 1922 home rule was gradually introduced into Burma, and one Shan Chaofa was appointed as representative of the Shans, to the Governor's Advisory Council, to advise the Governor on matters pertaining to the Shan State . Then from 1922 to 1935, the Dyarchy Government came into being in Burma, and the Federated Shan States was established in the Shan State. The British Commissioner was appointed Chairman of the Federated Shan States Council and the Chaofas were given the privilege of discussing and advising the Commissioner on administration of the General Administration. In 1935 a Government with 91 departments was introduced in Burma. In the Shan States, thanks to the efforts of the Chaofas, a Permanent Executive, selected by the Federal Council, came into being. The Permanent Executive was able to have frequent meetings with the Governor to discuss General Administration matters. Thus the administration of the Federated Shan States was slowly swept within the ambit of the powers of the Shan States Federal Council. By the Burma Act of 1935 the Shan State was administratively separated from Burma proper and put under a second administrative circle. Then in 1942 during the Second World War, the Japanese invaded Burma and the Shan State and occupied the entire country. But even the Japanese treated the Shan State as distinct from Burma. The Shans have always been a distinct entity, free and independent for most of their history.

The Shans after the Second World War

At the end of the Second World War, the British Armies reoccupied Burma. Before the return of the Burma Government –in –exile that had taken refuge in Simla, India, the whole of Burma, including the Shan State came under military administration. During the Military Administration period, civilian matters were dealt with by the Civil Administration Service (Burma), headed by military officers, and known by the initials CAS (B). CAS (B)'s primary function was to provide aid and assistance to victims of war, and to restore the war shattered economy of the country.

The Shan Chaofas, other Shan leaders and the Shan people as a whole had endured great suffering during the war, but had emerged with heightened political awareness. The principles embodied in of the Atlantic Charter, the Teheran Declaration and the Charter of the United Nations acted as beacons for the leaders of the Shan State. They yearned for the right to self-determination for every nationality. The Japanese had during their occupation of the Shan States, unilaterally and forcibly handed over the eastern Shan States of Kengtung and Mong Pan to Thailand and this act together with the oppression of people in general by the Japanese military, had aroused nationalism and the desire for independence in the Shan State and had caused the Shan people to rise against the Fascists, in the same way as the Burmese had done in Burma proper.

The Burma Government –in –exile headed by the Government of Burma, Sir Reginald Dorman Smith eventually returned to Burma. Sir Reginald, who appeared to be totally unaware of the great changes in the political outlook and circumstances that had taken place in the post-war period in Burma, brought along with him a bundle of plans drawn up in Simla, for the revitalization of the former expansionist colonial administration. Among these plans, the one which directly affected the Shan State was entitled “Frontier Areas Administration”. Up until the outbreak of the Second World War, the frontier areas, comprising the Arakan Hills, the Chin Hills, the Naga Hills, the Kachin Hills, the Shan Plateau and the Salween District were designated as Reserved Areas and placed under the direct rule of the Governor. Various types of administration were employed for those areas, depending on the stage of development each area had attained. The plan brought by Sir Reginald Dorman Smith, however, would abolish the various types of administration and replace them with a single type. Whereas in former days, there were traditional leaders such as the Chin Taungoks, the Kachin Duwas, the Shan Chaofas and the Karen Sawkes who administered their own areas, the new plan would replace these traditional leaders with appointed advisory. committees at various levels, ostensibly to bring the administration closer to democracy. Although the new system of administration appeared, superficially at least, to be progressive, in actuality it was devised to ensure a secure foothold for the expansionist colonial administration.

It was inevitable that independence would have to be granted to Burma proper, which had just emerged, with morale raised, from its successful war of resistance against Fascism. The real reason for the Frontier Areas Administration plan was that when the inevitable occurred and independence had to be granted to Burma proper, the frontier areas would form a single unit which would be withheld from the grant of independence.

The traditional rulers such as the Chaofas, Duwas and Taungoks who, heretofore, had ruled according to Customary Law of their own, would under the Frontier Areas Administration system have had to share the administration their areas with the advisory councils at various levels, thus reducing the powers they formerly enjoyed, and at the same time being transformed from being the chief administrator to no more than the official collector of revenue. This was the reason why the Chaofas, Duwas, and the Taungoks refused to accept the Frontier Areas Administration rules.

Everyone understood that Burma proper would undoubtedly gain independence in the near future. However, neither the Administration of the Governor of Burma, nor the British Government would comment on the future status of the Frontier Areas of which the Shan State formed a part. Every available trick was being utilized to exclude the Frontier Areas from the Independence that the British Government was going to be forced to grant to Burma proper. The expansionist colonial government tried its best to cut the political communications between the Frontier Areas and Burma proper, by attempting to sow division and discord between the different peoples, hoping thereby to ensure that there would be no coming together of the two sides.

However, the forward-looking Shan Chaofas made preparations for a conference to be convened somewhere in the Shan State, to be attended by leaders from the Frontier Areas and from Burma proper. Thus came into being the First Panglong Conference in 1946. British officials in the Shan State tried to prevent the issuance of invitations to attend the Conference, to the Burmese representatives led by General Aung Sun.

The idea and spirit of a Union took root at the first Panglong Conference. The leaders of the Frontier Areas became united. It was decided that a second Panglong Conference would be held the next year.

The struggle for independence intensified in Burma. This resulted in the Aung San-Atlee Agreement on the formation of an Interim government for Burma and for the summoning of a Constituent Assembly. The Aung Sun –Atlee Agreement made the question of a union between the Shan State and Burma an extremely urgent matter. On what terms would a union be carried out? Would the Shan State be participating in the soon to be summoned Constituent Assembly? The Shan Chaofas and other leaders of the Shan State needed urgently to come up with the answers to these questions.

In accordance with the Panglong Agreement, the Chaofa of Mongpawn State was selected to be a Member of the Governor's Executive Council and Counsellor for the Frontier Areas, and Sama Duwa Sinwa Naw and U Vum Ko Hau were selected as Deputy Councellors for the Kachin Hills and the Chin Hills . In this way the desire of the leaders of the Frontier Areas to co-operate with Burma to more speedily achieve freedom was initially put into effect.

In accordance with point 8 (d) of the Aung Sun–Atlee Agreement, the British Government set up the Frontier Areas Committee of Enquiry headed by Labor Party M .P. Col. Rees–Williams to enquire into the best method of associating the Frontier peoples with the working out of the new Constitution of Burma. According to Point 1 of the Aung San –Atlee Agreement, in Burma proper, representatives would be elected by popular vote under the 1935 Act. In the Frontier Areas, however, there had never been any experience with popular elections, and in the extremely short period of time available, election by popular vote was not feasible. The leaders of the Frontier Areas therefore agreed to select and appoint representatives in accordance with the circumstances prevailing in each area. The Federal Council was replaced by a Shan State Council composed of Chaofas and an equal number of representatives of the people to form the electoral body. The Frontier Areas Committee of Enquiry recommended that Shan State sent 25 representatives to the Constituent Assembly.