Burma's Rough Road to Independence

U Nu held the post of the first Prime Minister of Burma between 1948 and 1962 under a constitution providing for a multi-party electoral system. He was however chosen to occupy the post by accident because of the tragic assassination of his younger friend Aung San in July 1947. His dream had been to become a writer. Therefore, he only reluctantly participated in politics in the pre-war independence struggle against British rule. Like many other activists, Nu was jailed in 1940. He used his stay in Insein Prison to write his only novel set in the independence struggle. For the first time, this book presents the English text of the novel in book form. It was only once before serialised by a Burmese magazine during Nu's time as premier in the 1950s. The text of the novel is framed by an account of Nu's activities as a man of letters, a politician, and a Buddhist. The introduction provides information about Nu's early activities as a writer, translator, and publisher and illustrates the genesis of the Burmese original of the novel which was published shortly before Burma gained a nominal independence from Japan in August 1943. The postscript portrays his life as a writer, politician, and Buddhist during the time of his premiership and his eventful life until his death in 1995. The book presents a bulk of material that has not been published yet and sheds new light not only on Nu's colourful personality and life but also on the still unfinished rough road of today's Myanmar to become a peaceful independent country.