1930s
An Old Flag of Myanmar
room Myanmar
The current tricolour was first adopted in the 1930s by Dobama Asiayone (the ultra-nationalist "We Burmans" association). Its design was intitally inspired by the 1919 flag of the Irish Republic. While the Dobama placed a peacock at the flag's centre, leftist elements also introduced a hammer-and-sickle version. The flag of British Burma also had a peacock, but one that was off-set and overshadowed by the Union Jack in the top left corner.
During World War Two, when the occupying Japanese military government declared Burma independent from Britain and established the "State of Burma" (1943-45), the nationalist Dobama flag was used as the state flag with the traditional flag of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, this time with a star at its centre.
This painting depicts the August 1943 "independence" ceremony held at Government House, Rangoon, during the Japanese occupation of Burma to usher in the new "State of Burma" (1943-45) government.