Shan state

 

The Shan people are an ethnic minority and have their own culture and language, distinguishing themselves from the dominant Burma’s culture.

 

Shan today constitutes the largest state in Myanmar, situated in the northeast of the country. Shan bounded on the northeast by China, on the southeast and south by Laos and Thailand, on the north by Kachin State, Sagaing and Karen State on the south. Shan state can reach a height of over 2,000 meters (6,562 ft). During the day it is pleasantly warm, but at night the temperatures can drop dramatically due to the altitude.

 

The Burmese Shan are a large group of civilized people who migrated south from China in the twelfth century and established three small states in Myanmar (Burma). The Shan language belongs to the southwestern group of tonal languages. Most Shan speak the Shan language and are bilingual in Burmese. The Shan language, spoken by about 5 or 6 million, is closely related to Thai and Lao, and is part of the family of Tai languages.

 

The area is about 155,457.45 sq. km. occupying a quarter of Myanmar’s total land area, it is the largest of all states and regions in the country. The population is about 4,598,000. The area is 60,155 square miles and the Capital is Taunggyi. The State Day is 7th February. The largest religion is Buddhism (99.1%).

 

Shan state is famous for its garden produce as the temperate climate lends itself to growing a variety of fruits and vegetables. So, agriculture is the main economic activity of Shan State, principal crops being paddy, wheat, chili, cotton, potatoes, groundnut, sesame, pulses, tea and Virginia tobacco. Shan State's cold climate also allows cultivation of oranges, peaches, pears, damsons, apples, grapes, onions, pineapples, vegetables, and Thanatphet Trees.

Vast areas in the State remain unreached by essential public services. It is therefore highly plausible that the socio-economic situation may actually be worse than indicated by available data

 

Conflicts:

The Shan have been engaged in an independence struggle that has led to intermittent civil war within Burma for decades. Today, the Shan have their own army who fight against the current Burmese military regime. The Burmese military forcibly maintains control over the country's various ethnic groups, especially the Shan, who wish to have equal importance in government and commerce.

In 2005 the Shan State National Army (SSNA) was abolished after its surrender to the Burmese government. But some SSNA units are still engaged in guerrilla warfare against the Burmese Army. During conflicts, Shan civilians are often burned out of their villages and forced to flee into Thailand. There, they are not given refugee status, and often work as undocumented laborers.

Whether or not there is an ongoing conflict, the Shan are subject to depredations by the Burmese regime; in particular, young men may be conscripted into the Burmese Army indefinitely, or enslaved to do road work for a number of months, with no wages and little food. The horrific conditions inside Burma have led to a massive exodus of young Shan males to neighboring Thailand, where they typically find low-paid work in construction. Shan females are also brought into Thailand by human trafficking gangs where they end up in the prostitution business.