The 1962 Rangoon University protests, also known as the 7 July Student Uprising (), were a series of marches, demonstrations, and protests against stricter campus regulations, the end of the system of university self-administration, and the policy of the new military regime of General Ne Win. The main events took place in Rangoon, Burma (present-day Yangon, Myanmar), from 7 to 8 July 1962. On 7 July the military regime violently suppressed a student demonstration at Rangoon University attended by some 5,000 students. This resulted in the deaths of more than one hundred, and the arrest of more than 6,000 students according to unofficial sources. However, official government statements put the death toll at 15. In the morning hours of the next day, the military regime blew up the historic Rangoon University Students' Union (RUSU) building, which had been the symbol of the anti-colonial nationalism struggle since the 1920s.
The reaction of the military regime disclosed for the first time its new tough stance against all regime opponents as part of implementing the new state ideology, the Burmese Way to Socialism, which included bringing "almost all of Burma's political, social, and economic life under strict military control". It also demonstrated that the effective suppression of student activism and the de-politicisation of the universities ranked high among the strategic goals of the new government. Students had been in the vanguard of the Burmese anti-colonial nationalist struggle ever since the first student protests in Burma began in 1920. Although the regime had been successful in ending the student protests, the violent reaction nonetheless undermined its support among the broader population and created a symbolic focal point for later student protests in the following decades.
In the aftermath of the violent crackdown on the student protests, the Government of Ne Win immediately closed all universities for four months and sent all students home. Broad institutional reforms introduced by the 1964 University Education Act, then, brought Burma's universities under strict government control and profoundly hampered cohesive open student activism in subsequent decades. In this respect, the result of the 1962 Rangoon University protests ushered a new era of underground student activism in which open mass student involvement in national politics erupted only sporadically, most prominently during the student protests of the mid-1970s and during the 8888 Uprising in 1988.
The reverberation of the events on 7–8 July 1962 can be felt to this day. General Ne Win prominently illustrated the continuing symbolic power associated with the protests when he referred in his departure speech in 1988 to the destruction of the RUSU building as "one of the key episodes" during his time in power. As recently as 2012 around 14 persons were "taken into custody by local authorities ... to prevent them from going ahead with planned events to mark the 50th anniversary" of the 7 July incidents.
Rangoon University Since Rangoon University was founded in 1920 as the first university in the British colony of Burma, student activism persistently influenced the development of Burma throughout entirely different regimes. The academic autonomy of Rangoon University was protected by the Rangoon University Act. Students at varies schools even protested the passing of the University Act leading to the formation, in 1921, of the National College which unlike Rangoon included courses taught in Burmese.
Students in the vanguard of the anti-colonial movement Taking advantage of the fact that students—together with the sangha (monastic communities)—enjoyed the greatest degree of freedom of all Burmese societal groups during colonial times, they positioned themselves in the vanguard of the anti-colonial movement, especially during the anti-colonial struggles of the 1930s. Rangoon University featured prominently as the centre of civil discontent in Burma during the colonial period with all three major strikes against British rule (1920, 1936 and 1938) starting there. It was during this time, when students filled the power vacuum left by the domestic opposition, they were able to develop a strong shared student identity which became the focal point for later political student activities to come. Moreover, higher education proved crucial for elite formation, which was manifested, among other things, in Rangoon University producing some of the most influential political leaders of Burma.
Student activism in post-independence Burma A relatively high degree of autonomy from the government characterised student unions during the parliamentary phase in post-independence Burma. Nonetheless, they were able to exercise considerable political influence because of their close entanglement with the political parties on the national level. However, student activists were divided along party lines. Consequently, all three large student organisations were "affiliated to various political groups that were competing for political power". Overall, student activities exhibited a propensity to act in favour of anti-government activities as left-wing students, who were members or supporters of various left-wing political parties, dominated the student unions.
The coup d’etat in March 1962 and its implication for student activism in Burma Military rule, however, heralded a new phase of student activism in Burma characterised by violent confrontations between protesting students and government forces. On 2 March 1962, the military led by General Ne Win took control of Burma through a coup d'état. Not encountering strong resistance from any segment of Burmese society the new regime seized power with almost no use of violence. The army arrested leading elites of the toppled regime, including "the president, the prime minister, members of the cabinet, and justices of the court" as well as leaders of Burmese ethnic minority groups.
Officially, General Ne Win justified the coup d’etat as an essential step to safeguard the unity of the county because of ongoing negotiations between the central government in Rangoon and leaders of the Shan State who threatened secession from the Union of Burma.
Shortly afterwards, the new military regime formed the Union Revolutionary Council, which was exclusively occupied by high-ranking military personnel led by General Ne Win. After a brief initial phase in which General Ne Win ruled by decree, on 9 March 1962 the Revolutionary Council granted him extensive executive, legislative and judicial powers paving the way toward unrestricted military rule.
Additionally, immediately after the coup d’etat, the military regime began to formulate a new ideological basis on which to ground the new state, already outlining the profound transformation Burmese society was about to experience. The Burmese Way to Socialism symbolised the military regime's answer to the question of Burma's place in the modern world. The socialist government's ideology reflected "the mainstream of modern Burmese thought – nationalism and socialism" and strived after "a highly centralised path to official autarky [self-sufficiency] led by a single party and backed by a well-equipped and loyal military".
The initial reaction of Burmese students towards the new military regime was mixed. Whereas some students supported the new government because of its appealing commitment towards 'socialist democracy' or remained neutral for the time being, others expressed their intention to join the armed struggle of the Communist Party of Burma. The student unions protested against the seizure of power in the beginning, but changed their position very quickly after the left-wing National Unity Front—the affiliated political party of the student unions on the national level—indicated its support for the Ne Win government. As a result, "[b]y 6 March, the Rangoon University Students Union, the All Burma Federation of Student Unions, and the Rangoon Student Union had all endorsed the new regime."
Increasing tensions after the end of the hot-season vacation in May 1962 This, however, would change very soon after the students returned to classes following their hot-season vacation in May 1962. The new government had introduced new hostel regulations, which were stricter than ever before. Some authors, referring to the military background of General Ne Win, even draw parallels to regulations commonly found in military barracks. Nonetheless, the sceptical attitude of General Ne Win towards student indiscipline was nothing new. He had already shown his discomfort in this regard during his time as prime minister of the military caretaker government. This was reflected in a speech given on 2 December 1958 where he "indicated his concern with student unrest".
May 1962 heralded first subtle signs of growing student discomfort, which would culminate into a broad student protest only a couple of weeks later. First, a student was expelled from his hostel because he did not get on well with his warder. On 9 May, some students were arrested for demonstrating at the Dutch Embassy. On 11 May, the Rangoon University Rector had to resign because of pressure from the Revolutionary Council. The former Education Minister of the 1958 Caretaker Government U Kar replaced him. On 17 May, the military regime introduced substantial institutional reforms ending the system of university self-administration. The Revolutionary Council dissolved the university councils of the country's two large universities in Rangoon and Mandalay. Whereas they had been run by a council of professors, scholars and government officials the university councils were now put under direct government control. Some scholars suggest the main reason General Ne Win dissolved the university councils was his conviction that the close interdependence between politics and the higher education system lead to the interference of foreign ideologies in domestic Burmese politics.
In the following weeks, the intensity of the conflict increased slowly but steadily. On 18 June 1962, even tighter hostel rules were introduced stipulating, for example, that "the hostel doors were closed and locked up, prohibiting any student coming in or going out after 8 p.m. and the students had to sign the registerbook to ascertain that they were in."
These rules were intended to control the students' behaviour and to ensure they could not distribute anti-military regime materials on campus or in the city. However, the curfew cut off the students from their supper which mobile food vendors provided between 9:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Consequently, they came on campus to offer their food to the students. The subsequent prohibition by the Burmese authorities of food sales on campus resulted in students going to bed hungry. Some scholars believe this was the trigger which would very soon overstretch the students' tolerance.
Protests and crackdown
Students had already disregarded the 8:00 p.m. curfew for three consecutive nights by breaking through the closed hostel doors, when the Rangoon University Students' Union (RUSU) took over the lead on 6 July 1962. The president of the RUSU, Ba Swe, announced that they would hold a meeting at the RUSU building the next day to protest against the hostel regulations, which the students felt were highly unfair.
Student protests on the campus of Rangoon University on 7 July 1962