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Today, I found another peice of writing of mine among the postings on the Usenet "soc.culture.burma" titled: "An Inclusive Name for a Country: How Others Did It", posted on April 25, 2004. This is another nostalgic piece of writing.
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An Inclusive Name for a Country: How Others Did It

By Zomi

4/25/2004
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AN INCLUSIVE NAME FOR A COUNTRY:
How Others Did It
==============================

When we look at the names of countries, we find at least two kinds:

1. Exclusive Names
2. Inclusive Names

[Some of my friends want me to show the relevant website URLs. If
these URLs disturb you, please feel free to skip them.]

1. EXCLUSIVE NAMES

Some countries bear the name of a dominant ethnic group and exludes
the names of other lesser ethnic groups.

Examples:

(1) Burma/Bamar/Myanmar (1948-present)

The successive military governments of Myanmar (in power since 1962)
have been claiming that in Myanmar there are 135 ethnic groups under 8
major national ethnic races: (1) Kachin, (2) Kayah, (3) Kayin, (4)
Chin/Zomi, (5) Bamar/Myanmar, (6) Mon, (7) Rakhine, and (8) Shan.

[I challenge the listing of the 135 ethnic groups (which includes the
same groups twice or thrice, and excludes some groups, etc., making it
less than 135 if you take out those needless repetitions, and making
it more than 135 if you take in those groups that are excluded), but
that calls for another article, which I hope I will write sometime
later.]

http://www.myanmars.net/people/ethnic.groups.htm http://www.metelaviv.co.il/ethnicgroups.htm http://www.journeysmyanmar.com/123_ethnic.htm

http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=0qod805i3h9g9t8e1kmv00g6ehur3rr2m9%404ax.com&oe=UTF-8&output=gplain

http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=mdpd80t4bnh4pe9i4p2trihmm2ef0bve0v%404ax.com&oe=UTF-8&output=gplain

The name of the country is taken from that of the dominant group,
Bamar or Myanmar. The seven states are based on the seven non-Myanmar
major national ethnic races, and the seven divisions are for the most
dominant major national ethnic race, the Bamar/Myanmar people. The
name of the country, Myanmar, excludes the names of other ethnic
races.

(2) The Russian Federation (1992-present)

The Russian Federation consists of 89 constituent components: 21
republics (respubliki), 6 territories (kraya), 49 regions (oblasti), 2
federal cities (federalniye goroda), 1 autonomous region (avtonomnaya
oblast), and 10 autonomous areas (avtonomniye okruga).

http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/russian/const/ch3.html http://www.constitution.ru/en/10003000-04.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subdivisions_of_Russia

The name was derived from that of the dominant race, Russian. The name
excludes the names of all other ethnic groups.

(3) The British Empire (circa 1600 - circa 1960)

At its height, the British Empire consisted of 16 territories in
Africa, 21 in Asia, 4 in Europe, 25 in the Americas and Atlantic, 9 in
the Pacific, 1 in Antartic. It was said that the sun never set on the
British Empire. See <http://www.friesian.com/british.htm>.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Empire http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_British_Empire http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pax_Britannica
http://www.britishempire.co.uk/
http://www.friesian.com/british.htm http://www.originofnations.org/British_Empire/The%20Sun%20Never%20Set%20on%20the%20British%20Empire/The%20Sun%20Never%20Set%20on%20the%20British%20Empire.htm

The whole British Empire was dominated by the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland. The name of the Empire was taken from
that of Great Britain.

(4) The Roman Kingdom/Republic/Empire (753 BC - AD 554)

In the Roman Republic (and the Roman Empire), there were many
countries and races, such as Rome (Roman), Greece (Greek), Syria
(Syrian), Israel (Israelite), Egypt (Egyptian), Libya (Libyan),
Carthage (Carthagian), Spain (Spaniard), Gaul, Britain (Briton or
British), and Cyprus (Cyprian).

Roman Kingdom : 753 BC - 509 BC
Roman Republic: 509 BC - 27 BC
Roman Empire: 27 BC - AD 554

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Ancient_Rome http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Rome http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_institutions_of_Rome http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_province http://www.livius.org/gi-gr/governor/provinces.html http://www.livius.org/pp-pr/procurator/procurator.html http://www.livius.org/pp-pr/prefect/prefect.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Roman_province http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_province http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senatorial_Roman_province

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Senate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_assemblies http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magistrate

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_justification_of_the_state

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Tables

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Republic
the Roman Republic (509 B.C. - 31 B.C.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collegiality
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consul

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrician
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plebeians

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Republican_Roman_Consuls http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Early_Imperial_Roman_Consuls http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Late_Imperial_Roman_Consuls

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Empire http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Roman_Emperors http://www.roman-emperors.org/impindex.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Emperors http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Byzantine_Empire-related_topics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julio-Claudian_family_tree

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Savoy

The republic (and the empire) derived its name from the dominant
group, Rome (the Romans).


2. INCLUSIVE NAMES

Some countries tried to include all the constituents (lands or races)
in their names. We see:

(1) Countries bearing the name that includes the NAMES of all the
major ethnic races (e.g., Pakistan, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia);

(2) Countries bearing the name that includes all the major ethnic
races and countries (e.g., the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland);

(3) Countries bearing the name that indicates all the major political
areas (e.g., the United States of America);

(4) Countries bearing the name that indicates the social /political
system of the time and does not indicate any ethnic race at all (e.g.,
the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics);

(5) Countries bearing the name of an impartial, even insignificant
place or thing (e.g., Canada);

(6) Countries bearing the name that is acceptable to all and does not
indicate any ethnic races (e.g., Switzerland).

Examples:

(1) The Islamic Republic of Pakistan (1947-present)

The word "Pakistan" was coined in 1933 by Choudhury Rahmat Ali
(1895-1951), in Cambridge, England. It is composed of letters taken
from the names of the homelands of his people.

[P]unjab
[A]fghania
[K]ashmir
[I]ran
[S]ind
[T]urkharistan
[A]fghanistan
Baluchista[N]

http://www28.brinkster.com/pakistan4ever/wordpakistan.html http://paknews.com/articles/1999/jan/art1jan-29.html http://www.bartleby.com/61/79/P0017900.html
http://www.uh.edu/~sriaz/pakistan/
http://www.uh.edu/~sriaz/thecountry/plotp/ http://www.shelleys.demon.co.uk/Ali.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan

All the different ethnic groups are Pakistanis and there is no
separate, specific Pakistani ethnic group.

(2) Czechoslovakia (1918-1992)

Czechoslovakia was a republic of the Czechs and the Slovaks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czechoslovakia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Czechoslovakia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czechs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_Republic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Czech_Republic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovaks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovakia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Slovakia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moravia


(3) The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1945-1992)

The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia consisted of:

6 republics (Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia,
Slovenia, and Montenegro);

2 autonomous republics within Serbia (Kosovo and Vojvodina)

Yugoslavia = Yug + Slavia
...........= South + Slavia

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/yugotimeline1.html http://cidc.library.cornell.edu/dof/chron/chrontit.htm http://www.srpska-mreza.com/library/facts/after-WWII.html http://www.titoville.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_Federal_Republic_of_Yugoslavia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_People%27s_Republic_of_Yugoslavia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_People's_Republic_of_Yugoslavia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Yugoslavia

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Yugoslavia http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Slavs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavs

http://www.serbia-info.com/enc/history/sfrj.html

"Yugoslavia" is a name that embraces all the Slavs of the South.


(4) United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
(1922-present)

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is composed
of 4 "countries":
(1) England
(2) Wales
(3) Scotalnd
(4) Northern Ireland

Historically, the United Kingdom (1801 and 1922) is composed of
(1) Great Britain
(2) Northern Ireland

First, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801)
Second, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
(1922)

Great Britain (1707) is composed of
(1) Britain
(2) Scotland

Britain (1536) is composed of
(1) England
(2) Wales

Therefore, we can present it as below:

The United Kingdom:
(1) Great Britain
....(A) Britain
........(a) England
........(b) Wales
....(B) Scotland
(2) Northern Ireland

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Ireland http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subdivisions_of_the_United_Kingdom http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_topics

http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Isles http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Islands http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Britain http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Great_Britain

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britain

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_England

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotland http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Scotland

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ireland http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Ireland http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_States_(1171-present) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Ireland

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute_of_Rhuddlan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_Union_1536

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_Kingdom

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Britain http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_England http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Wales http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Scotland http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Ireland

"United Kingdom" is not the name of an ethnic group. It is the name of
the country and it includes all the 4 constituent countries.

(5) The United States of America (1776-present)

The United States of America (1959-present) is composed of 50 states.
It also includes 1 federal district (District of Columbia, where
Washington, the capital city, is situated), 3 territories (American
Samoa, Guam and the Virgin Islands), and 2 commonwealths (Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands).

http://www.nga.org/cda/files/AM02WORKFORCE.pdf
http://www.50states.com/
http://www.macmeekin.com/Library/terr+commonw2.htm
http://www.doi.gov/oia/
http://www.doi.gov/oia/commerce/comstatpage.htm http://www.eurisles.com/Textes/statut_iles/AmericaFR.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_divisions_of_the_United_States http://www.doi.gov/bureau-indian-affairs.html

America was named after an Italian man called Amerigo Vespucci. There
is no ethnic group called American.

(6) The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1917-1991)

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1940-1991) consisted of:

15 Union Republics;

20 Autonomous Republics (16 within the Russian Federative Soviet
Socialist Republic, 1 within the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, 2
within the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1 within the Azerbaijan
Soviet Socialist Republic);

8 Autonomous Regions (5 within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, 1 within the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1 within
the Ajerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, 1 within the Tajik Soviet
Socialist Republic);

? Autonomous Areas (?)

http://www.oefre.unibe.ch/law/icl/r100000_.html http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/ussr.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_Soviet_Union http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1977_Soviet_Constitution http://www.thisnation.com/library/ussr.html

"Soviet" is not the name of an ethnic group. It means "council".
Although the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic was the
dominant one, the name of the whole country did not contain the word
"Russia". "USSR" or "Soviet Union" was the impartial, inclusive name
for all the subjects.

(5) The Canadian Confederation (1867-present)

The name "Canada" derives from the Huron-Iroquois word Kanata, which
means village or settlement.

The Canadian Confederation (1999-present) consists of
10 provinces
3 territories

The official languages are English and French.

http://www.collectionscanada.ca/8/11/r11-203-e.html http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/cpsc-ccsp/sc-cs/o5_e.cfm http://canadaonline.about.com/library/bl/blconfed.htm
http://canada.gc.ca

The name of the country does not do any discrimination against any
ethnic race.

(8) The Swiss Confederation (1291/1848-present)

The Swiss Confederation (1978-present) consists of
23 cantons (= 20 full-cantons + 6 half-cantons).

There are 4 major languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh. The
first three are official languages.

The name of the country in 6 languages:

German: Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft
French: Confédération Suisse
Italian: Confederazione Svizzera
Romansh: Confederaziun Svizra

English: Swiss Confederation
Latin: Confoederatio Helvetica

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Switzerland http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantons_of_Switzerland

http://www.about.ch/

http://www.genealogienetz.de/reg/CH/history.html

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14358a.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empire

Although German is the most dominant language, the official name of
the country is Confoederatio Helvetica, which is in Latin, and which
is very impartial, because Latin is a dead language. (We could use a
name in Pali, a dead language, for the name of our country!)


WHAT SHOULD WE DO ABOUT THE NAME OF OUR COUNTRY?

When the Constitution of Burma was drafted in 1947, nobody complained
about the exclusive name Burma, because all the non-Burman members
respected and trusted Bogyoke Aung San. Now that our beloved and
respected Bogyoke Aung San is no more with us, and that the non-Burman
national races have been suffering a lot, we should think about the
name seriously, although we know that having an appropriate inclusive
name will not solve all the problems.

In the British Empire and the Roman Empire, the British and the Romans conquered other countries and ruled over them. Therefore it is
understandable that the name of the conqueror was used as the name of
the whole empire.

But the Myanmar people never conquered and subjugated the Zomi (Chin)
people, and vice versa. Therefore, why should the Myanmar people act
as if they conquered and subjugated the Zomi people? (Thank God that
most Myanmar people are not hostile like the SPDC.)

When I read the New Light of Myanmar, I have noticed that the SPDC has
been quietly using less and less of "Union of Myanmar" and using more
and more of "Myanmar". In the past, we saw "the Revolutionary Council
of the Union of Burma" or "the Union of Burma Revolutionary Council" (1962-1974), and "the Council of State of the Union of Burma Socialist Republic" or "the Council of State of the Socialist Republic of the
Union of Burma" (1974-1988). But now we find that there is less and
less mention of "the Union of Myanmar". The role of the non-Myanmar
national races in the "Union" has been quietly ignored.

At a time when the SPDC tries to -- or pretends to try to -- draft a
new Constitution, we should think about finding a name that will best
describe or represent all the national races of our country.

The Voice of a Zomi

Click here to Reply

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