Burma and the learner
Bangkok Post - July 24, 2001
Dr Sunait Chutintaranond has a mission to challenge prejudices about Burma by presenting balanced historical perspectives, and to encourage questioning minds Story By HEAMAKARN SRICHARATCHANYA
Every time a conflict between Thailand and Burma arises, the name of Dr Sunait Chutintaranond springs up in the media for his expert opinion on sensitive Thai-Burmese relations. His is considered the voice of reason when most Thais harbour deep mistrust of the Burmese. This grudge has been kept alive in Thai minds by Thailand's nationalistic history textbooks which portray Burma as an arch- enemy.
History, he argues, is not and should not be the tool to perpetuate prejudice and hatred. "And history is more than knowledge of the past. It offers valuable lessons for the future. It teaches us not to judge people from our biases, be they race, ethnicity or our historical past," said Dr Sunait, 45, a lecturer of history at Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Arts and deputy director for academic affairs, Institute of Asian Studies.
As Thailand's top specialist in Burmese history, Dr Sunait's knowledge about "the other side of the story" based on Burmese and foreign historical records of Thai-Burmese relations poses fresh questions on standard Thai history. Among them is the question over the second fall of the Ayutthaya empire in 1767. The Thai court and popular history attributed Burma's quick conquest to the weak character of King Ekatat, Ayutthaya's last monarch. But Burma's historical records suggested otherwise. The Burmese records, he said, offered rich information which often did not appear in Thai chronicles, such as the causes of the wars, itinerary of the Burmese troops, topography of the battlefields and the roles of ethnic minorities in warfare. These records, however, described this war as the longest one in Thai-Burmese history, depicting elaborate military strategies that took 14 months to penetrate Ayutthaya, he said.
"This implies that Ayutthaya was not as easily beaten and King Ekatat not as weak as Thais have been led to believe," he explained. According to Sunait's interpretation, the gap of information might stem from Thai historians not wanting to recognise the enemy's military prowess. Thus, they highlighted the Ayutthaya king's personal weaknesses instead of focusing on Ayutthaya's failed military strategies. Although strictly academic, new historical information has political ramifications; it reminds the Thai public to question what they have been taught as sacred historical truths, thus shaking the basis of Thai nationalism.
In the case of Thai-Burma relations, it nudges the Thais to rise above historical resentment and look at the present situation with more objectivity. Because of his expertise, Dr Sunait was asked to be a consultant to Thailand's much-awaited epic movie Suriyothai, directed by MC Chatrichalerm Yugala, which will be screened nationwide on August 17. Dr Sunait sees his stint on the movie as a chance to share his knowledge beyond the academic realm in order to disseminate more accurate information about Burma through the medium of entertainment.
His interest in history was groomed in childhood by his aunt, Suda Dhasanonda. She did not only read to him about history and turned him into a bookworm, but also made an actor out of him. "My aunt owned an elementary school and she encouraged all students to join a historical play on TV Channel 4 (now Channel 9)," said Sunait. The love for history blossomed when he became a child star for a theatrical troupe, Natthasilp Samphan, run by then National Artist Samphan Phanmanee. In his debutperformance, he played the lead role, Kaew, in Luk Tas (Children of Slaves), a much-loved Thai classic novel on the abolition of slavery in Thailand. Young Sunait was also an avid reader of historical literature including the classic Sam Kok (Romances of the Three Kingdoms), although it is considered difficult reading for youngsters.
"I had fun learning about history in an entertaining manner, but what I learned from literature did not help me much in the history classes," he said with a smile. Few who knew him as a child would expect him to turn out to be a prominent academic, however. "My mother always tutored us for the exams and I was the worst of my siblings," Dr Sunait recalled with amusement. "The only thing I was good at was writing compositions." But that changed when he was in high school at St Gabriel. "I found out I did well in Thai, literature and history. I realised that I was interested in social sciences. That was a turning point for me. "Finding one's calling normally takes time. I am lucky that I discovered myself at an early age," he said.
He was enrolled as a student of history at the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Thammasat University, two years after the 1973 Student Uprising which ended the Thanom-Prapass dictatorship. Democracy was in the air. Banned books were sold openly. Protests were part of university life. And questioning minds were encouraged. Being part of this landmark period in Thai history, he said, widened his views on the world and reshaped his perception of historical pursuits. "I've come to realise that the study of history is not about memorisation of historical records. But it is about posing questions and looking to history to find the answers. "I've also learned that history is related to our present life. And that classroom knowledge will be more meaningful if the students who study the past can make it relevant to the world of the present."
The era of political progressiveness, however, ended abruptly in 1976 with the October 6 massacre when the government viewed the students' movement as too radical. As a result, a large number of Sunait's friends fled for the jungle while Sunait, not as politically active, stayed on to finish his studies. "Looking back, I'm glad that I was not at the core of the protest as many of my friends were. It is true that many of them have become heroes. But to attain their political idealism, they had to sacrifice so much of themselves. And the loss incurred was too great." After graduating with first class honours, he did his MA in Southeast History at Cornell University and returned to teach at Chulalongkorn University. It was not until 1988 when he went back to Cornell again to do his doctorate that he focused his attention on Burma. Thailand and Burma had just renewed relations during that period. He chose to study Burma because Thailand still had very little knowledge about its westerly neighbour. Also, he only had to master one new language, Burmese, because the country's historical records were already available in English. Had he chosen to study Vietnam, Laos or Indonesia, he would not only have their respective languages to learn, but also French or Dutch, their colonisers, he explained. But he found out soon enough that there was no easy route for him.
The grammatical structures of the Burmese language are totally different from Thai. Its verbs, for instance, are put at the end of the sentences which at first he found baffling. Another surprise awaited him at his first class on Burmese Studies. "There was only two persons in class, me and my professor!" Sunait said with a laugh. That showed how little academic interest there was regarding Burma back then, he explained. The Burmese language later opened doors for him to understand the country's history, arts and cultures, geography, economy and politics all of which contribute to a better understanding of Burma as it is now. But what intrigued him most was Burma's ancient military strategies which are unavoidably related to old Siam. Such interest led to his PhD dissertation entitled "Chakravartin", meaning great kings. "I wanted to understand the thinking behind both Thai and Burmese kings, why they waged wars. Few Thai chronicles mentioned this dimension," he explained.
The fact that Burma closed its borders at that time posed a big hurdle for his studies because he could not travel to Burma for research. Also, a lot of historical records and evidence within Burma itself were destroyed during the British invasion. As a result, he had to work primarily on Burma's historical documents at Cornell. Attesting to his ingenuity, his book based on the dissertation about the Thai-Burmese wars which resulted in the second fall of the Ayutthaya empire in 1767 is now in its seventh edition since its first release in 1988.
It was not until 1993 that he had a chance to experience Burma firsthand. He went there with a Foreign Ministry delegation on government business. Despite his academic knowledge on the country, seeing Burma with his own eyes had a powerful effect on him. "I was overwhelmed by its cultural richness," said Sunait. "Like us Thais, the Burmese people are friendly, kind, sincere and religious." Such images are in stark contrast to what the Thai general public think about the Burmese. The eye-opening experience stirred in him a stronger desire to know and understand Burma. He has since become an avid collector of rare Burmese books. "I now have more than 1,000 of them." He modestly adds, however, that he still considers himself green in the Burmeselanguage and that he owes much to his Burmese friends and English-language books in helping him to understand Burmesehistorical documents.
Despite his modesty, Sunait's grasp on palace politics during the Ayutthaya period, down to the details of how people spoke during that time, is accredited with giving the 300-million-baht Suriyothai movie much of its authenticity. The father of two sons, the renowned historian said good-naturedly that he did not expect his children to excel in history. Instead, he wishes that his knowledge would contribute to a more open-minded society for his children to grow up in. Thailand's ability to see the Burmese people and their problems objectively and compassionately would be a good indicator.
"We should not let the Ayutthaya ruins or any movies rule our views of Burma as our neighbour. "We should not allow the media portrayal of Burma as a country of military dictators and drug dealers to dominate our views either. "I don't want the Thai people to dehumanise Burma and its people when we look at them. I don't want Thais to feel only hatred and revenge when they think about Burma.
"I want Thais to uncover Burma the way it really is a culturally rich country with a great history and wonderful people and with a myriad of problems today just like us. "And this can be done if Thai people choose to rise above prejudice."