Aung San and Struggle for Independence in Burma

In the year 1933 Aung San enrolled Rangoon University. Very soon he became a student leader. He was also elected to the executive committee of the Rangoon University Students’ Union. Rangoon University Students’ Union is popularly known as RUSU. After this he also became editor of their magazine Oway i.e. Peacock’s Call.

In the year 1936, he and one of his friends U Nu was threatened with throwing out from the university. The reason was they refused to disclose the name of the writer of the article Hell Hound At Large. In this article a senior University official was criticized and that was the reason why other officials were offended.

This incident resulted to the strike of Second University Students’. Consequently the university authorities abjured their expulsion orders. Aung San was elected president of both the All-Burma Students Union i.e. ABSU and the RUSU in the year 1938. ABSU was constituted after the strike disseminate to Mandalay. In 1938 only, Aung San was appointed as a student spokesperson on the Rangoon University Act Amendment Committee by the Government.

Aung San was studying law but in October 1938, he left his law classes and entered active national politics. He was known to be as anti-British, and faithfully anti-imperialist. He became a Thakin i.e. master or lord. This was a politically inspired title. At the time he joined the Dobama Asiayone i.e. Our Burma Union, he acted as their general secretary. He maintained the post till te hmonth of August in 1940. In the men time he helped coordinate a series of countrywide strikes. Soon he became popular as Htaung thoun ya byei ayeidawbon.

Bama-htwet-yat Gaing which was another nationalist organization, form with the help of Aung San. He found this organization by forming an alliance between the ABSU, the Dobama, Dr Ba Maw's Sinyètha i.e. Poor Man’s Party and politically active monks. He also became its general secretary.