Myanmar Flag

The flag of Myanmar, formerly Burma, has a red background with a blue square in the top left corner. Inside the square is a white emblem. The emblem consists of a cog wheel and a paddy ear surrounded with 14, five-pointed stars.

The Blue symbolizes peace and endurance. The red represents courage and gallantry, and the white symbolizes purity and honor. Together, the cogwheel and ears of rice symbolize the country's industry and agriculture, as well as the union of the workers and the peasant class. The 14 stars above the 14 cogs symbolize the 14 states that form the Union of Myanmar. This describes the Myanmar flag.

The flag of Myanmar and Burma was enacted on January 3, 1974, the same year that Burma became the Socialist Republic of the Burmese Federation. Since then the state has changed its name, but not its flag. Myanmar created the basic design of its national flag after being granted independence from Britain on January 4, 1948. The original Burma flag had a red base and a blue square with a large white star surrounded by five smaller stars. The stars were replaced with the current emblem in 1974, but the flag was still considered Burma’s flag. This flag can be flown both nationally and civilly by its citizens.

Conflict between the Burmans and the Mons makes up most of Burma’s early history. Wars with British India made up most of the nineteenth century. The first war in 1824, Britain took control of the coastal regions of Tenasserim and Arakan. Britain took the Irrawaddy delta during the second war in 1852. Britain took all of Burma during the third war in 1885. In 1942, Japan captured Burma. Aung San led the revolt against Japanese rule. In 1947 Aung San was murdered. Burma was granted independence in 1948. U Nu was the first prime minister. General Ne Win ruled Burma in a military dictatorship from 1962 to 1988. In 1989, Burma changed its name to the Union of Myanmar. The National League for Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of Aung San, won the elections in 1990. However the military annulled the result. Aung San Suu Kyi was under house arrest until 2002.

Individuals can find more information about the Burma and Myanmar flag available on different websites on the internet.