Prome

Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R)

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Map of Myanmar

Prome (प्रोम) also known as and Pyè or Pyay is principal town of Pyay Township in the Bago Region in Myanmar.

Location

Pyay is located on the bank of the Irrawaddy River, 260 km north-west of Yangon.It is an important trade center for the Ayeyarwady Delta, Central and Upper Myanmar and the Rakhine (Arakan) State. The British Irrawaddy Flotilla Company established the current town in the late 19th century on the Irrawaddy as a transshipment point for cargo between Upper and Lower Burma.

Origin

The name "Pyay" means "country" in Burmese, and refers to the ruins of the main city of the Pyu city-states, Sri Ksetra, which is located 8 km to the south-east of modern Pyay and is in the village of Hmawa.

Variants

• Prome (प्रोम) (AS, p.918)
• Pyè
• Pyay

History

Much debate surrounds the construction of Sri Ksetra. Htin Aung suggests that Pyu might have been founded in 78 CE, based on the Sanskrit / Pyu Era. D. G. E. Hall and Gordon Luce, however, claim that civilisation of the Irrawaddy Valley could not have been possible before the 4th century, thus, attributing the founding of Sri Ksetra to 638, from which the current Burmese Kawza Era begins.

Sri Ksetra was the capital of the Pyu dynasty of Vikrama. The city was circular with walls enclosing about 46 km2 , making it the largest walled city in Southeast Asia during its peak. The city contained both housing and farms, as is evident from the remains of waterways and tanks which have been discovered.

The Chinese pilgrims Xuanzang and Yijing mentioned Sri Ksetra in their mid-7th-century accounts. It is not known when precisely the Pyu abandoned Sri Ksetra and moved northward. It is speculated that their decline was due to the growth of the Irrawaddy river delta, cutting it off from coastal trade, and also from Mon and later Tai Shan incursions. Burmese chronicles state that when Anawrahta invaded the southern parts of modern-day Myanmar in 1057, he ordered the ruins of Sri Ksetra to be destroyed to prevent rebels from sheltering there. The Burmese came to call the old Pyu center Pyi. The extensive ruins have been the subject of intensive archaeological investigation.

Called Prome by the British (after the name that appears in the Portuguese texts of the XVIIth century), the city became part of British territory after the Second Anglo-Burmese War in 1853. The town was taken by the British in 1825 during the Battle of Prome and again in 1852, on both occasions with hardly any opposition. In 1862, it was almost entirely destroyed by fire, and was afterwards relaid out in straight and broad streets. It was erected into a municipality in 1874, and since then great improvements have been made, including waterworks. During World War II the city was the site of the Battle of Prome. The city was later retaken by the British Army in May 1945.

Indian troops of the 20th Division search for Japanese at the badly damaged station in Prome, 3 May 1945.

To the south and south-east, the town is closed in by low pagoda-topped hills, on one of which stands the conspicuous gilded Shwesandaw Pagoda. The Shwesandaw Pagoda is a pagoda in the center of Pyay. It is the terminus for a railway from Yangon, which runs through the district.

To the west of Pyay, crossing Irrawaddy river through Nawaday bridge, stands the Shwebontha Muni Pagoda. The Buddha statue is one of three replica of the Maha Myat Muni Buddha statue, believe to date back 554 B.C. when the king Sandar Thuriy rules.

The Nehru Brigade held Irrawaddy

Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon writes....Towards end of 1944, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose gave Dhillon the command of 4th Guerrilla Regiment also called the Nehru Brigade. His regiment distinguished itself in the battlefield. The Nehru Brigade was to hold the Irrawaddy River from Nyaungu in north to Pagan in south, both towns inclusive, and to hold the enemy crossing the Irrawaddy at those places. (p.268)

Dhillon formed an advance party from 9th Battalion and left for Pagan on January 29, 1945. (p.265)

Dhillon ordered the move of battalions to leave Myingyan by February 4, 1945 so as to be in their respective positions by February 8, 1945.(p.268)

Dhillon ensured all the arrangements. The Nehru Brigade held the Irrawaddy as planned. Dhillon kept his Headquarters at Tetthe during this operation. (p.269)

On February 12, 1945 the enemy planes carried out saturation bombing on INA defences. (p.286)

On 13/14 February night enemy launched an assault in front of the 8th battalion deployed at Pagan. (p.288)

These assaults were failed and the enemy had to withdraw. The Nehru Brigade kept on holding the Irrawaddy and this was the first victory of INA. (p.289)

After the failure at Pagan the enemy tried another assault crossing opposite Nyaungu by using outboard motors and rubber boats. This assault was also failed and hundreds of enemies were killed or drowned. Having failed the enemy had no other choice but to retreat. This was another victory of INA. (p.289)

This could not sustain and INA had to withdraw and Dhillon had to proceed to Pagan.(p.296)

Dhillon reached Popa on February 17, 1945. on the following day, 18.2.1945, sahgal arrived. (p.301)

On February 23, 1945, General Shah Nawaz visited the Commander of Khanjo Butai and discussed co-ordination of Indo-Japanese operations in the Popa and Kyauk Padaung area. Col. Sahgal was given the task to prepare Popa as a strong base with the view to take up an offensive role. Dhillon’s Regiment, the 4th Guerrilla, was assigned the duty to check the enemy advance on to Kyauk Padaung from the west, where the British had established a strong bridgehead at Nyaungu. This was to be achieved by carrying out an extensive and persistent guerrilla warfare in the area between Popa, Kyauk Padaung (p.302) line in the east and as far forward towards the Irrawaddy as possible as to deny the enemy the use of Nyaungu-Kyauk-Padaullg-Meiktila metalled road for supplying reinforcements and supplies to his forces fighting in the battle of Meiktila. (p.303)

Shah Nawaz arrived Popa on 12 March 1945 and relieved Dhillon forthwith to join his regiment.(p.305)

On April 4, 1945 his Division Commander, Colonel Shah Nawaz Khan, ordered Dhillon to return from Khabok to Popa. By then 4th Guerrilla regiment had been in that area waging guerrilla warfare for over five weeks. (p.318)

Mount Popa and Kyaukpadaung was one pocket of resistance, which had so far defied all British attacks. Under constant raids by INA the British forces were forced to use longer routes that caused the British loss of time, greater consumption of petroleum products and frequent breakdowns of vehicles.(p.319)

From the beginning of April 1945 the strategic situation began to change rapidly. The enemy launched a three-pronged attack on Mount Popa and Kyaukpadaung area. On 5 April 1945 Dhillon was allotted the defence of Kyaukpadaung, south of Popa. In the second week of April there was daily bombing from air. (p.321)

Under the cover of this barrage the British forces advanced in their heavy tanks and armoured vehicles. There were very heavy casualties. The INA could not organize any defence. 2nd Division of the INA was to withdraw to Magwe, 100 miles (160 km) south on Irrawaddy. (p.322)

After completing the task of withdrawing from Magwe, they came to a village called Kanni. (p.327)

In the meantime, the Burmese army has declared war against Japan, and as such, the villagers did not co-operate with INA. Their retreat was fully under the control of General Aung San’s Army under the new name of People’s National Army, after having established a parallel government extending their hold over about 50 villages. They crossed Irrawaddy at Kama to reach Prome on May 1, 1945. Most of INA officers and men could not cross the river and they were stranded on the east bank of Irrawaddy. It was apparent by then, that they had lost the war. Rangoon had already been vacated. (p.333)

From Prome they took southeasterly direction to retreat through the jungles of the Pegu Yomas. Eleven days after leaving Prome, they reached at village called Wata about 20 miles (32 km) west of Pegu. There they learnt that Germany had surrendered. Japan was being heavily bombed daily. The British forces had occupied Pegu. Rangoon fell during the last week of April. Herein they decided that the surviving forces of INA should surrender to the British.(p.337)

श्रीक्षेत्र

विजयेन्द्र कुमार माथुर ने लेख किया है .... 1. श्रीक्षेत्र (AS, p.918) = (बर्मा) दक्षिण ब्रह्मदेश में एक प्राचीन भारतीय औपनिवेशिक राज्य, जिसका अभिज्ञान प्रोम के निकट स्थित 'हमाज़ा' (Hmauza) से किया गया है। इसकी स्थापना 'प्यूस' (Pyus) लोगों ने की थी, जो हिन्दू धर्म के अनुयायी थे। चीनी यात्री युवानच्वांग के अनुसार श्रीक्षेत्र राज्य पूर्वी भारत की सीमा के बाहर प्रथम विशाल हिन्दू राज्य था। यहाँ से प्राप्त प्यूस अभिलेखों से विदित होता है कि इस राज्य की समृद्धि का युग तीसरी शती ई. से सातवीं शती ई. तक था। नवीं शती के पश्चात् श्रीक्षेत्र राज्य की पूर्ण अवनति हो गई थी।