Reconsidering the “Anti-Footwear Campaign” in Colonial Burma (1916–1920): A Struggle between Religious and Political Interpretations

In the “anti-footwear campaign” (1916–1920), Burmese nationalists protested the Europeans entering into pagoda without removing their shoes. The campaign was led by a young lawyer, U Theing Maung, and the Young Men’s Buddhist Association. Carefully examining primary sources reveals both how the campaign occurred and the crucial misapprehension between the colonial government and the nationalists at the heart of the issue. The former interpreted the campaign as a form of anti-British political action, but the latter understood it as an unbearable cultural impoliteness of Europeans toward Buddhism. This article examines three aspects of the campaign. First, it explains the development of the campaign itself in detail to illuminate how the two sides argued at cross-purposes. Second, it examines the main points of disagreement between the two sides. The campaign leaders employed some of the earliest instances of the concept of “their” Burma versus “our” Burma to justify their legitimacy. Moreover, it seems that the campaign leaders have failed to convey the vital aspect of the movement to the colonial government, which did not comprehend the particular significance of the “pagoda ( hpaya :).” Finally, the article concludes that the campaign itself never engendered understanding between the two sides. It was positioned in between religious and political interpretations up to the end, with each side never doubting their own interpretation.