Erasure: The largest forcible mass disrobing of monks in modern Thai history

Abstract In 1936, one of the largest mass disrobings of Buddhist monks and novices in modern history took place in northern Thailand. Around 1,000 monks and novices were disrobed, with some estimates as high as 2,000. The disrobed monastic clergy were members of the ‘Tiger Order’. The movement took its name from its leader, Khruba Srivichai (1878–1939), who was born in the Year of the Tiger. The arrest of Srivichai and the subsequent mass disrobing were crucial turning points in the formation of the modern nation-state of Thailand. Nonetheless, this extraordinary mass disrobing has been virtually erased from historical memory. Drawing on archival sources and oral histories conducted with over 200 northern monks and villagers, this article seeks both to highlight the historical fact of the mass disrobing and analyse the process of its erasure from memory. Analysing four phases in the chronopolitics of erasure, this article shows how processes of remembering and forgetting underlie the paradox of both the maintenance of memories of Srivichai and the disappearance of memories of the widespread disrobing.