Every 2 March is Peasants’ Day in Myanmar. This holiday is meant to give recognition to the 70 percent of Myanmar’s population who are farmer-peasants and who are the backbone of the nation’s economy.
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The peasantry has long suffered the effects of usury, abuse, warfare, and more in Myanmar. Land rental rates were seen as oppressive and were long one of the biggest grievances of the peasant sector – and the system was therefore overturned beginning in 1965.
The date of Peasants’ Day coincides with the day in 1962 when military dictator General Ne Win seized control of Myanmar. He then served as prime minister and in other leading capacities up until he was overthrown by a popular uprising in 1988. It was during Ne Win’s reign that much land reform took place, but he remains a controversial figure.