The report of the Commission of Inquiry on Regional Autonomy was published in 1952. The report placed particular emphasis on the Karen and Mon issues. Among the Mon representatives who participated in the commission, there were two factions. One faction was led by Mon Bhoe Cho and Nai Hla Maung, while the other included Mon Than, Mon Daw Hnin, Mon Tun Yin, and Mon Khin Maung.
Mon Bhoe Cho and Nai Hla Maung collaborated with the Karen national representative, Saw Ba U Gyi, and jointly proposed the formation of a Mon-Karen autonomous state. They demanded that the entire Tanintharyi Division, all of Ayeyarwady Division, and the districts of Hinthada, Insein, and Nyaunglebin in Bago Division be included in this autonomous region.
They justified this demand on the grounds that the Mon and Karen peoples had long coexisted in Lower Burma; that some Karen villages in Tanintharyi Division were still learning the Mon script to this day; that the Karen had previously served in the Mon army in historical times; and that, according to long-standing tradition, the region known as Ramanya (Lower Burma) belonged jointly to both Mon and Karen peoples. Therefore, it was inappropriate to form a state that belonged solely to either the Mon or the Karen.
Mon Bhoe Cho and Nai Hla Maung also submitted a proposal to the commission to establish an independent Mon State composed of Tanintharyi, Bago, and Ayeyarwady Divisions. They argued that a Mon State should be granted to the Mon ethnic group, as the Mon had historically ruled those areas, and that the Mon people had distinct language, literature, culture, and traditions that differed from those of the Burmese.
However, other Mon leaders such as Sgt. A Maung Gyi, U Chit Hlaing, U Chit Thaung, U Tun Kyaw, and U Bhoe Kye opposed the creation of a Mon State. They testified to the commission that, understanding the overall situation, they did not desire a Mon State.
Even Nai Hla Maung, a former member of the commission, later withdrew his earlier demand, stating that if it would lead to a stable union and durable independence, he was willing to accept any form of arrangement.
According to the commission’s report, all members except one Mon monk named Mon Sein Dine opposed the establishment of a Mon State.
Sgt. A Maung Gyi, U Chit Hlaing, and other Mon leaders appealed to the government to help preserve Mon literature and culture. In response to these requests, the commission recommended that the government open Mon schools, appoint Mon teachers, and produce Mon-language books.
To facilitate these measures more effectively, the commission suggested assigning responsibility to the Minister for Minority Affairs. Moreover, the commission proposed that the Democratic Local Self-Government Law be officially implemented in Mon-speaking areas, thereby enabling the Mon people to manage their own affairs more autonomously.
(Source: Myanmar Politics Volume III, 1958–62, University of Yangon Press, 1991, pp. 258–332.)
