2020-02-12 Wed

The citizens of Myanmar annually celebrate Union Day on February 12. This holiday commemorates the Panglong Agreement signed in 1947.

In January 1946 Aung San became the President of the Anti Fascist People’s Freedom League (AFPFL) with the objective of independence from the UK. Aung San went to London in January 1947 to discuss with British Prime Minister Clement Attlee. On June 9, 1947, the constituent assembly voted to cut all ties with the British Empire. The nation became an independent republic only on January 7, 1948, and adopted a new name – the Union of Burma.

In October 1946 the Burmese Government appointed a committee to advise on the form, design, and color of new currency notes. It was decided to demonetize all India banknotes not marked “legal tenders in Burma Only”. Hence the first notes of the Union of Myanmar were issued on 1st July 1948. New notes were issued with the denominations of 1 and 5 Burmese rupees.

These notes come with the depiction of the denomination in Burmese script that appears at the upper left and lower right and a drawing of a peacock. The reverse side of the 1 Rupee note has the depiction of an illustration of sailing boats a downwind with a mountain range in the background. The 5 Rupee banknote shows a young girl in a traditional Burmese dress is spinning a cotton wheel.

Image Courtesy: https://colnect.com/