Burma Railway
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Burma Railway
The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a railway between Ban Pong, Thailand, and Thanbyuzayat, Burma (now called Myanmar). It was built from 1940 to 1943 by Southeast Asian civilians abducted and forced to work by the Japanese and by captured Allied soldiers, to supply troops and weapons in the Burma campaign of World War II. It completed the rail link between Bangkok, Thailand, and Rangoon, Burma. The name used by the Imperial Japanese Government was ''Tai–Men Rensetsu Tetsudō'' (), which means Thailand-Burma-Link-Railway. At least 250,000 Southeast Asian civilians were subjected to forced labour to ensure the construction of the Death Railway and more than 90,000 civilians died building it, as did around 12,000 Allied soldiers. The workers on the Thai side of the railway were Tamils, Malays, and fewer Chinese civilians from Malaya. Most of these civilians were moved to ‘rest camp ...
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Japanese Language
is the principal language of the Japonic languages, Japonic language family spoken by the Japanese people. It has around 123 million speakers, primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language, and within the Japanese diaspora worldwide. The Japonic family also includes the Ryukyuan languages and the variously classified Hachijō language. There have been many Classification of the Japonic languages, attempts to group the Japonic languages with other families such as Ainu languages, Ainu, Austronesian languages, Austronesian, Koreanic languages, Koreanic, and the now discredited Altaic languages, Altaic, but none of these proposals have gained any widespread acceptance. Little is known of the language's prehistory, or when it first appeared in Japan. Chinese documents from the 3rd century AD recorded a few Japanese words, but substantial Old Japanese texts did not appear until the 8th century. From the Heian period (794–1185), extensive waves of Sino-Ja ...
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Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997 and held various shadow cabinet posts from 1987 to 1994. Blair was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Sedgefield (UK Parliament constituency), Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007, and was special envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East from 2007 to 2015. He is the second-List of prime ministers of the United Kingdom by length of tenure, longest-serving prime minister in post-war British history after Margaret Thatcher, the longest-serving Labour Party (UK), Labour politician to have held the office, and the first and only person to date to lead the party to three consecutive general election victories. Blair attended the independent s ...
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The Bridge Over The River Kwae
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with nouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of the archaic pronoun ''thee' ...
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Malaysian Tamils
Tamil Malaysians, also known as Malaysian Tamilar, are people of full or partial Tamils, Tamil descent who were born in or immigrated to Malaysia from Tamil Nadu, India and the Tamil regions of north-east Sri Lankan Tamils, Sri Lanka. The majority of 1.8–2 million people 80% of the Malaysian Indian populations in Malaysia were from Tamils, Indian Tamil ethnic groups from Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. The bulk of Tamil Malaysian migration began during the British Raj, when British Empire, Britain facilitated the migration of Indian workers to work in plantations under Kangani system. There are, however, some established Tamil communities from before British colonialism.Culture and economy:Tamils in the plantation sector 1998-99
(April 2000)


Precolonial period

Rel ...
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Battle Of Midway
The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II, Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The Japanese Combined Fleet under the command of Isoroku Yamamoto suffered a decisive defeat by the United States Pacific Fleet, U.S. Pacific Fleet near Midway Atoll, about northwest of Oahu. Yamamoto had intended to capture Midway and lure out and destroy the U.S. Pacific Fleet, especially the aircraft carriers which had escaped damage at Pearl Harbor. Before the battle, Japan desired to extend its Pacific defense perimeter, especially after the Doolittle Raid, Doolittle air raid of Tokyo in April 1942, and to clear the seas for attacks on Midway, Fiji, Samoa, and Hawaii. A related Japanese Aleutian Islands campaign, attack on the Aleutian Islands began one day earlier, on 3 June. The Japanese strike force at Midway, known ...
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Andaman Sea
The Andaman Sea (historically also known as the Burma Sea) is a marginal sea of the northeastern Indian Ocean bounded by the coastlines of Myanmar and Thailand along the Gulf of Martaban and the west side of the Malay Peninsula, and separated from the Bay of Bengal to its west by the Andaman Islands and the Nicobar Islands. Its southern end is at Breueh Island just north of Sumatra, with the Strait of Malacca further southeast. Traditionally, the sea has been used for fishery and transportation of goods between the coastal countries and its coral reefs and islands, which are popular tourist destinations. The fishery and tourist infrastructure was severely damaged by the December 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. Geography Location The Andaman Sea, which extends over 92°E to 100°E and 4°N to 20°N, occupies a very significant position in the Indian Ocean, yet remained unexplored for a long period. To the south of Myanmar, west of Thailand, and north of Indonesia, t ...
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Strait Of Malacca
The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, long and from wide, between the Malay Peninsula to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, connecting the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) and the South China Sea (Pacific Ocean). As the main shipping channel between the Indian and Pacific oceans, it is one of the most important shipping lanes in the world. Etymology The name "Malacca" is traditionally associated with the Malacca tree ('' Phyllanthus emblica''), also known as the Indian gooseberry tree, and is believed to derive from the local Malay word "Melaka". According to historical traditions, Parameswara, a Sumatran prince and the founder of the Malacca Sultanate, selected the site for his new kingdom where the city of Malacca now stands. It is said that he named the location "Melaka" after the Malacca tree under which he had rested. Over time, the name "Malacca" came to refer not only to the city but also to the strategically significant ...
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Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Thailand, and the southernmost tip of Myanmar (Kawthaung District, Kawthaung). The island country of Singapore also has historical and cultural ties with the region. The Titiwangsa Mountains are part of the Tenasserim Hills system and form the backbone of the peninsula and the southernmost section of the central cordillera, which runs from Tibet through the Kra Isthmus, the peninsula's narrowest point, into the Malay Peninsula. The Strait of Malacca separates the Malay Peninsula from the Indonesian island of Sumatra, and the south coast is separated from the island of Singapore by the Straits of Johor. Etymology The Malay term ''Tanah Melayu'' is derived from the word ''Tanah'' (land) and ''Melayu'' (Malays (ethnic group), Malays), thus ...
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Japanese Conquest Of Burma
The Japanese invasion of Burma was a series of battles fought in the British colony of Burma (present-day Myanmar) as part of the Pacific Theater of World War II. The initial invasion in 1942 resulted in the capture of Rangoon and the retreat of British, Indian, and Chinese forces. From 1942 to 1945, the Allies and Japan engaged in a protracted struggle for control of the region, marked by fierce fighting in challenging terrain. The Burma campaign was strategically significant, as it was linked to the war in China and the supply routes to the Chinese Nationalists. The eventual Allied victory in 1945 played a crucial role in the overall defeat of Japan. Background British rule in Burma Before the Second World War broke out, Burma was part of the British Empire, having been progressively occupied and annexed following three Anglo-Burmese wars in the 19th century. Initially governed as part of British Raj, British India, Burma was formed into a separate colony under the Governm ...
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Fall Of Singapore
The fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore, took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of Japan captured the British stronghold of Singapore, with fighting lasting from 8 to 15 February 1942. Singapore was the foremost British military base and economic port in South–East Asia and had been of great importance to British interwar defence strategy. The capture of Singapore resulted in the largest British surrender in history. Before the battle, Japanese General Tomoyuki Yamashita had advanced with approximately 30,000 men down the Malayan Peninsula in the Malayan campaign. The British erroneously considered the jungle terrain impassable, leading to a swift Japanese advance as Allied defences were quickly outflanked. The British Lieutenant-General, Arthur Percival, commanded 85,000 Allied troops at Singapore, although many units were under-strength and most units lacked experience. The British outnumbered the Japanese but much ...
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Japanese Invasion Of Thailand
The Japanese invasion of Thailand (, ; ) occurred on 8 December 1941. It was briefly fought between the Kingdom of Thailand and the Empire of Japan. Despite fierce fighting in Southern Thailand, the fighting lasted only five hours before ending in a ceasefire. Thailand and Japan then formed an alliance making Thailand part of the Axis alliance until the end of World War II. It occurred roughly two hours before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Background Hakkō Ichiu The origin of Japanese invasion of Thailand can be traced to the principle of '' hakkō ichiu'' as espoused by Tanaka Chigaku in the mid- to late-1800s. Tanaka interpreted the principle as meaning that imperial rule had been divinely ordained to expand until it united the entire world. While Tanaka saw this outcome as resulting from the Emperor's moral leadership, Japanese nationalists used it in terms of freeing Asia from colonizing powers and establishing Japan as the leading influence in Asia. The concept be ...
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Khwae Noi River
The River Kwai (), more correctly Khwae Noi (, , 'small tributary') or Khwae Sai Yok (, ), is a river in western Thailand. It rises to the east of the Salween in the north–south spine of the Bilauktaung range near, but not over the border with Burma. It begins at the confluence of Ranti, Songkalia and Bikhli Rivers. At Kanchanaburi it merges with the Khwae Yai River to form the Mae Klong River, which empties into the Gulf of Thailand at Samut Songkhram. The river is chiefly known for its association with the Pierre Boulle novel, '' The Bridge over the River Kwai'' and David Lean's film adaptation of the novel, '' The Bridge on the River Kwai'', in which Australian, Dutch, and British prisoners of war and indigenous peoples were forced by the Japanese to construct two parallel bridges spanning a river as part of the Burma Railway, also called the "Railway of Death" or "Thai-Burma Death Railway", due to the many lives lost in its construction. One bridge was wooden and te ...
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