Burma Bazaar is a market run by
Burmese refugees in
Chennai
Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. It is located at
Parrys Corner
George Town, also known as Muthialpet and Parry's corner, is a neighbourhood in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. It is near the Fort Saint George. It is an historical area of Madras city from where its expansion began in the 1640s. It ext ...
and is one of the several unorganized or grey market shopping hubs of Chennai. The bazaar was set up in 1969 by the
Government of Tamil Nadu
The Government of Tamil Nadu () is the administrative body responsible for the governance of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is the capital of the state and houses the state executive, legislature and head of judiciary.
Under the Const ...
. It is located just outside the
Chennai Beach railway station
Chennai Beach (formerly known as Madras Beach) (station code: MSB) is a railway terminus of the Southern Railway network in Parry's Corner, Chennai, India. Built on reclaimed land, the station serves the suburban services of the Chennai Subu ...
, in the old financial district of the city at
George Town. It is a row of about 200 shops that line either side of the road for about a kilometre.
History
Burma Bazaar was established by Burmese immigrants, who were
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
People, culture and language
* Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka
** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
refugees who fled
Myanmar
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
during the early 1960s. The government set aside land for the Tamil refugees returning from Burma during the 1960s. The bazaar is run by the
Burma Tamizhar Marumalarchi Sangam, an association that has been set up to look after the interests of the traders since 1966.
The bazaar
The bazaar extends to about a kilometre along the Chennai Beach railway station. There are an estimated 200 shops in the bazaar. With several passengers coming out of the station every few minutes, the market appears busy all the time. It is estimated that over 100,000 people pass through this corridor every week.
Per 2017 estimates, there are over 600 shops in the bazaar employing over 5,000 people.
It had been listed as a
notorious market
A notorious market is a website or physical market where, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), large-scale intellectual property infringement takes place. Officially termed Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting ...
between 2009 and 2017 by the
USTR
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is an agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government responsible for developing and promoting Foreign trade of the United States, United States ...
for selling various counterfeit goods and pirated media and software.
In media
''
Ayan'', a 2009 Indian film, shows the operations of selling CDs, software, electronics, perfumes, and other goods in great detail. Other Indian films which make references to the market include ''
Vattaram
''Vattaram'' is a 2006 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language action film, action gangster film written, produced, and directed by Saran (director), Saran. The film stars Arya (actor), Arya, Napoleon (actor), Napoleon and Kirat Bhattal, while Ra ...
'' (2006) and ''
Kacheri Arambam'' (2010).
See also
References
External links
Burma Bazaar's `win-win' proposal for Kollywood
{{Chennai Topics
Bazaars
Bazaars in India
Electronics districts
Retailing in Chennai
Burmese diaspora in Asia
India–Myanmar relations
Notorious markets
High-technology business districts in India
Information technology places
Information technology in India
Electronics industry in India