DHR Myanmar

The Department of Historical Research serves as a national center for research on Myanmar history. Working closely with the Myanmar Historical Commission, its main activities are: the collection of historical source materials; research on Myanmar history; and the publication of historical research works. In addition, it undertakes special research projects which are assigned to it as national tasks. The origin of the Department may be traced back to the establishment of the Burma (Myanmar) Historical Commission in January 1955 under the Prime Minister’s Office. Then the Commission was transferred to the Ministry of Culture in 1962 and renamed Burma (Myanmar) Historical Research Department in 1972. In 1984 it was transferred to the Ministry of Education. Within the Ministry of Education itself, a Research Section was established in the History Department of the University of Yangon in 1972. The Burma (Myanmar) Historical Research Department and the Research Section of the History Department, University of Yangon, were merged in March 1986 and officially became the Universities Historical Research Centre in 1991. On 2 February 2007 Universities Historical Research Centre was transferred to the Ministry of Culture and renamed as Department of Historical Research. The Department is strongly committed to the promotion of historical scholarship in Myanmar and to that end, provides substantial support to the teaching of history and related subjects in the universities and colleges. The Department also promotes historical scholarship in general by providing facilities for foreign scholars to do research in Myanmar not only in history but also in related subjects. Although the main area of concentration in Myanmar history, a recent development has been the initiation of research and study of neighboring Asian countries, and of ASEAN. We are in the process of building a modern developed nation and of taking our place in the global community. We think that in this process we should maintain and preserve our distinctive national character and take pride in our rich cultural heritage which underlies it. That is why we have made uplift of national prestige and integrity and preservation and safeguarding of the cultural heritage and national character one of our main social objectives. Myanmar has a rich cultural heritage and long history which goes back to about two millennium years. We must take pride in the creativity and the genius of our forebears who created this cultural heritage, for by doing so and by emulating them we can release our own distinctive national character. We are paying attention in our efforts at maintaining and preserving our history and cultural heritage. But the question is not only of understanding the past but of making it relevant, not only of knowing the traditions but making them live. It the past and the traditions which embody the past are not to be just extra baggage which we carry in our advance into the future, they need to be woven into the fabric of our lives, to be part and parcel of our values and our aesthetics. In a sense, the answer goes beyond scholarship. Our relationship with our past and our traditions must go beyond being a mere intellectual exercise and in some way become an emotive experience, for it is only as they become charged with emotional content that our past and our traditions will become a closer part of our lives. That would require not only the development of professional acumen and skills but also the cultivation of our sensibilities. We are going to try to explore the long past of our culture and we also welcome the scholars who interested of our history.

Objective

• The acquisition of materials relating to Myanmar history from domestic and external sources;

• The conduct of research on Myanmar history;

• The compilation of works on Myanmar history;

• The publication of books, journals and paper on Myanmar history;

• The promotion of historical scholarship;