Mandalay Division () is an
administrative division of
Myanmar. It is located in the center of the country, bordering
Sagaing Division and
Magway Division to the west,
Shan State to the east, and
Bago Division and
Kayin State to the south. The regional capital is
Mandalay. In the south of the division lies the national capital of
Naypyidaw. The division consists of seven districts, which are subdivided into 30 townships and 2,320 wards and village-tracts.
Mandalay Division is important in
Burma's economy, accounting for 15% of the national economy.
History
The history of Mandalay Division is the same as that of much of Upper Myanmar except that for much of Burmese history, the political power emanated out of royal capitals located in Mandalay Division. The country's present capital,
Naypyidaw, and most former royal capitals of the Burmese nation--
Pagan,
Ava,
Amarapura,
Mandalay--are all located here.
The
Tibeto-Burman speaking
Pyu were the first historical people to dominate the dry zone in central Myanmar that includes Mandalay Division as early as the 1st century AD. By the early 9th century, the Pyu were decimated in a series of wars with the Nanzhao kingdom from Yunnan. The Burmans, who had been migrating into the region from
Yunnan since 7th century, founded a city of their own, Pagan, in 849. The
Pagan dynasty gradually came to dominate the central zone over the next two centuries, and by the late 11th century, all of present day Myanmar. The
Burmese language and
script came to prominence with royal patronage of Pagan kings.
After the fall of Pagan to the
Mongols in 1287, parts of central Myanmar came to be controlled by a series of rulers: the Mongols (1287-c.1303), Myinsaing (1298-1312), Pinya (1312-1364), and Sagaing (1315-1364). In 1364,
Ava kingdom led by Burmanized Shan kings reunified all of central Myanmar. Central Myanmar was under Ava's control until 1527, and under the Shans of Monhyin (1527-1555). Burmese literature and culture came into its own during this era. Central Myanmar was part of the
Taungoo kingdom from 1555 to 1752. Parts of the region fell briefly to the Mons of Pegu (Bago) (1752-1753).
Konbaung Dynasty ruled the region until December 1885 when it lost all of Upper Myanmar in the
Third Anglo-Burmese War.
The
British administration organized seven divisions in Upper Myanmar: Mandalay, Meiktila, Minbu, Sagaing, and the Federated Shan States (North and South). Mandalay Division included what is now
Kachin State. Circa 1940, Meiktila Division was merged with Mandalay Division. Much of Upper Myanmar, including Mandalay Division, was under the
Japanese rule during
World War II between May 1942 and March 1945. When the country gained independence from the United Kingdom in January 1948, the Myikyina and Bhamo districts were carved out to form Kachin State.
Administration
Mandalay Division consists of 31 townships organized into seven districts.
Demographics
The majority of the population in Mandalay Division are
Bamar (Burmans). In the Mandalay metropolitan area, however, a large community of
Chinese, most of whom are recent immigrants from
Yunnan, now nearly rival the Bamar population. A large community of
Indians also reside in Mandalay. A dwindling community of
Anglo-Burmese still exists in both
Pyinoolwin and Mandalay. A number of
Shan people live along the eastern border of the division.
Burmese is the primary language of the division. However,
Mandarin Chinese is increasingly spoken in Mandalay and the northern gem mining town of
Mogok.
Economy
Agriculture is the primary economical source of livelihood. Primary crops grown within Mandalay Division are rice, wheat, maise, peanut, sesame, cotton, legumes, tobacco, chilli, and vegetables. Industry, including alcoholic breweries, textile factories, sugar mills, and gem mines also exists. Tourism now forms a substantial part of Mandalay Division's economy, as it contains many historical sites including
Mandalay,
Amarapura,
Bagan,
Pyin U Lwin,
Mount Popa, and
Ava. Hardwoods such as
teak and
thanaka are also harvested.
Education
Educational opportunities in Myanmar are extremely limited outside the main cities of Yangon and Mandalay. According to official statistics, over 1 million students were enrolled in the division's 4467 primary and secondary schools in 2005.
Of the total, the vast majority, about 4000, were primary schools. Only about 13% of primary school students make it to high school.
The division has some of the best institutions of higher education in Myanmar. As medical, engineering and computer studies are the most sought after in Myanmar, the
University of Medicine, Mandalay, the
University of Dental Medicine, Mandalay,
Mandalay Technological University, and the
University of Computer Studies, Mandalay are among the most selective universities in Myanmar. Other highly selective schools are
Myanmar Aerospace Engineering University and military academies in
Pyinoolwin:
Defence Services Academy and
Defence Services Technological Academy.
Health care
The general state of health care in Myanmar is poor. The military government spends anywhere from 0.5% to 3% of the country's GDP on health care, consistently ranking among the lowest in the world. Although health care is nominally free, in reality, patients have to pay for medicine and treatment, even in public clinics and hospitals. Public hospitals lack many of the basic facilities and equipment. The following is a summary of the public health system in the division, in the fiscal year 2002-2003.
In 2005, Mandalay Division's public health care system had slightly over 1000 doctors and about 2000 nurses working in 44 hospitals and 44 health clinics. Over 30 of the so-called hospitals had less than 100 beds.
Since almost all of large public hospitals and private hospitals, and doctors are located in Mandalay, these shockingly low numbers for a division with 7.7 million are actually even worse in the rest of the division. (These dismal numbers are believed to have improved by the advent of Naypyidaw as the nation's capital in 2006 although the level of improvement remains unreported.) The well-to-do bypass the public health system and go to private clinics in Mandalay or Yangon in order to "get quick medical attention and high-quality service".
The wealthy routinely go abroad (usually
Bangkok or
Singapore) for treatment.
