Sagaing Division () is an administrative
division of
Myanmar, located in the north-western part of the country between latitude 21° 30' north and longitude 94° 97' east. It is bordered by
India’s
Nagaland and
Manipur States to the north,
Kachin State,
Shan State, and
Mandalay Division to the east, Mandalay Division and
Magway Division to the south, with the
Ayeyarwady River forming a greater part of its eastern and also southern boundary, and
Chin State and India to the west. The division has an area of 93,527 km², and population (1996) of over 5,300,000. The capital is
Sagaing.
History
The
Pyu were the first to in recorded history to populate the area of Sagaing Division by the 1st century CE. The Bamar (Burmans) first migrated into Upper Myanmar by 7th century CE. The area came under the
Pagan Kingdom certainly by the middle of 11th century when King
Anawrahta (r. 1044-1077) founded the Pagan Empire, which encompasses the modern day Myanmar.
After the fall of Pagan in 1287, the northwestern parts of Upper Myanmar came under the Sagaing Kingdom (1315-1364) ruled by Burmanized
Shan kings. The area was ruled by the kings of
Ava from 1364 to 1555 and the kings of
Taungoo from 1555 to 1752.
Konbaung Dynasty (1752-1885), founded by king
Alaungpaya in
Shwebo, became the last Burmese dynasty before the
British conquest of Upper Burma in 1885. The area became Sagaing Division after the Burmese independence in January 1948.
Administration
Sagaing Division consists of eight districts divided into 37 townships
[ Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU)] with 198 wards and villages. The major cities are
Sagaing,
Monywa,
Shwebo,
Katha,
Kale,
Tamu,
Mawlaik and
Hkamti.
Mingun with its famous bell is located near Sagaing but can be reached across the Ayeyarwady from
Mandalay. The districts are
Sagaing,
Shwebo,
Monywa,
Katha,
Kale (Kalemyo),
Tamu,
Mawlaik and
Hkamti. The townships
are:
Demographics
The Bamar (Burmans) are the majority
ethnic group in the dry regions and along the Mandalay-
Myitkyina Railroad.
Shan live in the upper
Chindwin River valley. A sizable minority of
Naga resides in the north of north-west mountain ranges and
Chin in the south. Smaller ethnic groups native to the Division include the
Kadu and
Ganang, who live in the upper Mu River valley and Meza River valley.
Ecology
There are a number of protected areas in Sagaing Division, among them are
Alaungdaw Kathapa National Park,
Chatthin Wildlife Sanctuary,
Mahamyaing Wildlife Sanctuary, and Htamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary in
Homalin Township.
Transport
Hemmed in by two great rivers of Myanmar, the
Ayeyarwady and the
Chindwin, river transport is a common way to move people and cargo. Much of the inland Sagaing Division relies on roads and rail in poor condition.
Economy
Agriculture is the chief occupation. The leading crop is
rice, which occupies most of the arable ground. Other crops include
wheat,
sesame,
peanut,
pulses,
cotton, and
tobacco. Sagaing is Myanmar’s leading producer of wheat, contributing more than 80% of the country's total production. Forestry is important in the wetter upper regions along the
Chindwin River, with
teak and other hardwoods extracted. As in other parts of the country,
reforestation is not effective enough to maintain
sustainable forestry. Important minerals include
gold,
coal,
salt and small amounts of
petroleum. Industry includes textiles,
copper refining, gold smelting, and a
diesel engine plant. The Division has many rice mills,
edible oil mills, saw mills, cotton mills, and mechanized weaving factories. Local industry includes earthen pots, silverware, bronze-wares, iron-wares and
lacquerware.
Education
Educational opportunities in Myanmar are extremely limited outside the main cities of
Yangon and
Mandalay. According to official statistics, less than 10% of primary school students in Sagaing Division reach high school.
Sagaing Division has two national "professional" universities in the
Monywa Institute of Economics and the
Sagaing Institute of Education.
Monywa University is the main
liberal arts university in the division.
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. Moreover, the health care infrastructure outside of
Yangon and
Mandalay is extremely poor. In 2003, Sagaing Division had less than a quarter of hospital beds than Yangon Division with a similar size of population.
