: to What Extent Is It True to Say That Western Educated Elites Posed a Greater Challenge Before Wwii to Colonial Rule Than Any Other Group?

A challenge to colonial rule would be defined as an act against the establishment of colonial rule in the hopes of undermining it or toppling it over. In the early Nineteenth century, the countries in Southeast Asia were colonized by the European empire. The colonial powers exploited the countries' natural resources for their own economy and neglected the countries' needs and problems. Eventually this led to the rise of several groups that opposed the colonial rule. One of them was the western educated elite. These were the ones who received western education from overseas or institution in their own country. They posed challenges to the colonial master as they sort to achieve independence from their rule. Others include traditional nationalist movements and revolutionary/communist movements. However the western educated elites did pose a greater challenge than other group. This essay will examine why the western educated elites posed such a challenge to colonial rule and how the other nationalist groups challenge colonial rule.

The western educated elites posed such a great challenge to colonial rule simply because of the fact that they had knowledge of the system of government that their colonial masters implemented in their own countries and attempted to emulate that system. By assimilating in that way the colonial masters can hardly fight against a group of people who clearly want to follow in their footsteps and gain independence for themselves.

In Burma, the GCBA are a perfect example of a group of western educated elites who successfully challenged colonial rule. These nationalist leaders who were given western education in Britain or India organized a student strike. They demanded separation from India, self-rule and eventual independence. The British soon buckled under the pressure and implemented a dyarchical system of governance for Burma. Although Burmese ministers only got small positions in the cabinet (such as department of agriculture,...