Origins of Buddhist Nationalism in Myanmar/Burma: an urban history of religious space, social integration and marginalisation in colonial Rangoon after 1852

The impact of religion on urban planning in colonial Rangoon after the 1852 war, and resultant religious spatial layout, reflects colonial narratives about identity and power that have fuelled Burmese-Buddhist nationalism and ethnoreligious conflict since independence—including the recent re-emergence of anti-Muslim ultra-nationalism. This chapter explores: the spatial organisation of religious communities in colonial Rangoon; the planning processes that led to new migrant religious spaces; the meta-narratives this politics of place-making conveys about colonial power, religion, ethnicity, identity and the state; and concluding remarks about the relevance of this historical exploration to contemporary ethnic and religious conflict.