WI: Aung San lives

I did a check to see if this POD has been done before. There was a thread on the topic, but there were no responses, so I'm going to go ahead to post this anyway.

Several "what if" questions popped into my mind during history lecture today as the lecturer went through the history of Burma and this was one of them.
What if the assassin's bullet that felled Aung San in 1947 missed? What would Burma look like today with his survival?

For one, I could foresee either a stable, unified Burma or a slightly balkanised but still stable place. IIRC, Aung San promised the Karens and a few other indigenous minority groups autonomy with the option to break away from Burma and form a seperate state in the 1950s. Me thinks that it would either encourage the minorities to stay due to Aung San's potentially tolerationist policies or actually break away using their newfound autonomy.

So, good people of AH.com, what are your thoughts?
 
If a surviving Aung San doesn't exile Burma's Indian population, who were much of the Country's educated middle class and civil service, I'd have to imagine Burma would develop more rapidly with somewhat less instability.
My guess is that he'd steer Burma into the non-aligned movement, but I know rather little about him so am hesitant to say much more.
 
Fundamentally if the ethnic and cultural tensions remain as in OTL between the Burmans and Indians, then an exodus of Indians will occur post independence. Certainly the Indians were utilised in the public service and the domestic business, however there were large expatriate Jewish communities and a Scottish business / trading community that if the domestic situation remains stable could be the engine for economic growth.

Even with Aung San remaining in charge the situation in Burma c 1945 - 1947 is disastrous, the oil wells have been destroyed, the majority of the infrastructure as well, you have a communist uprising and ethnic minority problems.

Could Aung San have reconciled the different factions, well yes. He is one of the few Burmans who had military experience in a leadership role, was educated and could clearly be referred to as a patriot. Field Marshal Slim thought highly of him, no small praise indeed.

An example of his personal commitment is that the first Chief of the Army was Colonel Smith - Dunn (Indian Military Academy 36) who was a Karen. Combined with U Thant and other luminaries that I cannot remember and you have the embryonic leadership for Burma to solidify democratic rule and stability.

In summation if Aung San is able to stay in power then I feel that Burma in TTL will be more successful, provided those that succeed him maintain his committment to all the Burmese.
 
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