Thakhin Koujto Hmain

(also Thakhin Kodaw Hmaing; pen name of U Lun). Born Mar. 23, 1876, in Walij, near the city of Pyè; died July 27, 1964, in Rangoon. Burmese writer, literary scholar, and public figure.

Hmain received a Buddhist education and began his career as a writer in the late 19th century, winning fame for his historical plays. His early works are full of patriotism, notably his lyric verse reveries, which contrasted Burma’s heroic past with its humiliating colonial status. Hmain also wrote religious plays, including Tkhila and Upaka and Ma Skhava, in which he expressed support for a renaissance of Burmese culture.

In 1911, Hmain became editor of the newspapers Myaungmya Times and Turija Neisin and wrote political articles, essays, sketches, and poems. His tika (allegories) on contemporary political events and the colonial government became very popular; they include Tika of Force (1914), Tika of the Peacock (1919), Tika of the Monkey (1922), and Tika of the Dogs (1925). Hmain also wrote the satirical novel The Exhortation of Mr. Maung Hmain (1915–21) and works on the philology and cultural history of Burma.

Hmain, one of the founders of the patriotic organization Dobama Asi-ayon, supported the Burmese resistance movement against the Japanese occupiers during World War II (1939–45). After Burma won its independence in 1948, he took part in the struggle for peace. He was elected president of the Burma Peace Council in 1952 and became a member of the World Peace Council in 1953.

Hmain was awarded the International Lenin Prize for Strengthening Peace Among Nations in 1954.