The Latest
Community Rights in the Mekong Sustainability Management
The Mekong River is unique in that it flows through and between so many countries. Every country takes what it can from it, leaving the millions who depend on it for their livelihoods and survival in an increasingly perilous situation.
A team of guest contributors went to two communities in Isaan—one where the Mekong first touches the region in Loei and one 600 kms away in Ubon where it leaves Thai territory to learn how two communities are dealing with a drastically changing environment.
PART III: The Role of Champassak Royals as Mediators
In this final segment of our series, “The Holy Man Rebellion(s) from both sides of the Mekong,” Ian G. Baird focuses on the role of the Lao royal family in the House of Champassak and the role they would come to play in colonial Laos and how its influence declined in Siam’s Northeast.
PART II: The Holy Men Rise and Fall Across Borders
In Part I of our special three-part series, “The Holy Man Rebellions from both sides of the Mekong,” Ian G. Baird described how the political dynamics between the French, the House of Champassak, and the Siamese all played a role in sparking sporadic millenarian movements in both the newly established French colony of Laos and the Bangkok-colonized Northeast of Siam. In this segment, Baird explains how the “holy men” of the period moved back and forth across the Mekong River, making it a significant cross-border set of events.
Remembering Prince Sapphasitthiprasong: the modernizer of Ubon or its pacifier?
Prince Sapphasitthiprasong was the one who brought urban planning to Ubon Ratchathani. He might be called the father of modern Ubon. But he was also the one who launched the campaign against the Holy Man Rebellion in Trakan Phuet Phon District. The rebels were hopelessly outgunned and the crackdown led to the death of more than 300. A local historian and restaurant owner weighs in on how the people of Ubon Ratchathani remember this Bangkok-appointed governor.
First-ever religious ceremony held following the suppression of Ubon’s Holy Man rebels 121 years ago.
The first-ever religious ceremony dedicated to the Holy Man Rebellion of 121 years ago received a throng of attendees in Ubon Ratchathani last week. Community leaders discussed building a monument to commemorate the event as a way to make Saphue’s local history more widespread.
Remembering the suppression of the “Phi Bun” Rebellion 120+1 years on
The tale of resistance surrounding Isaan’s Holy Man Rebellion in Ubon Ratchathani province, called “The Battle of Non Pho,” was passed down from generation to generation. Much folklore and many poems recalled the event of 121 years ago. Non Pho was a killing field, shelled by the government’s cannons, where over 400 people died. Local residents hope to build a local history museum in order to memorialize the tragic history of that day, one that has otherwise been fading.
Isaan Holy Man Rebellion — Understanding the unwilling subjects of Siam’s internal colonialism
In response to popular demand (on the Thai-language side), we are bringing our readers a new set of items on the Holy Man Rebellion, part of an effort to rediscover Isaan’s lost history. This time we explore the causes behind the uprising of Isaan people 121 years ago. Although the lives of 300 rebels were lost in Ban Saphue, Ubon Ratchathani, there’s no memorial, no museum, no sign that the community has once seen so many die all at once. The Isaan Record presents the Season 2 of “The Isaan Holy Man Rebellion” to commemorate the 121st anniversary of the brutal crackdown.
Thai education beset by poor management, inequality, and high teacher debt
Thailand’s public education system is rarely held up as a success story. But its woes have become even more acute in the past decade. It faces a host of challenges: inequality, uneven funding and frequent policy changes by the Ministry of Education, and high levels of teacher debt. Guest contributor Mark S. Cogan takes a look at the challenges and the dim chances for improvement.
Abuse in Thai schools requires a long, hard look in the mirror
News of physical abuse of students by teachers is all but commonplace in Isaan and in Thailand more generally. Guest contributor Mark Cogan examines why such abuse is tolerated, arguing that the persistence of such abuse points to larger problems in the education system that trains students (and their parents) to focus more on obedience than learning.
Tearing up Democracy’s Roots
Construction of the high-speed rail project may open up new horizons for Thai society. But it also has important collateral damage: the destruction of a unique urban space that has played an important part in Thailand’s visions of a possible democratic future. Guest contributor Eli Elinoff reflects on the loss of railway communities to the high-speed train project in Khon Kaen and beyond.
High-speed rail threatens displacement of Khon Kaen’s urban poor
way for construction of a high-speed railway. Residents are caught in a limbo as they have nowhere else to go. The only thing they can do is wait for the order that will force them out from a place where they’ve lived their whole lives.
