REVOLUTION IN SIAM

Northern Advocate, 7 November 1934, Page 4

REVOLUTION IN SIAM

A bloodless revolution has taken place ' ih Siam. It will proba.bly be a matter of little moment in Europe, but it will have deep significance in the East. It has been pointed out by the Press that politically and cul-

turally, as well as geographically, Siam lies between India and China." The factors in her political problem are a traditional ruling caste, a group of teachers, officials and students in Western schools and universities, and a peasantry still bound by traditional allegiances but vaguely stirred by promises .of social reform. The situation 1 is similar in China and over a large part of India. In Siam, as elsewhere in the East, the future, is In the hands of the educated few. j who are the spearhead of the j Western cultural and economic invasion. But so far the influence of this minority has been largely i destructive. They have without! much difficulty weakened the influence of Buddhism and the monarchy and aroused a sense of discontent in the masses. ( What they have not done is to discover social and political alternatives | to the old order they are destroying. Herein lies the significance of the latest revolution.