These were the first salvos in a popular revolt that the following year would crystallise into the Kachin armed rebellion. Also denied self-determination and the accompanying guarantees for respect of their cultural practices, the Kachin, a sizeable proportion of whom were Christian, understood that if Buddhism were to become the state religion in a country populated by multiple faith groups then it would codify the predominance of those who subscribed to Buddhism. The result would be to further push ethnic and religious minorities to the periphery.
