Thakin Po Hla Gyi

Life Po Hla Gyi was born between 1908 and 1910. Like other members of the Dobama Asiayon, he took the title Thakin. In 1938, he was part of the contingent of striking miners that marched from Chauk to Rangoon in November to present their demands to the BOC. During the strike, owing to his militancy, he became known as alawaka, or “The Ogre”, He returned to Chauk in June 1939.

Legacy In 1987, his image was printed on the controversial 45 kyat banknote. In 2013, a statue was erected in Chauk which is a focal point of Workers' day celebrations.

The Strike War The pamphlet was a series of anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist arguments and was sold for 4 annas at Shwedagon Pagoda on October 8 and 9 to raise money for the Strike Relief Organisation. Hla Gyi describes the poor lot of the majority of the country in both objective and subjective terms and notes the imbalance of wealth distribution.

It has since become "a classic of Burmese socialist writing."

Hla Gyi condemned monopoly capitalists in the fields of oil, mining and timber, as well as landlord and banking. He notes that timber extraction has led to outbreaks of malaria. He advanced a Marxist critique of the Burmah Oil company's exploitation of workers through surplus value exploitation

Hla Gyi also used Burmese historical legends to draw similes to the contemporary era.