Table Of ContentAMNESIA
AMNESIA
A HISTORY OF DEMOCRATIC IDEALISM
IN MODERN THAILAND
Arjun Subrahmanyan
Cover image: Army survey department’s constitutional parade, 1932. Photo courtesy
of the Phraya Phahon Foundation.
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2021 State University of New York
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Name: Subrahmanyan, Arjun, author.
Title: Amnesia : a history of democratic idealism in modern Thailand / Arjun
Subrahmanyan, author.
Description: Albany : State University of New York Press, [2021] | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: ISBN 9781438486512 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781438486529
(ebook)
Further information is available at the Library of Congress.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Acknowledgments ix
Thai Language Conventions xi
Introduction
The 1932 Revolution in Thai History 1
Chapter One
The New Regime and the Old: Compromise, Rebellion, and
the Enemies Within 15
Chapter Two
A Fragile Alliance: The Working Classes and the People’s Party 57
Chapter Three
Spokesmen for the Peasantry: The Revolution and Social Welfare 91
Chapter Four
Making Citizens: Education and Propaganda in the New Order 119
Chapter Five
Buddhist Democracy in the Revolution 153
Chapter Six
The Revolution Betrayed: Triumph and Tragedy in
Assembly Politics 177
vi Contents
Conclusion
History beyond Royalism 213
Notes 221
Bibliography 271
Index 289
Illustrations
Figure 1.1 The new era: Front page of Siam Ratsadon newspaper,
June 24, 1932. The picture shows the thirty-two-year-
old Pridi Banomyong, with his official title Luang
Pradit Manudham (“Fashioner of Righteous Men”),
and he is listed as “State Councillor, People’s Party.” 18
Figure 1.2 A euphoric beginning: a government officer
distributes copies of the People’s Party manifesto
to excited city people on the morning of
June 24, 1932. 22
Figure 1.3 The new regime’s unsung heroines: civilian women
volunteers during the Bowondet rebellion, October
or November 1933. Photo courtesy of the
Phraya Phahon Foundation. 41
Figure 1.4 Mobilizing support: Mr. Bun Thiam, a People’s Party
backer, collects supporters to donate to the
government cause during the Bowondet rebellion,
October or November 1933. Photo courtesy of the
Phraya Phahon Foundation. 42
Figure 1.5 Government troops on the way to battle against
Bowondet’s forces, October 1933. Photo courtesy
of the National Archives of Thailand, Department
of Fine Arts. 53
Figure 2.1 The consummate old regime insider: His Royal
Highness Boriphat Sukhumphan Kromphra
Nakhonsawanworaphinit. The most powerful old
vii
viii Illustrations
regime officer, and one of the kingdom’s wealthiest
men, Boriphat went into exile after 1932, leaving his
palace for the People’s Party’s use. Photo courtesy of
the National Archives of Thailand, Department of
Fine Arts. 59
Figure 2.2 The unknown men: rickshaw pullers on strike,
August 1932, hear from a police officer about the
government’s plan to help them. Photo courtesy of
the National Archives of Thailand, Department of
Fine Arts. 65
Figure 3.1 Men of the people: Pridi (left) and Phahon (center)
at a village rice harvest ceremony showing their
solidarity with the peasantry. Year unknown.
Photo courtesy of the Phraya Phahon Foundation. 110
Figure 3.2 The rural utopia as depicted in a government
magazine, 1942. 115
Figure 4.1 Center of worldly Dhamma: Thammasat University’s
dome and main hall, with Pridi’s statue in the
foreground. Photo by the author. 137
Figure 4.2 Justice enshrined: An iconic constitutional image
on the cover of a periodical, 1940. Photo courtesy
of the Original Press Library. 148
Figure 6.1 Teaching the children about Phibun’s new order.
Schoolchildren visit an arts display commissioned by
the government in the late 1930s. Photo courtesy of
the National Archives of Thailand, Department of
Fine Arts. 194
Figure C.1 An accident of circumstance. Tree, ruined bicycle,
smashed car, and young observer, 1930s. Photo
courtesy of the National Archives of Thailand,
Department of Fine Arts. 000
Acknowledgments
Bureaucratic inertia and the insecurity of a twenty-first century academ-
ic’s career have prolonged the time taken for this book to appear. The
political economy of modern academia has pushed me around the world,
with the moves prompted by the gnawing anxiety of unemployment. In
global terms, the sacrifices are puny and the self-absorption clueless.
Moreover, the silver lining of these problems is bright indeed: especially
the continuous support and friendship of many people in many places.
I am deeply grateful to the people around the world who gave me their
time and companionship. In Berkeley, California, where this project began
as a half-baked PhD thesis, above all I am indebted to Peter Zinoman for
his criticism and support. Also in California, thanks go to Penny Edwards
and the late great Jeff Hadler for their mentorship, as well as Amy Pitsker
for her friendship and support. Chris Conte and Tammy Proctor in Logan,
Utah gave me the chance to teach independently and supported my work.
At Binghamton University, Kent Schull encouraged me at a crucial time,
and more recently my editor at State University of New York Press, James
Peltz rescued my project from two years in the editorial wilderness. In
Australia, the current and former Murdoch History colleagues—Dean
Aszkielowicz, Michael Sturma, Andrew Webster, and Sandra Wilson—
have made the small program a haven in a neoliberal storm. Also in
Australia, I am very grateful for the support of Robert Cribb and Craig
Reynolds, giants of Southeast Asian history writing, and the friendship of
Anne Schwenkenbecher. In Bangkok I quite selfishly drew many people
actively or unwittingly into my work. Patphorn Phoothong, above all, a
constant help, support and friend who has had the good sense not to go
into academia. Many more colleagues in Thailand supported my work,
including most vitally Chalong Soontravanich, Thanaphol Limapichart,
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