Maha Bandula - Legacy

Legacy

Maha Bandula looms large in Burmese history for his courage to take on the British. Due in large measure to Bandula's leadership, the First Anglo-Burmese War was the only of the three Anglo-Burmese wars that the Burmese were able to put up a fight.

The Burmese remember Bandula's last words in this way:

We may lose the battle. This is our destiny. We fight our best and we pay our lives. However, I cannot suffer indignity and disgrace for losing the battle for the lack of courage and fighting prowess. Let them realize that the Burmese lost the battle because of the loss of their Supreme Commander. This will prove to be an everlasting example of the Burmese fighting spirit and enhance the honor and glory of our nation and the people amongst the neighboring states.

Ironically, this very courage to take on the enemy head on and use the daring tactics that led to the improbable victories in Manipur and Assam would prove to be his undoing against the much better armed and world conquering British, who had defeated Napoleon's armies only a decade earlier. For all of his fame, Bandula failed to change tactics in face of far superior British weaponry. He failed to imagine the use of guerrilla tactics or any innovative strategy. Had he pursued guerrilla style tactics, the ultimate outcome of the war might not still have changed but the terms might have been less severe.