Why Burma was separated from British India

Cities across the Indian subcontinent were gripped by a sombre mood on the morning of April 1, 1937. A far-reaching law had come into force in the country and Indian freedom fighters were staging fiery protests against it, much to the chagrin of the British rulers. "Giant demonstrations and a hartal - a general strike and the closing of all shops - are being organised by Congress in protest against the institution of the new constitution," a newswire report said. Amid that fracas a major geopolitical event with ramifications for all of Asia largely slipped the attention of Indian leaders:…