Khana Ratsadon คณะราษฎร | |
|---|---|
 1932 Siamese Revolution memorial plaque atDusit Palace Royal Plaza. On 14 April 2017, it disappeared and was replaced by an ultra-royalist plaque. | |
| Military leader | Phahon Phonphayuhasena[1] Plaek Phibunsongkhram[2] |
| Civilian leader | Pridi Banomyong |
| Founded | 5 February 1927 (1927-02-05) |
| Dissolved | 8 November 1947 (1947-11-08) |
| Headquarters | Bangkok, Thailand |
| Newspaper | Support the People's Party
|
| Membership | 10,000 (1932est.) |
| Ideology | Six Principles Thai nationalism Constitutionalism Factions: Anti-imperialism Anti-communism Revolutionary nationalism Fascism Democratic socialism |
| Political position | Syncretic[5][6][7][8] |
ThePeople's Party, known in Thai asKhana Ratsadon (Thai:คณะราษฎร,pronounced[kʰā.náʔrâːt.sā.dɔ̄ːn]), was aSiamese group of military and civil officers, and later apolitical party, which staged abloodless revolution against KingPrajadhipok's government and transformed the country'sabsolute monarchy toconstitutional monarchy on 24 June 1932.
In 1927, theKingdom of Siam, theRattanakosin Kingdom, was under theabsolutist rule of theChakri dynasty, under KingPrajadhipok (Rama VII). Under his reign, the nation experienced troubles stemming from an archaic government confronted with serious economic problems and threats from abroad, theBritish andFrench Empires. The country was also experiencing a dramatic social change as the urban and middle classes ofBangkok started growing, slowly demanding more rights from their government, criticizing it as ineffective. These changes were mostly led by men, civilians and the military, who had graduated or travelled abroad. They wanted to transform Siam into a modern country like aWestern democracy.
In February 1927, a group of seven Siamese students, later known as the "promoters",[9] met at a hotel on theRue Du Sommerard inParis and founded what would become the Khana Ratsadon. For five days, they met and proposed arguments for and against various aspects of the movement, the men were:[10]
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The revolutionaries made Pridi Panomyong theirpresident and termed themselves the "promoters" (Thai:ผู้ก่อการ;RTGS: Phu Ko Kan). The party determined a sixfold objective which was later called the "Six Principles" (Thai:หลักหกประการ;RTGS: Lak Hok Prakan), as follows:
To achieve these goals, the party determined that they must overthrow, using force if necessary, thepresent government and the system ofabsolute monarchy and turn theAsiankingdom into a modernconstitutional monarchy. Most of the members were students educated abroad, mostly in theUnited Kingdom andFrance.
When the group returned to Siam, they enlisted members from among thearmy andnavy, the merchant class,civil servants and others. Their membership eventually reached 102, separated into four main branches. These included thecivilians, led byPridi Banomyong; the navy, led byLuang Sinthusongkhramchai; the junior army officers, led byMajor Phibulsonggram; and finally the senior officers, led by ColonelPhot Phahonyothin.
In power, the People's Party intensified assimilationist policies towards the Chinese community in Siam.[11]: 138 From 1938 to 1939, it passed a series of laws to eliminate the economic influence of Chinese people, including prohibiting Chinese from certain professions, dealing in certain goods, and living in specified residential areas.[11]: 138–139 The country'sNationality Law was amended in 1939 to require that all Chinese seeking to become citizens had to adopt Thai names, enroll their children in Thai schools, speak Thai, and renounce any allegiance to China.[11]: 139
The People's Party was eventually successful in their goal ofrevolution by bloodless coup. By 1933 they hadturned Siam into a single party state. However the party itself was short-lived, due to infighting as the party had too many factions, conflicting interests, and political beliefs. The party eventually divided into two factions, a civilian faction led byPridi Bhanomyong, and a military faction led by Marshal Pibulsongkram.
They would dominateThai politics for the next two decades, producing sixPrime Ministers of Thailand from their ranks. The People's Party declined at about the time theSecond World War ended, and was dissolved in 1947.
In the decades after the People's Party lost power, continuing as into the 21st century, subsequent governments have taken action to downplay their significance and erase their legacy. Part of this was accomplished through the removal of architecture associated with the party, most significantly beginning with the demolition ofSala Chaloem Thai in 1989. This movement intensified in the 2010s; the Supreme Court building was controversially demolished in 2013, and following the2014 coup, multiple landmarks became quietly removed without explanation. On the 88th anniversary of the revolution in 2020, theReuters news service identified six historical markers memorialising the People's Party and the events of 1932 which have been removed or renamed over the previous year. In most cases it is not known who is responsible. Some historians, such as Chatri Prakitnonthakan ofSilpakorn University, interpreted these removals as an attempted "ideological cleansing" by the conservative establishment.[12]
A memorial plaque honoring the 1932 Revolution was reported missing on 14 April 2017. It was thought to be stolen on 5 April and was replaced with another plaque with text praising the Chakri Dynasty. As of 2019[update], no one has taken responsibility for the theft.[13] The 1932 Revolution brass plaque, about 30 centimeters across, was embedded in the asphalt of theRoyal Plaza, less than 10 meters from theequestrian statue depicting King Rama V. The site is where the revolt took place on 24 June 1932. Here, a declaration condemning absolute monarchy was read. Press reports noted that ultraroyalist groups had threatened to remove the plaque in the months preceding its theft.[13]
A Royal Thai Army artillery base inLopburi Province bore the name ofGeneral Phraya Phahon until 2019 when, at the order of the current king,Vajiralongkorn, it was renamed KingBhumibol base. Long-standing statues of Phraya Phahon and Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram installed at the base were removed and replaced by a statue of King Bhumibol.[14]
Public perception and discourse over the People's Party's legacy has also fluctuated over time. Their role in establishing a constitutional monarchy was glossed over by school textbooks, and rhetoric dismissing the party's actions as premature was popularized. Such ideas were reignited in the 2010s, as ideological conflicts over democracy and the monarchy intensified. Conservative writers demonized the People's Party as republicans. This led to a reactionary response by liberal groups. During the2020 protests, youth protesters symbolically installed a new plaque in Sanam Luang,[15] and a group leading the protest movement called themselves "Khana Ratsadon 2563" (People's Party 2020).[16]
The members of the People's Party were a mix of both military officers and civilians. LieutenantKrachang Tularak was its last surviving member. He died on 24 June 2009 at the age of 98.[17]
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การเสนอจัดตั้งสมาคมคณะชาติ นำไปสู่การโต้เถียงกันบนหน้าหนังสือพิมพ์ทั้ง 2 ฝ่าย ฝ่ายนิยมคณะราษฎร เช่น 24 มิถุนา สัจจัง และกรรมกร กับฝ่ายนิยมคณะชาติ เช่น ไทยใหม่ ช่วยกรรมกร และกรุงเทพฯ เดลิเมล์ กลุ่มแรกวิจารณ์ว่า สมาคมคณะชาติเป็นกลุ่มการเมืองของชนชั้นสูง ผู้มีทรัพย์ซึ่งเห็นแก่ประโยชน์ส่วนตนเป็นหลัก และเกลียดชังคณะราษฎร ดำเนินโนยบายต่อต้านรัฐบาลคณะราษฎร และมีเจ้านายอยู่เบื้องหลัง ดังนั้น ไม่สมควรให้จัดทะเบียนจัดตั้ง ส่วนกลุ่มหลังเสนอว่า ต้องมีพรรคการเมืองฝ่ายค้าน
เพราะเวลานั้นศรีกรุงกำลังโหมโรงโดยได้รับหน้าที่เป็นออร์แกน (Organ) ของคณะราษฎรอยู่แทบตลอดเวลา หากคราวใดแสดงความเห็นและภาพรุนแรงจนรัฐบาลหรือราชบัลลังก์สั่น และพอเจ้าของโรงพิมพ์ได้รับคำตักเตือนมาจากบุคคลชั้นสูง ศรีกรุงก็เพลามือไปชั่วขณะ แล้วก็ค่อย ๆ แรงขึ้น ๆ ต่อไปอีกใหม่
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)| Rebellions, revolts, and revolution | |
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| Coups and coup attempts | |
| Popular revolts | |
| Protests and crises | |
