Burma Workers Party

Burma Workers Party
Leader	Thakin Chit Maung, Thakin Lwin
Founded	1950
Dissolved	1962
Membership (1957)	3000
Ideology	Marxism-Leninism

The Burma Workers Party, until 1958 the Burma Workers and Peasants Party, was a communist party in Burma, formed on 8 December 1950, by leftist elements of the Socialist Party. In December 1962 it merged with the People's Comrade Party to form the United Workers Party. In March 1964, it was among the many parties banned by decree of the Revolutionary Council.

The founders of BWPP were 42 leading cadres of the Socialist Party, who denounced the leadership of Ba Swe and Kyaw Nyein. These included Thakin Chit Maung, Thakin Hla Kywe, Thakin Lwin and U Ba Nyein. Within the Socialist Party discussions had emerged on issues like the affiliation of the Trade Union Congress (Burma) to the World Federation of Trade Unions. Under the leadership of Thakin Lwin, the TUC(B) had steered towards an openly communist line. In the May Day rally of 1950, TUC(B) demonstrators had carried large portraits of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong. Thakin Lwin had publicly declared that TUC(B) followed the 'communist party line', but denounced the White Flag Communist Party, Red Flag Communist Party and Josip Broz Tito as 'deviationists'. Except for Thakin Lwin, a major leader amongst the founders of BWPP was Thakin Chit Maung who was a leader of the All Burma Peasants Organisation.