The End of Compromise: Political Meanings of Thailand’s First National Day Celebrations on 24 June 1939

ABSTRACT

Scholars of Thai politics have paid significant attention to the role played by signs and symbols in Thailand, especially as interpretations of the political struggle after the 1932 Revolution. Some scholars believe that the People’s Party successfully used constitutionalism to counter royalism, but critics contend that the Party failed in its quest to curb the royalists because it appropriated royal sources of legitimacy in its efforts to promote the constitution. This article proposes that even though the selection of 10 December as Constitution Day was indeed a compromise on symbolism with the royalists, the Party – and especially Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram (Phibun) – did confront the royalists by later honouring 24 June as National Day. This article examines the political meanings of Thailand’s first National Day celebrations on 24 June 1939, which scholars often neglect, and argues that the Party symbolically turned it against the absolute monarchy by using the day’s festivities to highlight and legitimise the achievements of the post-absolutist constitutional regime without involving any royal symbols. In other words, Thailand’s National Day in 1939 was constructed by the Party as a site of legitimacy that was independent of royal influence and free of royal legitimation.

KEYWORDS:

• Thailand
• Siam
• Thai National Day celebration
• Phibun
• People’s Party
• Democracy Monument
• 1932 Revolution
• political symbolism
• 24 June 1932
• National and Treaty Revision Day

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the TU-Cantab Senpai for giving me the opportunity to write this article. I am also grateful for feedback from Thomas Richard Bruce. I am indebted to Prawit Sangmee for the rare picture shown in this article. Finally, I would like to thank Asian Studies Review’s Editorial Board and anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments.

Notes

1. Hereafter this article refers to Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram as “Phibun”.

2. In Thailand’s old calendar system, the new year starts on 1 April. Phibun’s government changed the system in 1940. Hence, January 1938 refers to January 1939 in the standardised calendar system.

3. The Six Principles of the People’s Party can be enumerated as follows: securing independence in politics, judiciary and economy; ensuring national security; improving the economy and the job security of the Siamese; protecting the equality of citizens; guaranteeing rights and liberties; and providing public education for all Siamese.

4. At Paknam in 1893, the French forced Siam to bend to their demands. In the words of Shane Strate (2015, p. 153), Paknam was once a sign of the nation’s disgrace and “a constant reminder of Thailand’s inferior relationship with the West”.

5. When citing documents from the National Archives of Thailand (NAT) in this article, the ministry and code number of each document are provided. In this case, the code is SoTo-0701.23.1/6. The number inserted after the code is the page number. If the page number in the original document is not clear, it is omitted.

6. In the Thai language, the name can be rearranged to Mankhong Chuchat, which means “upholding the security of the nation”. Rakthai, however, refers to “loving Thailand”.

7. From this point onwards, the article uses “Thailand” instead of “Siam”.

8. Before 1940, Siam’s new year started in April; thus, June was Siam’s third month.