They assume that, due to illiteracy and a lack of education, common people did not lend any support to the Revolution. The popular landscape of the history of Thai democracy bears the marks of the elite, of boots and guns, of technocrats and men. But it affords a distorted view of the struggle for a democratic government and constitution. 

The death of Phoonsuk Banomyong - wife of the late Pridi Banomyong, a key member of the People's Party - should give us pause to reflect upon the ways in which we commemorate the country's recent history. Phoonsuk herself was keenly aware that the politics of memory play a central role in the long and embattled process of democratisation as she made clear when, in one of her TV interviews, she called upon the young generation to study history and to seek out historical truth.

This year we celebrate the seventy-fifth anniversary of Thai democracy. But the country's National Museum has never included the Revolution of 1932 in its permanent display. Nor do the democratic movements of the 1970s, 80s and 90s play any role in the landscape of national history.

Both popular memory and public history as promoted by government agencies and the media have long portrayed the development of Thai democracy as a history of compromise, and urged gratitude to the elite for democratic achievements.  Across the board, institutions of socialisation champion this version of history, which seems to suit the self-image of Thailand so well: a peaceful society, a land of smiles, where people are delighted with their lives however poorly they may fare.

This version of history has become dominant in the shared memory of Thai society. As the power of memory demarcates and shapes our views, in contemporary Thailand democratic movements and activities are often perceived not as an expression of political freedom and basic human right, but as an annoyance, as disturbances caused by manipulated masses. In the same vein, popular memory and public history have played down the Siamese Democratic Revolution of 1932 and later democratic movements such as the protests that culminated on October 14, 1973. Many Thais, therefore, continue to have a lop-sided and fragmented knowledge about the Revolution and the continuing struggle for democracy.

Democracy in Thailand has long faced an uphill fight. Struggles for democratic institutions and against dictatorship have proved important forces in Thai politics. But the politics of memory is also a field well worth our attention.

Although many citizens and groups of activists have already realised the power of memory, much remains to be done. Alternative knowledge on the history of Thai democracy and society will greatly contribute to critical minds and to new, alternative memories.

It will promote the recognition of political rights in a broad sense. Such rights do not only include traditional civil liberties - in particular, the right of free speech - and civil rights of more recent vintage, such as the right of free access to information, indispensable in the global knowledge society. The rights of the citizens also encompass political participation as well as entitlements under fair and just social policies.

Late in the morning of February 17, 1993, Phoonsuk Banomyong welcomed two graduate students of history to her house in Soi Suan Phlu. At that time she was 81, but still had a clear and sharp mind - a quality that remained with her through the last years of her life. At first the students addressed her as "Thanpuying", an honour granted to her in her late twenties, but very soon they began to call her "Khun yaa". She weighed her words carefully as she spoke about her late husband, their lives, and Thai politics after the Revolution of 1932. Fourteen years later, I - one of those two students - realise that this small episode was a part of her long struggle in the politics of memory.

Phoonsuk Banomyong, who died last Saturday at the age of 95, was a combatant in the fight for Thai democracy.

Morakot Jewachinda Meyer

Special to The Nation

Morakot Jewachinda Meyer teaches at Srinakarinwirot University's Department of History.