Myanmar president to visit tomb of nation's last king

Myanmar President Thein Sein will on Saturday visit the tomb of his country's last king, who was exiled a century ago, near Ratnagiri along Maharashtra's Konkan coast.

"The Myanmar President, who arrived in Mumbai this evening, will be going to Ratnagiri on Saturday morning and would leave for Myanmar soon after his return in the afternoon," a senior state government official told Press Trust of India (PTI).

King Thibaw's reign ended in 1885 with his defeat by the British colonial forces, who sent him and his family into exile to Ratnagiri, where he died and was buried.

Thibaw's defeat in the Third Anglo-Burmese War marked the end of centuries of royal rule, and Burma, as the country was then known, remained part of the British empire until 1948.

Thibaw and his wife Supayalat were allowed a luxury residence in exile with staff and a car, although they could not venture far beyond the house. The "Thibaw Palace" is located near Ratnagiri town.

The former monarch died aged 57 in 1916, shortly after a heart attack when one of his daughters eloped with a man he found unsuitable.

After the king's death, some of the family eventually returned to Myanmar while others remained in India. The President plans to meet the king's descendants in the area, Ratnagiri's district collector R R Jadhav said.

Incidentally, India's last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was exiled by the British to Rangoon in Myanmar, where he died in 1862 aged 87 and was buried.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had visited his tomb on a visit to Myanmar earlier this year.