U Wisara
Ven. U Wisara (, , ; 24 April 1889 – 19 September 1929) was a Burmese Buddhist monk who died in prison after a 166-day hunger strike against the colonial British rule in Burma. The monk had been repeatedly imprisoned and tortured by the colonial government for "inciting sedition", and forced to wear plain clothes and abandon religious observances. His "ultimate sacrifice profoundly moved many Burmese who not concerned themselves with politics before", and galvanized the nascent independence movement. The monk is commemorated today with the U Wisara Road, a major avenue in Yangon, and the U Wisara Monument in Yangon. Early life He was born Hla Kyaw (, ) to Daw Zalat () and her husband U Pya () in a small Upper Burma village called Kanneint () in Sagaing Division on 24 April 1889. He had an elder sister Phwa Thaik () and a younger brother Tha Pon (). Like most Burmese boys of the era, Hla Kyaw received his education at the local Buddhist monastery, Inna Monastery () run by Ven. U Sandima (, Pali: Candimā). At 12, he became a novice monk with the dhamma title of Wisara (, Vicāra). He left the order after four