Many books on Burma (politics, society, religion, conflicts, gender, ad nauseum) have been produced in English since the political opening. These have been read and reviewed in English only among English-speaking crowds who share more or less similar worldviews and group think.

Perhaps, some curious Burmese would buy a copy from Pansodan bookshops but might never manage to read in its entirety, let alone analyze it. A few may even be delighted to find their life stories in print in what is considered a universal language. Parts of academic or journalistic writings would eventually be translated in Burmese. Again, for the vast majority of people, the works are to be saved for possible reading later.

In the mean time, Burmese scholarship itself has become a rather marginalized movement. Of course, those educated Anglophone Burmese are writing and publishing stuff but to what extent their message is heard or representative? Hearing them doesn't necessarily follow 'getting' the Burmese right because the voice of the people who do not speak the language would have been lost -- in translation and interpretation. What complicates things further is the fact that outsiders study Burma with a wide range of different interests and motives. Being a multifaceted society frozen in time capsule, Burma is a place to confirm or refute any preconceived theories.

The political implication thus sometimes leads to the country and society being abused, harassed, and even insulted, just as it had once been indulged and pampered. Is there an equilibrium to get out of this? I do not know. Lots of good factors need to converge with some luck for that to happen.