Thailand needs to re-think about the concept of Thainess before social unrest or an ethnic uprising similar to that in the Deep South spreads to other regions, academics said at a seminar yesterday on the "Concept of Thainess and the Southern Insurgency."

Thirayuth Boonmee, director of the Sanya Dhammasak Institute, said that apart from political path to democracy in Thailand, there was also another urgent matter ---the deconstruction of the mainstream Thai-ization or the re-conceptualization of being Thai.

While the need was tangible for the deconstruction to better reflect plurality or diversity in Thai society, there required a wise selection of what concept various groups within Thailand would like to maintain, said Mr Thirayuth, a former student leader in the 1970s.

He conceded that Thainess has been created through assimilation and integration measures, therefore it was not easy and no short-cut was possible.

Saichol Sattayanurak, a Chiang Mai University' history lecturer, said the concept of Thainess and the Thai-ization which has been constructed and dominated Thailand for some 40-50 years ago has been attributed to the southern insurgency.

Giving Thai ethnicity a dominant role and centralizing political power has come with the blessings of Buddhism, which has been interpreted as bestowing social recognition of the higher dominating class, said Mrs Saichol, adding that the solution was therefore a re-interpretation of Buddhism in a more democratic manner for peaceful and equal co-existence.

"We must not allow an attitude that lauds art and culture which was created or derived from Buddhism to continue to be highly valued," said the historian.

She added that to solve the southern unrest, economic and political power and bargaining chips needed to be provided to the southerners.

Mrs Saichol said traditional or mainstream Thainess, which has so far succeeded in other regions of Thailand in maintaining cohesiveness or recognition of social classes, has been shaken, thanks to globalization that has created poverty and derived various groups of people of economic and political sustainability.

"Unless Thailand changes the meaning of Thainess to recognize plurality in Thai society, we will face a similar uprising against Bangkok-controlled Thainess," said the historian.

Kritiya Archavanichkul of Mahidol University's Population Research Institute said being Thai was fine unless it created frustration and led to exploitation of others who were not so Thai or not Thai at all.

Not only academia but also the public needed to accept differences within Thai society and the idea that they were not divisive, said Ms Kritiya.

She believed the southern problem was rooted in the conceptualization of mainstream Thainess and the collective memories of the local Malayu Southerners about their cultural identity.

Niti Pawakapan, a Thammasat University anthropology lecturer, said not only did different ethnicities interpret their identity differently, but the social class they belong to was also a decisive factor for the construction of their identity.

Educated Muslims and villager Muslims have different world views.

Thainess is also linked to militarism, "Thailand's underlying ideology signifies the glory of heroism and militarism," said Mr Niti from the Faculty of Political Sciences.

Worawit Baru, Vice Rector Prince of Songkhla University's Pattani Campus, hoped the next government would allow southerners to have more say in dictating their own future.

Angkhana Nilapaijit, chairperson of the Working Group on Justice for Peace, said there were problems not only from the Buddhist perspective but also from Muslim perspectives.

"While the Buddhist Thai cling tightly to their Thainess, the Muslims in the south also hold their Malayu-ness very fondly," said Mrs Angkhana.

Mrs Angkhana agreed with Niti that Muslim villagers could not relate to religious leaders or officials as they consider them a different class.

"Dr. Niti is right that the Muslim poor and Muslim rich do not relate t each other. Even when there are protests and Muslim leaders are sent to disperse the crowd, they find no reception or welcome from the Muslim protestors," said Mrs Angkhana, adding that de-construction of racist nationalism and identity must work both ways.