CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -Thailand (/ˈtaɪlænd, -lənd/ TY-land, -⁠lənd), historically known as Siam (/saɪˈæm, ˈsaɪæm/) and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning 513, 120 square kilometres (198, 120 sq mi), with a population of almost 70 million.

Detailed explanation-2: -Thailand covers an area of 513, 120 km², the country is just slightly larger than Spain or slightly more than twice the size of the U.S. state of Wyoming. Until 1939 the country was known as Siam.

Detailed explanation-3: -In 1939, the Thai military government under Field Marshal Phibun Songkram changed the country’s name from Siam to Thailand, justifying that it was suitable to call the nation by a name that represented the country’s majority and was popular with the people. Siam had been the name of the kingdom for almost 800 years.

Detailed explanation-4: -The country was renamed on 23 June 1939. Stamps commemorating King Rama VI (left) and King Rama IX (right). People speaking one of the Tai group of languages settled in what is now Thailand around 1, 000 years ago.

Detailed explanation-5: -The word Siam itself is one that’s Sanskrit in origin, coming from the word Śyāma, which means dark or brown, in reference to the skin colour of the native people. Ever indecisive, Siam’s name changed to Thailand in the year 1939, before coming to be known as Siam once more between 1946 and 1948.