Thein Pe Myint was a leading Marxist intellectual and an important player in the Burmese independence movement and postwar politics.

When the Second World War began Thein Pe Myint was one of a few leading Burmese independence activists that refused to ally with fascist Japan.

In an open break with most other prominent student leaders like Aung San, Thein Pe Myint sided with the Allied powers, even if it meant working with the British.

He played a leading role in propaganda and liaison activities between wartime Burmese leaders, like General Aung San, and the British Force 136, the special operations and intelligence unit.

His inaugural work "Tet Phonegyi "(The Modern Monk; တက်ဘုန်းကြီး) openly deals with scandalous sexual liaisons and corrupt affairs of some of Burmese Buddhist clergy.

The provocative book shocked the highly devout Burma, and came to symbolize the open challenge by the left-leaning college-educated student activists to the old unspoken norms of Burmese society.

He was the chief editor of the left leaning influential paper until 1964 when his newspaper was nationalized by the socialist government led by General Ne Win as part of his Burmese Way to Socialism.