Politically involved monks included figures such as U Ottama, who argued that British rule was an obstacle to the practice of Buddhism and thus independence had to be gained, through violent means if necessary, though he also promoted Gandhian tactics like boycotts and tax avoidance. In support of the use of violence, he quoted some Jatakas. He was arrested numerous times and died in jail, becoming a sort of martyr for the independence movement. However, Lehr points out that monastic political agitation "did not sit well with the population at large since this open participation in anti-colonial politics, or in social activism, was deemed to be a violation of the monastic rules." The reputation of the activist monks was further damaged by the participation of a small group of monks in the anti-Indian Indo-Burmese riots of 1938.