The issue of whether subduction is still active in the India-Burma plate boundary zone has been rather controversial. While the presence of an eastward dipping Indian lithospheric slab is undisputed, different opinions have been voiced regarding the continuance of subduction at present. Analysis of the Harvard CMT data in comparison with major subduction zones of the world demonstrates that the Burmese arc is a unique region where there is a subducted slab but the direction of plate motion is nearly perpendicular to the down-dip direction. We propose a major right-lateral shearing of the Indian plate along with its subducted slab past the Burmese plate in the NNE direction. ¿ 1999 American Geophysical Union