The Scots Back Off
The Scottish Nationalist Party forced through a referendum
on September 18, to ask the Scots if they would vote for independence from the
United Kingdom, and dissolve the 307-year-old Union. A ‘No’ verdict was
delivered by a simple majority of less than 500000 votes, or by 55% of the
heavy 85% turn-out voting against. David Cameron, the British Prime Minster, who
had said earlier his heart would break if the United Kingdom were dissolved,
said in a relieved speech that the nationalist aspiration was dismissed at
least for a generation. He added hastily that powers over taxation, welfare and
local affairs would be devolved to the lower Scottish parliament as soon as
possible, and similar devolution would take place in Wales and Northern Ireland.
Alex Salmond, the First Minister of Scotland [as the leader of the Scottish
parliament is termed] has resigned saying defiantly that the dream for
independence ‘would never die.’
A sigh of relief has gone up from several European
governments, which have been facing demands for independence from unhappy
regions. The European Union saw the referendum as a threat to itself, for
success would definitely have been followed by similar separatist demands from
all over the continent. The Basques of Spain have waged armed struggle for
decades, and the Catalans of the Barcelona region have also demanded
separation. The Lega Nord of Italy would like to carve out the richer part of
northern Italy from the poorer south. The Dutch speakers of Belgium have never
got along with the Walloons. The grave ongoing crisis in eastern Ukraine,
setting Europe and Russia at loggerheads, could be replicated elsewhere. Even
further off, the ‘no’ verdict set at rest English fears in Canada that the
referendum could reignite Quebec separatism, to say nothing of Tamil eelam
aspirations in Sri Lanka.
The search for Scottish independence has very old roots.
They are a different people from the English, with Celtic ethnicity, and once
speaking Gaelic in the remote mountainous regions to the north. Even during the
days of the Roman Empire, two-thousand years ago, they remained a fiercely
independent people, and the Emperor Hadrian built his famous wall to demarcate
their lands. Later when marauding English tribes overran Britain, they still
could not take Scotland. English kings who came to power in the Middle Ages fought
fierce battles with their northern neighbours. Edward I, ‘the Bane of the
Scots’ said famously on his deathbed that they should carry his bones to battle
the Scots. Mel Gibson’s fictionalised epic Braveheart
recently popularised this period. The two crowns were merged when Elizabeth
I died issueless and James VI of Scotland was crowned as James I of England.
Scottish resistance was finally broken in the cruel battle
of Culloden of 1746 when the Duke of Cumberland, the son of King George II,
crushed the Scots, and permitted his troops to commit unspeakable atrocities
against the defenceless civilian population. The clans of the highlands were
dispersed, and even a famous hero like Rob Roy was forbidden to use his clan
name of Macgregor. Even to this day, many of the Scots have not forgotten what
happened long ago, and will not permit ‘the
Campbells’ to come into their homes, remembering the role they played in that
infamous battle.
The English rulers having conquered and ‘pacified’ the Scots,
along with the Irish and the Welsh, recruited them for their armies to conquer other
nations. Millions emigrated to settle colonies. Over five million people of
Scottish origin live in Canada today, and that country owes a great deal to
their pioneering efforts. Many rose to be great men, like lords Dalhousie and
Munro, and others became rich capitalists like Andrew Carnegie, the steel-magnate
of the USA. But many among the English continued to treat the poorer Scots with
contempt over the years, the most famous being Dr. Sam Johnson, who insulted
them often, once stating in his famous dictionary that ‘oats was eaten by
horses in England and by men in Scotland.’
Such slights were not forgotten by these proud people and
pressures continued to build up for greater autonomy, especially after the end
of the British Empire. Finally in 1998 the British Parliament established the
lower Scottish parliament in Holyrood – similar to Indian state-level
legislatures – with limited powers. The Scottish Nationalist Party began its
drive for independence, despite dire warnings that it would turn Scotland into a
failed state. The people around Alex Salmond the nationalist saw no reason why
Scotland should not be as successful as – for example – Austria, especially
since she had North Sea oil. Scotland has an excellent history of producing
professionals and experts, and was better positioned – say – than the UAE to
survive a post-oil crunch. However, a skilful propaganda campaign carried out
by British parties seems to have undermined their confidence, and the voters
weighted towards the elderly chose the status quo rather than an untried
future.
The 800-year old struggle waged by the Irish first broke the
hold of the English over their near neighbours. The Indian freedom movement
that followed ended the British Empire. If the Scots had not backed off this
week, they might have finally helped the English to break away from memories of
their imperial past and start living in the present as Europeans.
Unfortunately, journalist-historians like Niall Ferguson, who romanticize the
empire, have kept the English psychologically locked into a dysfunctional past,
losing them a key role in the shaping of new Europe, and making them nothing
but a subservient de facto colony of the USA.
Vithal Rajan
Hyderabad
Vithal.rajan@gmail.com
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