It is official. The average Scotsman is intelligent enough to see beyond empty rhetoric and false patriotic bravado. As Scotland chooses to remain part of the United Kingdom, it is interesting to draw parallels with things back home.
India, while having its fair share of bad governance and bilateral tense relationships with some of its neighbours, also seems to have this false idea of the unity of the nation. Every Independence and Republic Day, we hoist our national flag and sing songs of national unity, while our behavior otherwise is far from the virtues these songs inspire.
We look upon our Muslim countrymen as terrorists and criminals. We look upon our North-Eastern countrymen as outsiders with loose morals. We look upon our Christian countrymen as lazy freeloaders. We look upon Maharashtrians and Bengalis as lazy, Biharis as uncouth, Gujarathis and Marwaris as cheats, Delhites as conmen, Tamilians as pompous puritans, Keralites as Marxist drunks, Kashmiris as Pakistani supporters... the list of our prejudices go on and on. Prejudices that keep our tolerance paper thin and make us easy preys to manipulation by unscrupulous elements, sadly our own countrymen.
So when I look at Scotland's arguably narrow escape from political and economic anarchy, I wonder if all these factions in our diverse country begin to lobby for independence from India. The myriad reasons for which we create new states is a grim reminder of the inherent danger that our nation faces. Its time we let economic logic temper our decision making, rather that emotional biases make our decisions for us as a nation.
