Thursday, February 28, 2013

Idea of a Nation - iv_a

There are quite a few independence movements that are gaining momentum in Europe. The recent one being Catalonia. My understanding is that they want to secede from Spain but want to become part of European Union. I believe many Scottish nationalists and Basque nationalists have the similar goal.

In my opinion (which I expressed here or somewhere else), nations with two or three linguistic/ethnic identities shouldn't exist. These nations invariably try to impose the identity of a dominant group on other smaller groups. So, a natural nation could only be a region with no dominant identity or even if there is a dominant identity it doesn't make up the majority. In this sense, India and Europe are natural nations.

I suppose, for humanity's sake, it's better for Sri Lanka to join Indian union and Turkey to join European union. This is the only way the humiliations and suppression of Tamils and Kurds in those regions respectively can be addressed. 

Of course, the authority to grant new states should only rest on the central government in these unions.