The only way to approach this subject is to analyze real life examples of nations that were torn apart on one pretext or the other – and to assess the long term impact on the land, the people and the region. In the face of all odds (and an army of sceptics), it took the stubborn determination of Chancellor Kohl and the visionary leadership provideed by the Pope to bring down the Berlin wall. That leads us two important conclusions – the process of
reunification need not be a violent process involving the use of force. And that the deciding factor in the process is likely to be people’s participation and people’s power. The division of Korea is a relic of the cold war, and the cold war has ended. So, what are the reasons for delay? It is sad, but true, that when a state is set up, it soon develops a vested interest in its own perpetuation. It develops its own bureaucracy, its own institutions, its own ruling elite, and its own apparatus of state power. Needless to say, these are easier to set up, than to dismantle. That
brings us to perhaps the most important
conclusion – the necessity for a legal framework to carry out the reunification process. Lacking constitutional or parliamentary sanction, lacking the
force enjoined by law, it becomes difficult to carry out the reunification process to its logical conclusion. So, is there no way out? People to people contacts, trade and commerce ties, open communication links, and porous borders to allow the free movement of peoples. In other words, new relationships have to be build up to replace those that were so painfully ruptured a genration ago. And that brings us to another important conclusion: reunification is likely to be lengthy and long drawn out process, even when the political will to bring it about exists on both sides of the border. India was partitioned for one purpose only – to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. Except that
partition resulted in two million dead and over twenty million displaced. And the region has seen three wars and has been embroiled in unending conflict ever since. Hitler and Stalin could not have done more damage than Mountbatten did. India is also one among a long list of partitoned nations. Its problems – and its solutions – are not any different from other partitioned states. Ireland is important for two reasons. First, it clearly demonstrates that the principle of self-determination cannot be selectively applied. Where does one stop? Where does one draw the line? That is the reason why the policy of partition is bad in principle, and often leads to unmitigated disaster in practice. The second point I want to draw attention to is that, under these conditions, one man’s terrorist can easily become another man’s freedom fighter. That brings us back to the starting point of our discussion – what exactly constitutes a nation? The Soviet Union, Austria-Hungary, the British
Empire and the Ottoman Empire all are examples of empires that have long outlived their utility. An empire is inherently unstable because the yearnings of its constituent peoples can only be suppressed by the use of force, and still greater force.
More summaries about the Blog: Partition - A Crime Against Humanity