Independence struggles, governments

It is not very rare in the modern world, that people belonging to a particular community, concentrated in a particular geographical location; feel strangulated by a government of a foreign community and want independence. Struggle to that end for many many years. It happened in the case of India, which was under a colonial British rule for a few centuries. Even within the independent sovereign state of India demands for an independence from various regions, communities are quite common, be it from Kashmir, Sikhs, Assam etc etc. Within UK there has been a struggle for independence by the Scottish people. In Spain it is from Catalans. There must be many more instances that I am unaware of. I started thinking -critically about it rather recently. What is the genesis of this disease? What can be a cure? I believe the real genesis of the disease lies in human ambitions, ignorance and greed for power. Once particular set of people, become successful they become more and more ambitious. They

attack or slowly acquire control over another community that is much more ignorant and developed. It is very profitable in the beginning. As the people from the acquired region become less ignorant and hence more ambitious, they realize how they are being exploited. A particular section leads an Independence struggle. This section is now greedy for power that comes from being the Government. The ignorant masses seldom gain much because they are exploited and will remain exploited and poor, whatever set of people govern them. While it gives immense joy to many to participate in an independence struggle, it does raises many dreams and hopes. An independence thus achieved is seldom a panacea. Governments are seldom for the people, they are for 'politicians' only! This set or that set, greedy to the core and lazy. Now my cure for the disease. It is in educating people to think critically for themselves more often. Cultivate that habit and not to believe in any popular politician for too long. Even when the life seems comfortable, not to be lazy for thinking. It is not easy to get change, most often it is a long struggle that passes through many stages. From each stage one becomes wiser, not culpable to common mistakes. This hold for even persons within a government. Everyone needs to be compassionate. If a certain community is anxious for lingual, educational independence the demand cannot be ignored for too long. For multiple files hold down the shift key when selecting. The common people, the governed masses, must know that whatever be the government, of people from their own community or foreign, its nature invariably remains the same. Government of any hue is constrained by the rules of governance, democracy etc etc. These rules have to change, evolve with time. Significant real benefits of any struggle fructify only after several generations. Rakesh Mohan Hallen