Scotland Referendum (OP-ED)

Dismantling Empires Through Devolution

Before the vote was cast, British Prime Minister David Cameron and his team were so worried by voter sentiment swinging toward Scottish independence that they promised a raft of additional powers to Edinburgh (and Wales and Northern Ireland) such as the right to set its own tax rates—granting even more concessions than Scotland’s own parliament had demanded. Scotland won before it lost. Furthermore, what it won it will never give back, and what it lost it can try to win again later. England, meanwhile, feels ever more like the center of a Devolved Kingdom rather than a united one.

What Scottish independence referendum means for Asia, for India

[...] The India of today is a union of many culturally exclusive states that were under the British Raj. These states did not have much to do with one another before the East India Company came into the picture. In fact, the north and south of India were completely disconnected from one another politically. When such a kaleidoscope of cultures forms a nation – sure it’ll face challenges, many of which, I might add, are direct results of colonialism. And India’s hesitancy to reform its system has led to many present-day problems. [...]

Lessons from Scotland for South Asia

Though ‘No’ finally trumped ‘Yes’ and the United Kingdom stayed ‘united’ the recent referendum for Scottish independence holds several important lessons for both votaries of separatism as well as national unity everywhere.

Scotland Referendum entails implications for the world and India

The BBC report says “Most newspapers (in India) fear the referendum will fuel calls for similar exercise in Indian-administered Kashmir and the country’s north-eastern region.” On the eve of referendum, The Telegraph noted, “India is quietly hoping Scotland does not breakaway from the UK, but it has not only articulated its stance on the referendum. It worries about a separation rooted in the implications for Kashmir and the country’s east”.