When external threats bring internal unity

Many countries in the world face internal threats to national unity. Whether they are the newly created post-colonial states or the centuries old imperial states themselves.

Disgruntled individuals are always present in enough sizable numbers. And by disgruntled individuals (or Mis-guided youths, as the JnK CM would like to call them) I mean citizens who have from minor complaints against the acts of the State or other citizens to major threatining quarrels with the nation-state itself.

These complaints / quarrels would or could manifest themselves in various forms starting from a simple letters to the editor or a public interest petition to violent acts of terror.

In countries that practice democracy, democratic institutions and structures provide a ready made pressure release valve that periodically let out steam. This prevents the build-up of pressure to threatening levels.

In countries that do not practice democracy, the situation is far worse. Any act by the citizenry that even remotely seems to question the acts of the state is deemed threatening and hence provokes the state into taking measures to neutralize such threats. Even a casual look into today's newspapers would reveal such acts in many of the African and middle eastern countries and also in a few countries in south and east asia.

Whenever the threat level against the state reaches alarming levels, these countries which do not have any other mechanism other than repression to control the situation, resort to sabre-rattling and to cooking up of external threats to the nation. This immediately produces the desired effect of temporarily supressing the internal threat to managable levels.

Our western neighbour, who is in a perenial mode of anti-indianess, every once in a while up's the ante to reap the desired benefit. Afterall, a country born out of anti-indianess should atleast be expected to reveal its true birth behaviour every once in a while !

Even a country like Iran, with which we enjoy friendly relations, every once in a while throws an anti-western tantrum to legitimize the continued existence of the power structure that was established in the wake of the revolution about a decade ago.

Anyways, with the threat-external being practiced in almost every non-democratic state, we should probably analyze if such tactics have worked for democratic states too.

Lets look at two examples. One which happened in the recent and the other in the past.

Soon after the London terror attacks, when the whole of the United Kingdom was reeling under the post-terror trauma, came the good news. Following is an extract from the IRA's full statement :

"The leadership of Oglaigh na hEireann has formally ordered an end to the armed campaign. This will take effect from 4pm [1600 BST] this afternoon. All IRA units have been ordered to dump arms. All Volunteers have been instructed to assist the development of purely political and democratic programmes through exclusively peaceful means. Volunteers must not engage in any other activities whatsoever."

Yes, a lot of readers may argue that this was coming and signs of this was visible for quite sometime. But I am sure the recent T.attacks in London would have surely weighed on the minds of the leadership before hastening to announce the laying down of arms.

The second example is more closer to home.

Most regional parties in Tamil Nadu have their origins in the Justice Party established in 1916 by non-Brahmin social elites and the development of the non-Brahman Self-respect movement by E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker in 1925. In 1944, EVR as leader of the Justice Party renamed it to Dravida Kazhagam (Dravidian Federation). The primary goal of the DK was the establishment of an Independent state of Dravida Nadu.

It is well known that the DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) was established by CN. Annadurai after breaking away from the DK. And the primary goal of this party was to achieve Tamil Nationalism through democratic means.

Then came the sudden and rude invasion from the North by the chinese. The chinese came right down the NEFA and the administration of the state of Assam hastily flew out of the state leaving the people of the state high and dry. Recall the statement by the then Prime Minister Pt. Nehru "My heart goes out to the people of Assam. I don't know what is in store for them".

The situation in the entire country was tense and rumours were flying around that it would be only a matter of weeks before the invading PLA would reach calcutta.

It was this very external threat that brought the DMK to withdrawing its demand for a separate Dravida Nadu. C.N. Annadurai, as member of the Rajya Sabha, proclaimed in a very eloquent and emotional speech that his party would stand up for the integrity and unity of the motherland.

The buck stopped right there.