Scotland's choice: A triumph for democracy
The Kingdom of Great Britain was formed in 1707 through the union of England and Scotland. The Congress of the United States of America adopted a unilateral declaration of independence on July 4, 1776 and fought the Revolutionary War against Great Britain. Britain was defeated decisively in Yorktown in 1781 and recognized the independence of the United States in 1783.
Ireland joined with Great Britain in 1801 to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. On January 21, 1919, the vast majority of the Irish members of parliament met in Dublin and passed a declaration of independence. The Irish Republican Army fought the Irish War of Independence. Following a truce declared on July 9, 1921, a treaty was signed on December 6. Irish Free State thus got independence with dominion status like Canada and Australia. Very soon, North Ireland opted out of the Free State and remained as a part of the United Kingdom. Ireland became a republic in 1937.
When former East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, demanded autonomy from the central government, the Pakistan army carried out genocide on the Bengali population. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the leader in the National Assembly, declared independence of Bangladesh on March 26, 1971. Following a bloody war of independence, the Pakistan army surrendered on December 16, 1971. Bangladesh thus emerged as an independent state sacrificing the lives of three million martyrs. These events in history are cited for comparison with the recent referendum in Scotland. Following the formation of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in 1937, a campaign for home rule started in 1940. Two million people signed a document calling for home rule in 1960. In 1998, the Scotland Act was passed establishing the new Scottish Parliament. In 2011, the SNP obtained an absolute majority in the parliament and got a mandate to hold a referendum on independence. Following an agreement with the UK government, the Scottish Independence Referendum Bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament in November 2013.
A fair and peaceful referendum took place on September 18. With a turnout of 84.6% voters, 55.3% voted against independence. Out of 32 counties, only four opted for independence. Accepting the verdict of the referendum, Alex Salmond who spearheaded the campaign for independence resigned as the leader of the SNP and Scottish First Minister following democratic traditions. Scotland thus remains a part of the United Kingdom.
There was no unilateral declaration of independence, no war, no genocide and no clashes between the supporters and opponents of independence. The manner in which the issue of independence of Scotland was settled is indeed a triumph for democracy.
The writer is a former chief engineer of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission.
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