It’s not just economic disgruntlement. Catalonians purportedly want independence from Spain to preserve their cultural and linguistic identity but they can learn from India that diversity flourishes best in a unified nation
Over the past month, one has followed the dramatic unfolding of events in Catalonia with incredulity and stupefaction. I conversed with many Spaniards on the subject — people of different backgrounds, ages, regions and professions. And yet, I am left bemused —Independence from whatIJ
living in the world’s largest democracy, with a population of 1.3 billion people; the birthplace of four religions; a land in which over 20 languages, 300 dialects and 13 scripts exist; where each State boasts its own culture, traditions, gastronomy, etc and where ,we as people, have lived in harmony for the last 70 years more or less, all this fuss about Catalonian separatism seems rather capricious and overrated.
Catalonia’s principle grouse has been the fact that it receives far less from the State than it is made to pay by way of taxation. However, it seems perfectly normal that in a country, often the more prosperous regions or States receive less, as per their requirement and contribute more towards the national treasury. This is how poorer States are brought up to the level of development of the richer ones. It may seem unfair, yes. But it is necessary and it is the responsibility of the Union Government to serve the needs of the entire country, not just a part of it. It is not permitted the luxury of favouritism.
This concept may be hard to comprehend for those who don’t have a very clear understanding of a ‘nation’ in the first place. Since my very first trip to Spain, over 15 years ago, I have always been struck by the Spanish people’s aversion to nationalistic sentiment. Spain has not awoken from its Franconian nightmare. It has not succeeded in reclaiming national symbols like the flag, the monarchy or patriotism and ascribing to them a new, positive connotation.
There was a time when we in India were not permitted to fly our tricolour on non-Government buildings and it bothered someone enough to initiate a Public Interest litigation in order to change that. It would have served Spain well to create a sense of unity among its people whereby they would know that despite their regional, cultural, ideological and linguistic differences, they belong to a larger entity, one that embraces them and is theirs to call their own. There is much talk these days of ‘Catalonian nationalism’. I wonder if, perhaps, one is not confusing ‘nationalism’ with ‘separatism’ and whether that confusion doesn’t spring from the absence of nationalism in the real sense.
Apart from economic disgruntlement, Catalonians have also historically maintained their desire to be independent in order to better preserve their cultural and linguistic identity. Once again, they could take a page out of the Indian book. Take for instance, the Bengalis and their tremendous pride in their cultural and literary greatness. They are not without reason. Be it the classic cinema of Satyajit Ray or the poetry (and indeed the beautiful National Anthem of India), which are a result of Tagore’s literary genius, the Bengalis have much to be proud of. Time and modernisation have in no way diminished the manner in which Bengalis, even those who live elsewhere in the country, preserve their traditions and culture and pass it on to the next generation. The same may be said of Rajasthanis or Punjabis or Tamilians.
So, once again, I find myself questioning: What is the perceived threat that the Catalonians feel towards their cultureIJ Who is impeding them from promoting their cultural richness, through theatre, literature and musicIJ Who denies them the right to show their children the art of Dalà and Miró or to visit the Sagrada FamÃlia and the Houses of GaudÃIJ Since when has cultural education been the prerogative and purview of the GovernmentIJ
Similar questions come to mind when one hears of their need to protect their language from the onslaught of castellano. In India, many of us study a language which is not our mother tongue. I went to an English-medium public school. Most of my friends speak very poor Hindi, either because it’s not their mother-tongue or because they seldom use it. At my home, it was my Dadi who insisted we spoke a certain amount in Hindi because it mattered to her (and indeed to us), that we be connected to our roots and not become ‘over-anglicised’.
language and culture and not static. Their beauty and eternal quality lies in their dynamism. They can only be enriched and the onus of that lies with those who believe in their value. As far as Catalán goes, well, it doesn’t go far. It is spoken in Catalonia. Only in Catalonia. It is not spoken in the rest of Spain, nor in latin America, nor in the old, Spanish colonies, nor at the UN.
Castellano (synonymous to most with ‘Spanish’), is the second most widely-spoken language in the world. It is a popular choice among foreign languages for people like us, for the panorama of opportunities it offers. In this age of globalisation, it seems strange to say the least, that Catalonia, which claims to be the ‘most European face of Spain’, should choose to alienate itself from the language which has the most lucrative opportunities to offer and by far, the greater future.
The distinctions of which the Catalonians speak, appears to be pale in comparison to those in a country like ours. Though India today is far less tolerant, united and democratic than may be desired, it is still a stellar example of convivial plurality. There is no excuse for ignorance of the damage that awaits Catalonians (and indeed all Spaniards), should they continue down this path. Not after the pitiful example of Brexit, not after having lost half their economy, not after the EU members have firmly aligned themselves with their partner-Spain-whom they insist is “the sole interlocutor” as far as they are concerned, not after the many articles, speeches, debates, supplications and petitions by experts from all fields who had warned of the enormity of consequences of a Unilateral Declaration of Independence, which was ignored by Catalonian leaders. It makes one question then, whether what Catalonians have ever really wanted was independence or whether it is equality with Spain. like an indulged child who wants everything his cousins have so as to feel ‘equal’, so seems the case of Catalonia, with its immense complex before Spain which it knows not how to overcome in any other way.
Catalonia lacks the support of the international community. Is that because it lacks their sympathyIJ Despite the illegality of the Referendum, which was reason enough, one may still have expected the international community to intervene, had they considered the ‘plight’ of the Catalonians meritorious. They obviously don’t. Catalonians are not an oppressed people. Contrary to the popular chant these days of “Spain is robbing us”, Spain is not robbing them of anything. Not their money, not their culture, not their freedom of expression.
India has indeed been robbed much throughout its history, most of all when it has been found to be fractured politically and socially. It should be a lesson to us as much as to Spain that our countries’ strengths lie in their unity and diversity.
(The writer is a former correspondent of the Spanish News Agency EFE and has worked extensively with Spanish and latin American media)