Clamour For Kosovo

Retrieved from Deep Freeze

I intended to write this earlier, but kept postponing it Ah ,well.

It is hard not to feel disappointed with this clamour for Kosovo best exemplified by this article, written disappointingly, by Pratap Bhanu Mehta. This does however represent the general position in that it is lacks any convincing argument or even an insight. I admit I am not unduly alarmed by Kosovo independence. Sure these is a possibility that Kosovo might join Caliphate, but Kosovo is hardly the country which is going to scare the beejuses out of me. Or even the fact that this development is in all probability going to cause unpleasant business.

What galls me can be stated as following.

One. There is no international law involved in this case. Sure there can be scope of understanding, but the question of nation formation is more a case of history, identity and balance of power than some universally agreed upon principle.

Second. Related to first, there is a curious (and also irritating) subtext that Kosovo has repercussion on territorial integrity of India, the argument goes that principle of self determination that is employed for Kosovo can be used to support succession of various disgruntled regions from India (Kashmir, North East, Galt's Gunch etc.). This is pure bunkum. Whether India survives or not depends upon ability of Indians to both establish a unifying narrative as well as her military strength, principle international or otherwise, doesn't enter into it.

Third and final. The argument opposing Kosovo independence belongs to the tired liberal ideology best summarized in phrase "holiday from history". Indeed it is frustrating to see Mr Mehta stretching his case for sake of a vaunted multi ethnic and secular nation democracy. Why should Kosovo remain in an arrangement it doesn't wish to , or is not even forced to. It is erroneous for Mr Mehta to conflate how a nation is formed with how a nation is governed. As stated earlier in the post, former is a function of socio-cultural identity and essentially decided with flow of history, the matter of governance on the other hand is matter of political philosophy and its aims constrained by existing circumstances. Therefore it is not so much as Europe has failed in her ability to form stable multi ethnic nation as a product of her history which resolved in present situation, with diverse territories of Austria-Hungary Hapsburg and Ottoman empires disintegrating to form homogeneous democracies. Similarly relative stability of India isn't a result of liberal project but her history and culture and it is that which is responsible for her success. To assume otherwise is fallacious and yet this is what liberal establishment assumes, and peddles as the incontrovertible truth.