The overwhelmingly and convincing victory of the Scottish National Party in the recent British national elections, as seen in its winning 56 out of 59 seats along with this being a concomitant outcome of a “signal” for independence are both remarkable characteristics of a matured British political system and democracy, and something that our political system must take note of (“ >Scotland’s peaceful revolution ”, May 16).
When the erstwhile Conservative-Liberal coalition Government was in power, it neither legislated to ban the SNP when it began campaigning aggressively and mobilising opinion in Scotland for an independence referendum, nor resorted to any move to declare the SNP as anti-national and try and prosecute it. Equally noteworthy is the peaceful and harmonious manner in which the Scottish people, cutting across different ideologies, voted in the referendum without indulging in any form of political fanaticism or violent activism to buttress their cause for or against independence.
Even David Cameron’s appeal to the Scottish marks a matured and diplomatically measured response that highlights the country’s ability to handle divergent sentiments without adversity.
Aravind Sridhar,
Bengaluru
