Revolution : A Gray Phenomenon
I generally have the tendency & penchant to dabble into random topics mostly historical and try to bring out an inherent bias in the same. It’s always a case of “History is always written by the winners. When two cultures clash, the loser is obliterated with the winner writing the history books glorifying their own cause and disparaging the conquered foe.” Even the all so conquering Napoleon once said, ‘What is history, but a fable agreed upon?’
Throughout history there have been multiple political and social revolutions like the French , the Russian etc. which changed the course of History. These revolutions were mostly against the monarchy, the clergy and mostly succeeded in a bid to overthrow them. More recently revolutions like the Arab Spring overthrew dictators in the Middle East countries. Revolutions over the years have been a tool to overthrow the tyrannical rulers typically reacting against an oppression whether social, political or economic.
While the act of revolting against the ruler opposing his oppression is perceived good, I tend to disagree with the method and result of the same. Revolutions are mostly violent and lead to deaths on both sides. It’s different that a war with the losing and winning side belonging to the same country. It all starts with fear, leading to hate and then anger against the two factions.
Like in the Russian Revolution, the Tsar and his family were brutally murdered with their remains unknown until the last few decades. They replaced the Tsars with a communistic regime which brought the world on the brink of a third world war. Similar thing happened with the French Monarchy which was overthrown leading to foreign players eyeing for a slice of the power pie in France.
The Arab Spring which overthrew long standing dictators left a political void in the entire middle east. The early hope that these revolutionary movements would end corruption, increase political participation, and bring about greater economic equity quickly collapsed in the wake of the moves by foreign state actors in Bahrain and Yemen, and the destructive civil wars in Syria, Iraq, Libya.
This brings me to my understanding of the topic, that while revolutions are needed to overthrow the tyrannical rulers and free the people of incessant oppression it must be well directed and the post facto result, power fabric should be taken into a account. In the Indian Freedom Struggle, I generally disagree with Mahatma Gandhi and think that his ways often led to India getting independence a little late. However, the opposition of the Indian people was well directed and there was a clear picture of what the post facto power structure would be with provisional governments and a constitution.
The next time you hear the word ‘ Revolution’ whether political, economic, religious or social it would be great to sit back and think before committing your support to any of the factions. Peace out !
