History is strife with stories of buried ethnic groups which could not outlive the struggle for existence. Of groups, which have risen and fallen from glory. A quick check on how successful groups have survived and prospered, I see 3 key aspects – Political, Economical and Cultural. Any group which had all the three in a good proportion, survived and several which were extremely strong on two but weak in one bit the dust.
1. Political – Jews have struggled for milleniums, persecuted in several countries. They were economically very well to do, culturally fanatic but they were never represented in politics. When the wake up call came after the holocaust, they politically realigned and have risen to be one of the most successful ethnic/theological group. Take Sindhis in India, they are a waning group – not politically represented. Kurds, Mongols…..the list doesnt end here
2. Economical – Anyone who hasnt been economically sustain oneself, has been victim of the richer and the powerful. India, once upon a time generated half the world’s GDP but was weaked economically over centuries of looting where the ‘capital’ was steadily moved to the industrial countries. It is now, with the newly surging economy we are looking up.
3. Culture – When you have lost your cultural identity, you are half dead, so is your group. For this factor, I will reverse the argument by highlighting cultures which have dominated by spreading their cultural identity. The English have ensured that the sun never sets in their ‘empire’ by leaving a key aspect of their culture behind – English. Culture, I agree is a loose term, and by this I mean language, food and customs. To survive, any ethnic group should conserve and grow their languages, the popular means being drama, poetry, songs and of late, films.
