Are Revolutions justified? I mean the very event. Is History justified in glorifying these revolutions?
Well, to answer the second question, glorification in History needs no justification. Anything that creates an impact is sufficient reason to be glorified. Causes and reasons (howsoever remote) are superimposed on the event to portray a holistic picture and passed on from one generation to another.
Coming back to the first one, are revolutions justified? Let’s take the instance of French Revolution. The overthrow of monarchy resulted in as much as 800 Frenchmen were guillotined in a day! And, around 15,000 people were executed under the Guillotine for mere political actions or opinions. Riots and violence continued unabated for two long years. The Girondin-led National Convention, Robespierre and his Committee of Public Safety and the Thermidorian Reaction had all resulted in abuse of power. It was indeed a ‘reign of terror’. Can a ‘reign of terror’ be preferred over monarchy?
And, the French Revolution served no purpose since the reign of terror was followed by 15 years of military regime under Napoleon Bonaparte.
May be, but for the French Revolution, France would have had a much smoother transition. Revolutions are mere evolutions. In most cases, its simply transfer of power. Revolutions are overrated.
Well, to answer the second question, glorification in History needs no justification. Anything that creates an impact is sufficient reason to be glorified. Causes and reasons (howsoever remote) are superimposed on the event to portray a holistic picture and passed on from one generation to another.
Coming back to the first one, are revolutions justified? Let’s take the instance of French Revolution. The overthrow of monarchy resulted in as much as 800 Frenchmen were guillotined in a day! And, around 15,000 people were executed under the Guillotine for mere political actions or opinions. Riots and violence continued unabated for two long years. The Girondin-led National Convention, Robespierre and his Committee of Public Safety and the Thermidorian Reaction had all resulted in abuse of power. It was indeed a ‘reign of terror’. Can a ‘reign of terror’ be preferred over monarchy?
And, the French Revolution served no purpose since the reign of terror was followed by 15 years of military regime under Napoleon Bonaparte.
May be, but for the French Revolution, France would have had a much smoother transition. Revolutions are mere evolutions. In most cases, its simply transfer of power. Revolutions are overrated.
3 comments:
My oh My.. some thinking ur giving ur readers to do ;)
Well, somebody has to do it (the thinking)...and am not putting my hand up for it :)
Revolutions happen when people reach their tipping point. I guess any culture or society or civilization for that matter is meant to go through a cycle of chaos and sometimes they don't rise up like a phoenix. Nice post.
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