Parmeshwar Devkota

On 24 December, the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK), after three years of disagreements, debates and discussions, struck a 1,200-page trade deal. The two sides agreed that 25 per cent of the EU boats' fishing rights in the UK waters will be transferred to the UK fishing fleet by 30 June 2026. The UK will be out from the two organisations - the EU and the European Atomic Energy Community.
History shows that the concept of the EU was conceived after World War II to keep the countries in Europe in close contact following the devastation of World War II. Extreme nationalism had fuelled war and subsequent destruction of lives and property.
If we go through the EU's history, it was a hard-earned organisation. It was conceived in 1946 as the United States of Europe. The Council of Europe was formed in 1949. As it did not work, another body the European Coal and Steel Community was created in 1952. Later, the Treaty of Rome focused on the economic and nuclear cooperation. It was in 1986 when a single European Act was signed creating an EU flag.
When a strong economic growth of Germany and shrewd French influence prevailed in the organisation, the megalomaniac British leaders started feeling humiliated. They held a referendum in 2016 in which 52 per cent self-important British people gave their consent for leaving the EU. Then, the process of withdrawal began. It took long three years. In their words, they 'held hard bargaining’.
After signing the Brexit Trade Deal, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, "We have taken back control of our money, borders, laws, trade and our fishing waters".
Even the opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer accepted the deal. Starmer, a leader of the UK's opposition Labour Party, expressing solidarity to Premier Johnson, said: "It is not the deal that the government promised – far from it... A better deal could have been negotiated, but I accept that option has now gone – the chance for renegotiation is over". It was happy-happy deal. No dispute, no quarrel and no bloodshed.
But, the British leaders had divided their huge colony, India, into two parts in three months. They had separated India and Pakistan along with the religious lines in stark opposition to Mahatma Gandhi. The then British rulers had assigned Hindu and Sikh majority villages, cities and areas to India and Muslim predominant areas, including Punjab and West Bengal (Bangladesh of today) to new country Pakistan.
The partition displaced 10-12 million people along the religious lines, creating historic refugee crisis. It is assumed that over 14 million people abandoned their homes. Large scale massacres rocked the sub-continent after the Britishers announced the partition. Neighbours slaughtered neighbours and friends became enemies. Estimates of the number of people killed in those months range between 200,000 and 2 million. Had the British Raj taken the division of India and Pakistan seriously, as it took the Brexit, the anomalies, stampedes and carnages could have been avoided. Anyway, it is a British-style of working.