When the President of the United States visited India on the fifth of November he inadvertently unleashed a flood of newsprint detailing every minute of his trip. Journalists in most parts of the world put their brightest brains to work theorizing, summarizing and critiquing his actions, speeches and message. A month later with much of the dust settled and with the new wiki-leaks revelation, I’ll foray into an aspect of the relationship between the world’s largest and oldest democracies. American strategic interests closely define the types of relationship the superpower decides to follow. At this they can be if you forgive the imperialistic overtones, be remembered as the British Empire; long back in a much simpler world than today.
The Indian situation is very unique in the world. A colony 50 years ago, a developing country with millions below poverty and yet a dynamic global economy rushing headlong into the future. The economic prowess along with political stability of democracy makes it a much needed friend for those who seek a counter to red China. Then there is what India truly wants, a high place amongst the leading nations and to recapture its lost glory and power. It is with these intentions that the nation strives to become a member in organizations like the SCO and the UNSC and created organizations such as the SAARC and NAM. Another more healthy organization that India is a member of is the Commonwealth of Nations. Lets talk of this Commonwealth.
Founded at the dissolution of the British Empire, the Commonwealth of Nations has remained a very apolitical meeting of former colonies for the most obvious of reasons. Political conversations at anything connected to England were repugnant after centuries of colonial rule. So like a few of those rare international bodies, akin to the Olympics organization, UNESCO or UNICEF, the CoN has evolved with little disagreement or bitter conflicts amongst its members. You can almost picture it as an afternoon tea club of old timers who attend this social nicety to reflect and chitchat over their past. This almost allows us to forget that between its 35+ member nations, the Commonwealth contains a third of the world’s population and a 7.5 trillion dollar economy by parity. Overall relations between most commonwealth nations is very good and the shared cultural values and traditions especially in sports create sharp rivalries but even warmer bonds of camaraderie. This depth of mutual confidence was highlighted by the visit of the British Prime Minister David Cameroon to India. Cameroon’s stance towards many of India’s core interests is very heartening to the establishment at New Delhi.
Another power block that seeks better relations without too much strategic interest is the European Community. The EU is possibly one of the few power blocks that has tried to do as little in terms of military and strategic gains as possible. Its core focus and very well needed it is, is the economy. Currently the EU and the USA remain India’s top trading partners. The EU however has two of India’s friends within its bloc in the form of the United Kingdom and France. Add the ally Russia into the equation and the European continent seems to become a very pro Indian zone. Free of the strategic commitments that tie up the US foreign policy in knots, the European community can engage in meaningful memorandums with India. Its commitment can be unalloyed to a far greater extent.
As for the Indians, they find themselves in an online dating service with a bounty of choices as long as the GDP stays on the 9% growth rate. There were a generation of people way back in the 1880’s who were men of the British Empire. They realized far ahead of their time that the concept of Empire could bond people far away with common experiences and ideas even if they chose to maintain their own distinctive cultures. The old Indians died and with them their vision as the benevolent empire grew corrupted by the stench of power and greed. This created a new firebrand Indian who detested imperialism and all its derivatives thereof. Today, on the threshold of a future of boundless opportunities as India ascertains who its true allies are and where is its position amongst the group of nations, we can be led astray. False hopes or our own greed can blind us and reduce a strong asset, our prestige. I believe that it is time that we citizens of the commonwealth, consider taking the group of nations a step further. Most of the nations that matter in the commonwealth already convene together in other conventions of importance. Can the commonwealth be restructured to command more power than it now does? Or will we be forced to chose camps between the United States or the SCO (Russia, China) and forget friends with whom we have so much to share.
