Do we need The Commonwealth?

With The Commonwealth Games, came the question, “Do we need The Commonwealth at all?”

In a multitude of forums, various ill-informed arguments came to the forefront, trying to weigh the pros and cons of The Commonwealth. Some interesting, some funny and a few of them rubbish!

It is very much palpable why people view The Commonwealth as a part and parcel of the former British Empire. For many romantic observers, as one of them has written some where, The Commonwealth is very much a useless remnant of redundant past. He writes, with the games in perspective, “...The ever-sunny British Empire, now history, gleamed in the eyes of Prince Charles, for a regretful second when he announced The Commonwealth Games open. Following the declarative voice of Prathibha Devisingh Patil, (accompanied by the swish of her hand), “let the games begin”; glitters of pyrotechnics lit the skies. The din of the crowd inundated the sounds! Nothing could be heard…it was India’s moment; claimed, unique and eternal.”

Of course, I can understand his behind-the-scene emotions! His emotions of pride do find their resonance in a past self of mine.

Despite being a factory of management gurus and technologists, we never believed that we could conduct The Commonwealth Games. Our past would never let us believe that, that to conduct the games is naturally feasible for us!

As a nation, we should be able to unlearn the past and learn for the future!

What matches the lingering colonial self of the British, which they sometimes exhibit in odd and stray cases (as some of my victim friends have confessed to me), is the attitude of servitude nonetheless manifested as superiority complex or a sense of denigration or scorn by us! The day we get rid of it, we can call ourselves developed!

So, do we need The Commonwealth?

Premise

A little research would tell you that The Commonwealth is not a political organisation like the UN. It is an Intergovernmental Organisation; very similar to an NGO. All the member nations are treated equally and share same roles and responsibilities. Queen Elizabeth II is just a ceremonial head of The Commonwealth and commands special powers, only in The Commonwealth realm. (The Commonwealth realm is a monarchy of 16 sovereign states including Australia, Newzealand and UK, with a monarch in Queen Elizabeth II.) The Commonwealth realm doesn’t enjoy any special powers with in The Commonwealth!

Also, The Commonwealth is having Rwanda and Mozambique as members, who were not a part of the former British Empire!

The major speciality of The Commonwealth is its practice of informality and back-channel diplomacy when it comes to tackling issues and crises that may spill over from within the member states. Often, this is much more effective and delivers quick results when compared to a protocol approach.

Additionally, the members of The Commonwealth are not ‘foreign’ to each other, since they share a common history, and resultantly share similar political and legal practices. Hence, the diplomatic missions between the member states are necessarily High Commissions and not Embassies.

Four arguments why India needs The Commonwealth!

o Commonwealth is obviously a community of English speaking countries. With its commitment to democracy and (reasonably) good governance, India has so much that it can share with other countries, including the growth story of India.

o G-8 countries and small state countries form parts of The Commonwealth. Hence it is a forum where global realities are better reflected. (In the UN, it’s the permanent-five that call the shots. In contrast, in The Commonwealth, none is privileged. )

o Almost all of the small states present in The Commonwealth look up to India. In a way, they see their future pinned to the largesse that is India. (Aside: the scene is different in the UN where many (non-Commonwealth) small states are at odds with India.) To short-put it; India won The Commonwealth Games because of their huge support.

o Indian population is sizeable in many of The Commonwealth countries. It is in the interests of India to maintain warm relations with all these nations. And The Commonwealth provides a good platform.