Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Colonial mindset with Imperialism attitude should stop' that was published in Newsband

Colonial mindset with Imperialism attitude should stop

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) was held in London. The summit was being held in the U.K., the founder of the grouping of mostly former British colonies, after 32 years. It was widely expected that India would step up to a bigger role, and help chart a future course for the Commonwealth.

It was announced that Prince Charles would ‘succeed’ his mother as the head of the Commonwealth. There were substantive statements on the Blue Charter on Ocean Governance and on the Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda for Trade and Investment, which could together counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Prime Minister Theresa May apologised for her Home Office’s threat to deport thousands of immigrants brought as manual labour in the 1940s from the Caribbean. Will Britain reverse its policies on immigration?

The U.K.’s hard line on Indian “illegals” indicates that post-Brexit London is likely to welcome trade in goods from the Commonwealth, not services. The Commonwealth remains a great platform for development aid, democratic values and educational opportunities. It should adopt a more egalitarian and inclusive attitude

Some people feel that Commomwealth is just a talking shop and parade opportunity for leaders. In the world where UN and WTO are there for equal participation, there is little space for Commonwealth to do anything, except organize games, summits and tour for British royalty. India should quit and stand on its own, they strongly feel. The meeting of Commonwealth nations yielded almost nothing because of its outdated approach towards the world's pressing problems.

Here were some important features of CHOGM> A brief paragraph touched on their recognition of “safe, regular and responsible migration”, and various protocols related to refugees. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was greeted by his British counterpart Theresa May at the official welcome ceremony for the Commonwealth meet in London.

There were no India-U.K. deal on illegal migrants. Immigration has long been an issue for the Commonwealth as it has for other multinational bodies, but in the wake of the rise of populist forces around the world, and the supposed opportunity the Commonwealth offered as a bulwark against these, the 2018 summit could have presented an opportunity for it (its Western powers in particular) to send a signal that it stood for something different. Sending a message of openness would have indicated a real willingness to revisit and revitalise the organisation.

The attendance by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was widely hailed as an example of the new importance accorded to it by India, one of the largest economies in the Commonwealth.

As far as Prince Charles is concerned, in Britain, questions about his suitability for the role surfaced, and whether he truly had grasped the changed nature of the world and Commonwealth nations that he would be heading.

This is not to say that the Commonwealth does not have a role at all. London played host to discussions on civil society tackling issues such as modern slavery, the need to clean up the world’s oceans, and malaria. India, for one, has very specific ambitions within the Commonwealth, centered around small island states that form the bulk of the members.

It is for the Commonwealth countries to accept the fact that the sun had already set on the British Empire and the rights to migration and free movement of people within the erstwhile realm must therefore need be adjusted to national boundary controls. The Commonwealth still have great relevance to grow into a huge a trading block and shine as a beacon for democratic ideals and jurisprudence.

Colonial mindset with Imperialism attitude of Britain should stop. It is irrelevant in the new global order. Any authoritarian dictates of the past must be buried deeply in the annals of history. Need of the hour is to look world stage with the lens of new and pragmatic aptitude and play the leadership role relevant to current scene. Britain still thinks of itself as a 'super-power'. It has not been able to come to terms with the fact that "the Sun does set over the 'Empire'". In fact the sun sets way too fast over the "Empire". The sooner it comes to terms with the ground realities the better it will be.