There is a lot of fuss being made about Commonwealth Games being held in Delhi from (October 3-14, 2010). An unprecedented mammoth activity is underway with all the agencies of the Delhi government and the centre coming together to spruce up the city before the games. There is no usual budgetary constraint and no one can estimate at this stage as to how much money is being poured into Delhi beautification drive. Just one agency, namely the Delhi Jal Board is spending Rs 1000 crore to “clean up the water sources” in Delhi before the Games. The Delhi metro is scheduled to complete its entire project before the Games to begin. There are bigger and smaller projects going on everywhere and in case any slum gets cleared and thousands become homeless overnight, it is of little concern to anyone. Yamuna Pushta adjoining the Yamuna basin where for decades on end there was a flourishing colony of tens of thousands of poor houses is now a sleek freeway and the venue for a metro station. Did anyone ask where these hapless people went? In any case no delhite would want to complain as the bonanza of amenities is too good to believe.
Celebrations are fine and the pride that India has been chosen to host the Games is equally something but somewhere there is this nagging issue of what is that we are celebrating? What is this “commonwealth” business all about. Why there is so much of fuss about this organistaion and its activities? What is so "common" among the member nations of this Commonwealth of countries?
Look close—and it is absolutely necessary for any self respecting Indians to do so while the frenzy of the Sports is picking up—and you might find that the Commonwealth represents a reminder of the blot of history in the member nations of the 53 nation strong Global body, would want to forget, namely their slavery to the British empire. The common aspect of every single member nation of the Commonwealth is that they were once a former colony of the Empire!
It is an irony that even almost 140 years after the first colony was released from the British Empire, namely Canada in 1867, they are to be reminded about their bondage by virtue of their membership to this body. India celebrating its newly found muscle as economic power, by being an active member of the commonwealth is only reminding itself time and again that it once was a member of the British empire as a slave nation. There cant be anything more demeaning than this which leaves a bad taste in the mouth whenever one sees the Commonwealth Games posters and the festoons heralding the advent of the Games.
According to the official site of Commonwealth, though the modern Commonwealth is just over 50 years old, the idea took root in the 19th century.
In 1867, Canada became the first colony to be transformed into a selfgoverning 'Dominion', a newly constituted status that implied equality with Britain. The empire was gradually changing and Lord Rosebury, a British politician, described it in Australia in 1884 as a "Commonwealth of Nations"
Other parts of the empire became Dominions too: Australia (1900), New Zealand (1907), South Africa (1910) and the Irish Free State (1921). All except the Irish Free State (that did not exist at the time) participated as separate entities in the First World War and were separate signatories to the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. Subsequently, they became members of the League of Nations.
After the end of the First World War, the Dominions began seeking a new constitutional definition and reshaping their relationship with Britain. The Conferences of Dominions begun in 1887 were resumed and at the Imperial Conference in 1926, the prime ministers of the participating countries adopted the Balfour Report which defined the Dominions as autonomous communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate to one another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations.
This definition was incorporated into British law in 1931 as the Statute of Westminster. It was adopted immediately in Canada, the Irish Free State, Newfoundland (which joined Canada in 1949) and South Africa. Australia and New Zealand followed. India, Britain's largest colony at the time, had still not achieved self-government and remained a Dominion under the India Act of 1935 until its independence in 1947.
Modern Commonwealth
After the Second World War, the shape of the British empire began changing drastically. India gained independence in 1947, the new state of Pakistan was simultaneously created, and a wave of decolonisation followed which saw several colonies become independent and sovereign states.
The London Declaration of 1949 was a milestone on the road to developing the modern Commonwealth. India provided an interesting test case: it desired to become a republic yet wanted to remain a member of the Commonwealth and this posed a fresh challenge to the entire concept. Would Commonwealth membership only be for countries "owing an allegiance to the Crown" as the Balfour Report had stated? A conference of Commonwealth Prime Ministers in 1949 decided to revise this criterion and to accept and recognise India's continued membership as a republic, paving the way for other newly independent countries to join. At the same time, the word 'British' was dropped from the association's title to reflect the Commonwealth's changing character.
The first member to be ruled by an African majority was Ghana which joined in 1957. From 1960 onwards, new members from Africa, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and the Pacific joined, increasing the diversity and variety that has enhanced the Commonwealth to this day.
With its commitment to racial equality and national sovereignty, joining the Commonwealth became a natural choice for many new nations that were emerging out of the decolonisation process of the 1950s and 1960s. Since then, the Commonwealth has grown in size and shape, expanding its reach and range of priorities. It is now involved in a wide spectrum of activities, all feeding the greater goals of good governance, respect for human rights, and peace and co-operation in the member countries and beyond.
In 1867, Canada became the first colony to be transformed into a selfgoverning 'Dominion', a newly constituted status that implied equality with Britain. The empire was gradually changing and Lord Rosebury, a British politician, described it in Australia in 1884 as a "Commonwealth of Nations"
Other parts of the empire became Dominions too: Australia (1900), New Zealand (1907), South Africa (1910) and the Irish Free State (1921). All except the Irish Free State (that did not exist at the time) participated as separate entities in the First World War and were separate signatories to the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. Subsequently, they became members of the League of Nations.
After the end of the First World War, the Dominions began seeking a new constitutional definition and reshaping their relationship with Britain. The Conferences of Dominions begun in 1887 were resumed and at the Imperial Conference in 1926, the prime ministers of the participating countries adopted the Balfour Report which defined the Dominions as autonomous communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate to one another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations.
This definition was incorporated into British law in 1931 as the Statute of Westminster. It was adopted immediately in Canada, the Irish Free State, Newfoundland (which joined Canada in 1949) and South Africa. Australia and New Zealand followed. India, Britain's largest colony at the time, had still not achieved self-government and remained a Dominion under the India Act of 1935 until its independence in 1947.
Modern Commonwealth
After the Second World War, the shape of the British empire began changing drastically. India gained independence in 1947, the new state of Pakistan was simultaneously created, and a wave of decolonisation followed which saw several colonies become independent and sovereign states.
The London Declaration of 1949 was a milestone on the road to developing the modern Commonwealth. India provided an interesting test case: it desired to become a republic yet wanted to remain a member of the Commonwealth and this posed a fresh challenge to the entire concept. Would Commonwealth membership only be for countries "owing an allegiance to the Crown" as the Balfour Report had stated? A conference of Commonwealth Prime Ministers in 1949 decided to revise this criterion and to accept and recognise India's continued membership as a republic, paving the way for other newly independent countries to join. At the same time, the word 'British' was dropped from the association's title to reflect the Commonwealth's changing character.
The first member to be ruled by an African majority was Ghana which joined in 1957. From 1960 onwards, new members from Africa, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and the Pacific joined, increasing the diversity and variety that has enhanced the Commonwealth to this day.
With its commitment to racial equality and national sovereignty, joining the Commonwealth became a natural choice for many new nations that were emerging out of the decolonisation process of the 1950s and 1960s. Since then, the Commonwealth has grown in size and shape, expanding its reach and range of priorities. It is now involved in a wide spectrum of activities, all feeding the greater goals of good governance, respect for human rights, and peace and co-operation in the member countries and beyond.
The upshot is clear, free thinking independent nations like India should set an example by first dissassociating with Commonwealth and if necessary found a new organisation for developing countries within the ambit of the United Nations or strengthen the existinig ones like SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) or ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) or any other regional or global body that serves the interest of developing nations. It is illogical and downright insulting to continue to foster the idea of a Commonwealth which subserves the interest of the British hegemony. Remember India is a free country and the second largest democracy and its newly minited generation does not need any reminder that British were once the nation’s masters. Three cheers and all that for the Commonwealth Games 2010!
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