Common wealth?

Common wealth?

Context

CHOGM again failed to make a casefor its relevance in the 21st century

Commonwealth 2.0

• The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in London came with hopes of a “re-energised Commonwealth”.
• Britain looking to revive the 53-nation grouping as Commonwealth 2.0, amidst Britain’s rocky exit from the EU

India and CHOGM

After Manmohan Singh skipped the summits in Australia (2011) and Sri Lanka (2013) over bilateral differences, and Mr. Modi skipped the summit in Malta (2015) out of indifference

So it was widely expected that India would step up to a bigger role, and help chart a future course for the Commonwealth

Reasons for the failure of CHOGM meet

Britain’s tightening of visa rules:  Failed to convince most members of the Commonwealth that Britain would reverse its policies on immigration e.g. Windrush generation issue

Indian illegal immigrant issue: The U.K.’s hard line on Indian “illegals”, which prevented the signing of a bilateral agreement on immigrant “returns” between Mr. Modi and Ms. May, too indicates that post-Brexit London is likely to welcome trade in goods from the Commonwealth, not services

Conclusion

The Commonwealth remains a great platform for development aid, democratic values and educational opportunities, but its relevance is unlikely to increase unless it adopts a more egalitarian and inclusive attitude to its next generation of Commonwealth citizens, to partake in a prosperity their forefathers built.