UK SPARED FROM A GRIM TRAGEDY

IN the bid to ensure that post-Brexit UK has robust trade relations with India, the May government has been equally energetic. If Britain resolves its exit strategy from the EU without confusion, India-UK business links could even witness a dramatic spurt

It was by any reckoning an extremely close shave. If the United Kingdom has been spared the grim tragedy of Jeremy Corbyn waving to the cameras in front of 10 Downing Street before assuming office as the head of a so-called “Progressive” coalition, the credit goes to the Scots. In an unexpected turn of events, Scotland elected a total of 13 Conservative MPs to Westminster. Where Labour gained at the cost of the Conservatives in the English cities, not least London, the Conservatives gained 12 extra seats in a part of the UK where, in the past few elections, their candidates had been lucky to save their security deposits. These 13 seats—and the support of the 10 Unionists from Northern Ireland—made all the difference between Theresa May heading a fragile government and Corbyn leading a revolutionary charge on the fundamentals of British existence.

In an ideal world, the outcome of an election in a distant European country, albeit one with which India has deep historical and commercial connections, should be of academic interest in India. Unlike some Western democracies and Eastern dictatorships, India is not accustomed to prying into the internal affairs of sovereign countries. There are large numbers of Indians in countries such as the UK, USA, Canada and Australia. Many of them are active in the politics of their adopted countries and many have made it to important positions. However, it would be strange, if not completely unacceptable, for any Indian government to direct the political preferences of peoples of Indian origin. We neither like foreign interference in our domestic affairs—not even the gratuitous directions of how to vote from The Economist and New York Times, nor do we tell other countries how they should conduct their politics.

Why then should I breathe a sigh of relief that it is not Corbyn’s Labour that is at the helm in Westminster?

The UK is important to India for a variety of reasons. There are, of course, the close commercial links. However, trade policy is not decided— as long as Brexit doesn’t kick in—in Whitehall but at the European Union HQ in Brussels. The UK’s importance stems from its role as a nerve centre of the Anglophone world. Admittedly there is now fierce competition from across the Atlantic but when it comes to the Commonwealth, London’s role is significant. Regardless of the inherent unfairness, global information about India and opinion of happenings within India are disseminated through London. As a global power, the UK has undoubtedly seen better days but it still operates as an information hub for Western democracies, including the US, on India—and, for that matter, our neighbours.

In the past, India has had a special relationship with the Labour Party. Indian nationalists fighting for freedom had close connections with antiimperialists in the Labour Party. After Independence, these links extended to the Conservative Party which too valued the India connections of Britain. With India’s emergence as an economic power, the relationship has become a partnership of equals and Prime Ministers including John Major, Tony Blair and David Cameron contributed to today’s “enhanced partnership.”

A set of unwritten rules have governed the partnership. Unfortunately, the Left wing that now controls Labour has threatened this consensus. In pandering to specific constituencies that make for its larger social coalition, the Labour Manifesto has pandered to the interests of radical Khalistanis, separatist Kashmiris and sundry Islamists. Today’s Labour is driven by the belief that British foreign policy should be a force for the good. Translated into practice, this means encouragement of forces that threaten India’s unity.

Many Labour activists and MPs have deep personal links with India. They are frequently seen at functions hosted by the Indian High Commission in London. Yet, when it comes to telling activists where to get off, they are helpless. There have been objectionable Early Day Motions in Westminster where Labour and Scottish National Party MPs have called into question India’s democratic credentials. The ‘friendly’ MPs have not objected because they fear the organised might of the Islamic lobby in their constituencies. The silly comments of former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook and David Miliband on Kashmir didn’t stem from their personal convictions but from constituency pressures. In 2015, when Narendra Modi visited the UK, the meeting with the Labour delegation—I am unsure if it included Corbyn—was distinctly tense because for the Left, bilateral relations are all about griping about Kashmir.

Conservative governments, being more concerned with promoting business than making gratuitous comments on human rights, have normally been insulated from these pressures. In any case, Conservatives don’t normally secure the support of mosques. Whatever Asian support they get has been from Hindu and Sikh voters. Cameron recognised this and made extra attempts to woo them into becoming a reliable support base for the Conservatives. May’s initiatives have been patchier and she appears to be under the misconception that the Indian government can prevent the flow of those Indians who stay on in Britain without valid visas. However, in the bid to ensure that post-Brexit UK has robust trade relations with India, the May government has been equally energetic. If Britain resolves its exit strategy from the EU without confusion, India-UK business links could even witness a dramatic spurt.

In all likelihood, Britain will probably witness another general election in the next 12 months. If, as at present seems possible, the surge for Labour in England is coupled by its revival in Scotland, the UK may experience a radical Left regime which will become an irritant in India-UK relations. We have already seen the damage caused to India-Canada relations by pro-Khalistani activists in the ruling Liberal Party. In the case of a Corbynite Labour regime in UK, the damage will be worse and the effects more far-reaching