As the American President on his visit to the UK said, the relationship with the UK is very special. That the UK will be first in line for a trade deal. That’s pretty amazing. Why isn’t India’s relationship as close with the UK. After all they have been even more intimately tied than UK America?
If you think what goes on in India is not our concern then I remind you, that it was Indian soldiers, who 70 years ago, made it their business to interfere in the affairs of Britain and Europe – by forming the largest ever volunteer army in history – to defend freedom. And it was British generals, who led Indian troops against Japan at the same time. The lessons of 70 years ago, are dangerously being forgotten.
In 2011, Chinese troops undertook over 50 incursions into Indian territory ‘at will’ according to the well regarded India Today magazine. These ‘incursions’ include everything from Chinese soldiers setting up camps inside India to encouraging locals to join the Chinese army.
In case you don’t think this has anything to do with Britain, then I remind you, that India is nestled next to Pakistan, a nuclear-armed unreliable Western ally which housed not only Osama Bin Laden, and widely considered a training ground for International terrorism. North of India is Russia – a Western adversary – whether we like it or not. And of course then there is China.
Remember in the most recent test of values in international relations and the type of world we want, India, US and Britain, all members of the UN Security Council voted in favour of action in Syria. China and Russia used their veto; thereby encouraging crimes against humanity in Syria.
I wish we could ignore Syria, could ignore Afghanistan, could ignore Iraq. But what goes on in these countries matters to us. And India as the world’s largest democracy, surrounded by totalitarian regimes and unstable pseudo-democracies is the only major country in the region even coming close to sharing our values – in part because of their own innate rich heritage and beliefs, and yes, in part because of one of the curios benefits of 200 years of British colonization.
There are two Britons. The isolationist appeasers and those who appreciate that the values we believe in of freedom of speech, tolerance, belief, are far more costly than an aid bill. Regardless of Brexit, the world and the UK and India need more alliances the likes the UK has with US.
A strong India is in the national interests of a Britain because it makes a world closer in our own image, than in the image of a China or Pakistan or Russia or Syria or Iran or North Korea. You choose what you want the world too look like, but then don’t be cheap about picking up the bill.
