The EU referendum revealed the fundamental concerns of British voters about the formation of the United States of Europe.
The iconic Sir Winston Churchill had called for the creation of a United States of Europe in his famous 1946 Zurich speech and presided the first European Federal Congress at the Hague in 1948. He was one of the key fathers of a united Europe and set in motion ideas and events which would develop and grow to become the European Union.
In his Zurich speech, Churchill said: “I wish to speak to you today about the tragedy of Europe. This noble continent…If Europe were once united in the sharing of its common inheritance there would be no limit to the happiness, to the prosperity and the glory which its three or four hundred million people would enjoy…We must recreate the European family in a regional structure called – it may be – the United States of Europe. And the first practical step would be to form a council of Europe. If at first all the states of Europe are not willing or able to join the union, we must nevertheless proceed to assemble and combine those who will and those who can.”
The European Council was founded on May 5, 1949. Two years later in 1951 Europe had its first cross-European industrial agreement specifically for coal and steel, the building blocks of rebuilding the devastated Europe (Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community signed in April 18, 1951). That industrial agreement ended up being the building block for something much wider called the European Economic Community established on March 25, 1957.
It turned out that France was a little testy about letting the UK into the European Economic Community so the UK tried to join that in 1961 but France again came in the way. The UK actually didn’t get in until 1972 (UK accepted in European Economic Community on January 22, 1972) and by then even the Brits were a little testy about the idea of their country joining the European Union.
In between ink was thrown in the face of British Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath when he arrived to sign Britain’s treaty to join the European common market in 1972.
That joining up of the UK into European community became official on New Year’s day in 1973. But it was still controversial in Britain. By 1975 the Brits were so conflicted about it already that they held a national referendum on whether or not they should get out of European community right after they had got into it. That referendum in 1975 (Should the UK stay in the European community?) was not close (Yes – 67.23% and No – 32.77%) as was expected. Since then for the past 43 years Britain has been a cornerstone of the version of Winston Churchill’s United States of Europe. And that idea of something holding Europe together, ensuring peace in Europe through economic integration, making war between European countries unthinkable because they were so inter-linked that they could never see each other as enemies again and they could never afford to wage war within Europe again. That idea over the years has evolved from the initial industrial compact to essentially a trade zone to an uneasy political partnership of 28 different countries to now an economy that jockeys with China and the US for status as the largest economy in the world.
But on June 23, 2016, everything changed. Britain decided to quit EU – the European Union that was born out of the ashes of World War II and probably kept the world from having a third world war. In EU’s history no country has ever left the EU after joining the union.
The Brexit vote will probably be the unravelling of Churchill’s great vision.
Economics proved too weak to keep Europe together. The consequences of the referendum will take Britain into unchartered waters. If the UK makes a success out of Brexit, many of the EU nations may go the UK way – that is they may seek referendum in their country just like Britain did and get out of the EU. Also, it is highly likely that Scotland may seek another independence referendum and break out of the UK as it wants access to the single market. Northern Ireland too is likely to join Ireland proper if they don’t leave. In short, there could be disintegration of European Union and the United Kingdom.
Indian experience of “One Country”
In third century BC the concept of Akhand Bharat (United India) was popularised by scholar-sage Chanakya. He found potential in young King Chandragupta to realise the dream of a United Bharat (One India), which was a necessity to save Bharat from foreign invaders. It was Chandragupta who established the empire from Afghanistan to Bay of Bengal and from the foothills of Himalayas to the Indian Ocean.
When the East India Company power was taken over by the British Crown, British India was divided into what were called the British Indian Provinces and the Princely States. The British Indian Provinces were directly under the control of the British government.
Several large and small states ruled by princes, called the Princely States, enjoyed some form of control over their internal affairs as long as they accepted British supremacy. Princely States covered one-third of the land area of the British Indian Empire.
In March 1947, the Indian Independence Act of the British Parliament announced that with the end of their rule over India, supremacy of the British Crown over Princely States would also lapse. This meant that all these states, 565 in all, would become legally independent. The British government decided that all these states were free to join either India or Pakistan or remain independent if they so wished. The decision was left not to the people but to the princely rulers of these states. This was a very serious problem and could threaten the very existence of a united India.
The interim government took a firm stance against the possible division of India into small principalities of different sizes.
Fortunately Sardar Patel had realised the dangers of such an eventuality and with the total agreement of the last Viceroy of India.
Patel headed the Department of Home Affairs in the interim government and was also ably assisted by Indian civil servant V P Menon in his effort to unite India. The formation of Indian Union has been described in great detail in V P Menon’s book “The story of the integration of the Indian states”.
Sardar Patel was India’s Deputy Prime Minister and the Home Minister during the crucial period immediately following Independence. He played a historic role in negotiating with the rulers of Princely States firmly but diplomatically and bringing them into the Indian Union.
Before 15 August, 1947, peaceful negotiations had brought almost all states whose territories were contiguous to the new boundaries of India, into the Indian Union. The rulers of most of the states signed a document called the “Instrument of Accession” which meant that their state agreed to become part of the Union of India.
Accession of the Princely States of Junagadh, Hyderabad, Kashmir and Manipur proved more difficult than the rest.
By the way, the integration of these 565 Princely States into the Indian Union happened not by force, unlike in Germany. It happened by the desire of people expressed in Independence movements based on peace and non-violence. The United States of Europe idea lacks such an environment of people's deep desire.
