On 19 November 1966, in the early hours of the morning, I arrived in London from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. I had come to pursue my LLB at the University of London and later study for the Bar at Lincoln’s Inn.
After a long day of travelling and enrolling at both institutions, I was exhausted and hungry. My friend Rasik, who had accompanied me, told me not to worry and suggested that we go somewhere for lunch.
We went to India House and that first visit remains firmly etched in my memory.
The main entrance had a library on the left-hand side, with Indian newspapers and magazines in several languages. There were no security checks in those days. You could simply walk in, browse the papers and feel at home.
Downstairs, in the basement, was a fantastic canteen where Rasik and I ordered a samosa and a cup of tea. In today's terms, it cost less than 10 pence. For a student like me, it was almost a substantial breakfast.
From colonial purchasing centre to diplomatic landmark
India House was not merely a place where Indians could find familiar food and newspapers. The building itself has a remarkable history.
Built in 1905, during the colonial period, India House originally functioned largely as a purchasing centre for British India. Almost everything India required, from needles to railway engines, was imported, with British suppliers naturally benefiting from the colonial relationship.
At its peak, India House had around 700 employees, predominantly British, overseeing these purchases. Until Independence in 1947, there were Indian High Commissioners, but the institution itself remained very much part of the colonial system.
Independence transformed India House.
Krishna Menon and a new India House
Krishna Menon became independent India’s first High Commissioner to the UK. He knew London exceptionally well, having served as a councillor for St Pancras in the London Borough of Camden from 1934 to 1947. He introduced significant changes, helping transform India House from a colonial purchasing establishment into a centre of diplomacy and India's engagement with Britain.
I was privileged to meet another Indian High Commissioner during my early years in Britain: Dr Jivraj Mehta, the former Chief Minister of Gujarat. Pandit Nehru, for his own political reasons, had sent him to London as High Commissioner.
Over the decades, I have had the privilege of meeting every Indian High Commissioner in London, for one reason or another. Each, in their own way, played an important role in building bridges between India and Britain.
Appa Saheb Pant: A diplomat with conviction
Among those who left the deepest impression on me was Appa Saheb Pant, whom I regarded as my political guru and mentor.
Appa Saheb Pant was a prince from the small princely state of Aundh in Maharashtra. In 1938, his father voluntarily surrendered the kingdom to the “Praja Mandal” (populace), inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's principle of trusteeship. Appa Saheb was, in my view, a worthy son of a worthy father.
Pandit Nehru appointed him India's High Commissioner to Kenya at a time when India strongly supported the emancipation of African people. India provided scholarships and other forms of support to emerging African leaders, including Jomo Kenyatta and Tom Mboya of the Kenya African National Union.
Pant provided both material and moral support to the African nationalist movement. His actions angered Duncan Sandys, a minister in Britain's Foreign and Colonial Office. The British Government put pressure on India, and Nehru eventually had little option but to recall Pant from Kenya and appoint someone more acceptable to the colonial establishment.
By the late 1960s, however, the world had changed. Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister, and she wanted Appa Saheb Pant to become India's High Commissioner in the UK. The British Government was reluctant but Indira Gandhi stood her ground and prevailed, and Pant was accepted. That is how I came to know him.
He did remarkable work in London. In those days, the Indian High Commissioner's responsibilities extended beyond diplomatic relations. Looking after Indian students and engaging with the wider Indian community were also important parts of the role.
NG Gore and the importance of principles
Another person I remember with great affection is Narayan Ganesh Gore, popularly known as Nanasaheb Gore, whom I also regarded as a guru and mentor.
When Morarji Desai became Prime Minister of the Janata coalition government, Nanasaheb was appointed High Commissioner to the UK. I had known him since my student days in Baroda. He had led the movement for the liberation of Goa in 1955, and his son-in-law was a friend of mine from Baroda University.
Nanasaheb was a socialist, an upright and completely principled man. He was, entirely free of scandal in his political and public life.
When the Janata Government subsequently collapsed and political instability followed, Nanasaheb resigned without hesitation. He would not compromise his principles or accept what he regarded as the kind of dirty politics that had emerged. That integrity is something I have always admired.
Many more bridge builders
There were many other distinguished High Commissioners.
Kuldeep Nayar served in London for a period while continuing his distinguished journalistic career. During this time, he wrote his well-known column, Between the Lines, for New Life, now Asian Voice.
Dr LM Singhvi, the eminent lawyer and constitutional expert, was one of the longest-serving High Commissioners, serving for around seven years from 1991 to 1997. He did an exceptional job of strengthening India's relationship with the British legal establishment, universities and community organisations. In many ways, he also helped make India House more accessible to the wider Indian community in Britain.
Recently, when we met the new High Commissioner of India to the UK, His Excellency P Kumaran. Together we looked at photographs of India's former High Commissioners. It was a fascinating reminder of how much India House, and India itself, has changed.
India House then and now
The India House of today is very different from the one I first knew. Until around 1985-86, the Indian Government spent a substantial sum maintaining its diplomatic missions in the UK. With the introduction and expansion of visa services, however, the financial equation changed significantly. Visa fees became an important source of revenue, much as visa services operated by the British Government in India generate substantial income. That is a separate debate, and one can certainly question whether visa charges are reasonable. But it does not take away from the important work being done by India House and India's diplomatic missions in Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh.
In recent years, I have been particularly impressed by the professionalism of the Indian High Commission. Not only the High Commissioner but the entire staff are highly trained, capable and confident. I know many of them personally, and they make me proud as someone who was born in India and has lived in the UK for around six decades.
India House today is a sophisticated and impressive institution. When I was ushered into its rooms during my visit, I was struck by how orderly, modern and well-maintained everything was.
When I left India House after my meeting, I found myself thinking about the extraordinary journey I had witnessed.
When I first walked into India House in 1966, India was economically and politically very different from the country we see today. I was a young student, carrying the hopes and uncertainties of someone beginning a new life in Britain.
Six decades later, I returned to the same institution and saw an India that is confident, economically stronger and increasingly influential on the world stage. Today's India is a different India. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country has strong leadership and a growing sense of confidence about its place in the world.
For someone like me, who has lived in Britain for 60 years but remains deeply connected to the country of my birth, that transformation is a source of enormous happiness and optimism.
India House has changed.
India has changed.
And, in many ways, my own journey has changed with it.
