India has done well to reassure Mauritius by endorsing her claim over the Chagos Islands. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri articulated the Indian view last week, stating: “We support Mauritius in its stance on its sovereignty over Chagos, and this is obviously keeping with our long-standing position with regard to decolonisation and support for sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries.” Bravo!
Chagos is just one more territory that the neo-imperialist supporters of United States President Donald Trump are laying claim to. Last October, the British government agreed to hand over Chagos Islands, which are home to the US military base at Diego Garcia, to Mauritius. A Republican senator and Trump supporter, John Kennedy, recently warned London that it could damage its relationship with the US if its decision to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius threatened the future of the US military base on the island of Diego Garcia.
Misri’s statement came, interestingly, a day after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s visit to London. Clearly, there is a message in there for Washington. Ironically, it emanated from the centre of one of the biggest empires of the colonial era. American imperialist ambitions and pretensions recently articulated by Trump have sparked off debates around the world on the legitimacy of territorial aggrandisement in this day and age.
The present territory of all the three so-called “Great Powers” — the US, China and Russia — is the legacy of imperial conquest and territorial expansion. Till the dawn of the 20th century, few questioned this phenomenon by which nations were created and reshaped. Europe spread itself around the globe, legitimising its acquisition of territory on every continent. The US took its final shape through the conquest of territory. Russia went eastwards, extending itself from the Atlantic to the Pacific. China marched into the heart of Asia absorbing Tibet and more.
It was in India that the greatest and longest battle against imperialism was launched. India as it now exists is in fact the only modern nation that occupies less territory than its ancient historical footprint. While there are some in India who still nurture territorial ambitions with their theory of “Akhand Bharat”, the republic of free India has never harboured extraterritorial ambitions or imperialist fantasies.
The history of the 20th century has been a history of the struggle against imperialism and its multiple ideologies. India has thus far held its head high. The acquisition of Sikkim was a minor transgression but that of a few coastal territories was in line with India’s pushback against European colonialism. Given this history and record, it is incumbent on India to continue to be the voice of anti-imperialism and anti-colonialism.
India’s struggle against imperialism inspired anti-colonial movements across the world, reshaping the 20th century’s global map. At the end of the 20th century’s “war of colonial conquest”, when the ambitions of Germany and Japan were thwarted and the British Empire retreated, the international community created the United Nations, making an explicit pledge against territorial expansionism. The UN Charter commits its members to “refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations”.
The Government of India responded correctly to the Russian invasion of Ukraine by invoking the UN Charter’s explicit commitment to the adherence by member nations to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all nation-states. India has also questioned the territorial claims of other major powers. Hence, the Indian statement on Mauritius should be welcomed.
India and Mauritius may well agree to allow the US and the UK to continue to operate their military base from Diego Garcia. However, this would require US recognition of the sovereignty of Mauritius over the islands. The Chagos Islands are an obscure set of dots in the Indian Ocean. However, the ejection of “outside” powers in any region is a cause that has acquired great importance once again.
The focus on Trump’s threats on trade and tariffs and on the theatrics in the daily circus at the White House have diverted attention from the US President’s neo-imperialist fantasies. However, it is imperative that post-colonial nations like India, Brazil, members of ASEAN and the African Union join hands and convene a global convention against neo-imperialism. All major powers, including the US, China and Russia, must be put on notice. The victories of the hard-won struggles of the 20th century will not be allowed to go to waste in the 21st.
Chagos may be a speck in a vast ocean. Just as the Panama Canal is but a narrow navigable lane. It is such strategic spots that have been eyed by imperial powers for centuries. Trump has raised the spectre of imperialist ambitions once again, not just eyeing such specks and spots but laying claim to the vast expanses of Canada and Greenland.
Interestingly, the Chagos decision shows the British government in a good light. It offers an opportunity for Britain, home to the last great empire, to make common cause with its colonies and revive the Commonwealth as an institution. In a rapidly changing world in which plurilateral groupings such as BRICS, ASEAN, the Quad, SCO and the African Union have become important regional platforms, the Commonwealth has the opportunity to reinvent itself as an association of post-colonial nations standing up for the principles of territorial integrity and sovereignty. It would make for an interesting inversion of the idea of the Commonwealth.
By taking a stand on Chagos, India has hopefully sent a message to all major powers, for there has been a surfeit of activity around the globe with major powers once again acquiring territory or laying claim. India should join hands with other post-colonial nations to re-ignite global consciousness about imperialism and the lasting damage it has done to societies around the world.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi did well during the hosting of the G20 Summit to convene and articulate the Voice of the Global South. With Trump intent on dumping the G20, as indicated by the US boycott of the G20 meetings in South Africa, it would be opportune for the Global South to collectively denounce the neo-imperialist ambitions of major powers.
The writer was member, National Security Advisory Board of India, 1999-2001 and media advisor to the Prime Minister of India, 2004-08
