The state of the Commonwealth

There once was a time when ‘Britannia ruled the waves,’ and the British Empire, the largest in human history, extended over a quarter of the world’s surface and almost a quarter of its population. British power and culture held sway over much of the known world.

From 1887, representatives of subject countries designated as British Dominions were invited to conferences with the reigning monarch.

At the 1926 conference, the Dominions agreed to form a community of equal members of the British Empire under the British monarch. That community became known as the British Commonwealth.

“As the years went on, most of the territories previously under the British Empire became independent countries.”

King George VI was the first Head of the Commonwealth, and he was succeeded by Queen Elizabeth II, who reigned untilshe diedh in 2023.

Contrary to popular assumption, the British monarch is not, technically, the automatic head of the Commonwealth. President Idi Amin Dada of Uganda had once quipped that he saw no reason why he, instead of Queen Elizabeth, should not be head of the body. It is not on record what response he got from the British Crown.

A few weeks ago, the Commonwealth held its 27th Heads of Government (CHOGM) meeting in the idyllic Pacific Island of Samoa, the first such meeting since the death of Queen Elizabeth II. King Charles II, her son, showed up as the head of the Commonwealth.

The meeting was significant because of the people who attended and those who did not. President Narendra Modi of India and President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, leaders of two of the original ‘Dominions’ who had been regularly holding conferences with the Monarch since 1887, were absent from Samoa. They were attending the meeting of BRICS—the new alignment of rising ‘non-aligned’ economic powers whose core was formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, but to which several other significant nations, including Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Republic, had recently hitched their wagons. BRICS was meeting in Kazan, Russia.

In Samoa, ministerial meetings took place from 21st October 2024, building up to the meeting of the Heads of Government from October 25 and 26. The main theme of the gathering was ‘Transforming our Common Wealth.’ Among the objectives was to ‘strengthen resilient democratic institutions, upholding human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.’ Combating climate change, especially in terms of its impact on small island nations such as Samoa, was slated to be a discussion point. There was also going to be an election for a new Secretary-General to succeed Patricia Scotland, the incumbent.

The issue of reparations—compensation in the form of payment or some other modality, along with a formal apology, to the descendants of slaves for the harm inflicted on them by the slave trade—was not on the agenda of the summit. But as the date neared, there was a strong rumour eddying about that it would be the dominant discussion topic and that it might even make or mar the gathering.

.It was a touchy subject. A spokesman from Jamaica, one of the Caribbean nations most vocal on the demand for an apology and reparations, had announced that reparations would be on the agenda. On the eve of the conference, Keir Starmer, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, denied that reparations were an agenda item and indicated, in the usual patronising manner of the British ruling class towards other nationals, that Britain would be helping poorer Commonwealth nations with climate resilience and building a better future, rather than thinking of any apology for its historical slave trade.

One fact stood out. There was no unanimity of views on the most important challenges confronting the Commonwealth, or even on the rationale for its future existence.