Delhi To London, A Reconnection

Context: While few western powers are as deeply connected to India as Britain, both have found it hard to move on from entrenched prejudices of the past.

Issues in India-Britain bilateral partnership:

• Persisting anti-colonial resentment: The bitter legacies of the Partition and Britain’s perceived tilt to Pakistan have long complicated the engagement between India and Britain.
  • To make matters worse, the large South Asian diaspora in the UK transmits the internal and intra-regional conflicts in the sub-continent into Britain’s domestic politics.
• Political negativity towards India: India’s problems have been accentuated by the British Labour Party’s growing political negativity towards India.
  • While the Tories have become natural partners for India, the Labour has become more meddlesome in India’s domestic politics.
  • For e.g. Speaking in the name of a values-based foreign policy, Cook (Labour Foreign Secretary) held forth on self-determination for Kashmiris, forcing India to designate Britain as a ‘third rate power’ in retaliation.

Opportunities in reviving the India-Britain partnership:

• Warming up of the conservatives: Conservatives in Britain have sought to revive the partnership –
  • Tory Prime Minister John Major was quick to support India’s economic reforms in the 1990s.
  • David Cameron sought to revive the relationship with India.
  • Enhanced relationship between Modi and Johnson: The two leaders are expected to announce a 10-year roadmap to transform the bilateral relationship that will cover a range of areas.
• Meeting the larger economic goals:
  • On trade, both are on the rebound from their respective regional blocs - Britain has walked out of the European Union, and India has refused Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
  • On migration and mobility: Delhi and London are said to be exploring an agreement on “migration and mobility” to facilitate the legal movement of Indians into Britain.
  • Both sides are committed to finding common ground on climate change.
  • Enormous potential for bilateral strategic cooperation in the health sector and contributions to the global war on the virus.
• Focus on security: Britain is tilting to the Indo-Pacific, where India is a natural ally.
  • Britain could also contribute to the strengthening of India’s domestic defence industrial base. The two sides could also expand Delhi’s regional reach through sharing of logistical facilities.