The Commonwealth of Nations, generally known simply as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 54 member states, almost all of which are former territories of the British Empire. All talk of the Commonwealth sharing objectives of democracy, human rights, and liberty, however, is hogwash. The United Kingdom in recent weeks has shown itself as a nation that is at the forefront of normalising racism and white supremacy. The Brits cannot seem to get their heads around the fact that they no longer are the rulers of the world. Now India is beginning to send a resounding message to London, that its membership of the Commonwealth of Nations is about to come to an end.
The Commonwealth Games are scheduled for July-August 2022. So, one would ideally think that if a certain team of some country is not being dispatched for the games, information regarding the same can be conveyed to the host nation 60, or even 90 days in advance. However, with several months still remaining to go before the Commonwealth Games kickstart in Birmingham, India has told the UK that its Hockey contingent – comprising of men and women’s teams – will not be participating.
Hockey Teams Withdraw from 2022 Commonwealth Games
Hockey India President Gyanandro Ningombam communicated the federation’s decision to not participate in the 2022 Commonwealth Games to Indian Olympics Association President Narinder Batra. In his scathing letter, the Hockey India President wrote, “You will appreciate that the Asian Games is the Continental qualification event for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and keeping the priority of the Asian Games in mind, Hockey India cannot risk any members of the Indian teams contracting COVID-19 during the Commonwealth Games.”
Hahaha. Goodbye @BorisJohnson read the last paragraph again and again. And I am sure very soon CW also is made irrelevant pic.twitter.com/1vlhKWbWoq
— Suresh (@surnell) October 5, 2021
He added, “It is pertinent to mention that due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, England have issued guidelines that 10 days quarantine is required (for)Indians arriving in England, even for those who are fully vaccinated, since unfortunately the Indian vaccinations are not yet recognized by the English government. Such discriminatory restrictions were not imposed on Indian athletes and officials during the recent Tokyo Olympic Games and this 10-days quarantine requirement for vaccinated sports persons will affect their performances. We feel these restrictions are biased against India and term it as very unfortunate.”
The UK’s Vaccine Racism
The United Kingdom recently passed a confounding rule stating that Indian travellers who had received both doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca developed Covishield vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII) will be considered unvaccinated. To add insult to injury, the rule adds that double vaccinated Indians will have to undergo mandatory hard quarantine for 10 days.
Consequently, India slapped London with reciprocal measures targeting travellers from the UK to India. Now, they have to undergo the same shenanigans which London is forcing Indians to suffer despite being fully vaccinated.
India’s Stern Message to the United Kingdom
What India is doing is sending a loud message across to the UK – which is the patriarch of the Commonwealth of Nations, since it has the distinguished disgrace of having colonised much of the world over the past two centuries. First, India slapped the UK with reciprocal travel measures, and now, its Hockey teams have withdrawn from the Commonwealth Games.
The Commonwealth of Nations is really nothing more than a celebration of the colonialism of the Brits. British colonies coming together to club themselves under one bloc, led by the United Kingdom, is really a shame which India should never have been a part of. However, better late than never, India is now making it clear that its tenure at the Commonwealth is coming to an end.
India should withdraw from the Commonwealth of Nations.
— Sanbeer Singh Ranhotra (@SSanbeer) September 24, 2021
India can take the lead of the United States – which is also a country, much of whose territories were British colonies, but which is today not a part of the Commonwealth of Nations – since it is not very keen to celebrate its colonial past. India is making a case for itself to get out of the Commonwealth of Nations, and right a historical wrong.
Meanwhile, as reported by TFI recently, India is all set to treat foreign tourists based on how their nations treat Indian travellers. As India looks to restart tourist visas and allow international tourists after a gap of one-and-a-half years, “reciprocal tourism” is set to become the new normal. The visa facilitation will depend on the applicant’s home country’s policy for the Indian tourists. Any incoming international tourists might have to show their Covid-19 vaccination certificate or undergo a quarantine period or face rejection, which will depend on how they treat Indian tourists visiting their country.
The indications are all out there. India will no longer stand by institutionalised racism and discrimination which countries from the West have to offer and will surely not be part of a bloc led by a nation that has expertise over such practices. India’s stint at the Commonwealth is steadily but surely coming to an end.