Geopolitical Analysis

Published in Kashmir Images, by K.N. Pandita, July 16, 2005 - London police has implicated four British nationals of Pakistani origin for July 7 bomb blasts. Investigation is going on and is likely to widen the net. Obviously, London police and the British government will not make all the related information public. It will trickle down by drops and bits.

The British colonial empire threw open the gates of its home territory to the decolonised nationals. In some special cases, it demonstrated more than usual liberalism. In that sense, the British concept of freedom stays fully vindicated.

But this liberalism has its negative aspects also. It has been the fancy of British policy planners to encourage the opposition groups to the governments of the decolonised countries. More often than not, the dissenters managed to find asylum or normal entry and stay in the United Kingdom. Furthermore, in adhering to its principles of political freedom at home, the British government did not feel it necessary to put a check on the anti-national activities of the Diaspora and its leadership. The result was that in many cases, these émigrés became a source of irritation to the former colonies and now independent states. Whenever the home governments lodged a protest with the British government, the latter took alibi in its liberalism. Not only that. Sometimes the British government went to the extent of asserting itself and putting the home government is an embarrassing situation.

The phenomenon became more complicated when known criminals and terrorists managed to befriend the British administrative apparatus. The British government was loath to hand over to the Indian government some terrorists who were operating against New Delhi while stationed in the UK. It was with great effort and under pressure of rising crescendo of international terrorism that the British government began thinking of signing extradition treaties with a few former colonies, India included.

Had the British adopted a more restrictive policy in extending largesse to the emigrants in the shape of providing them political space for conducting their anti-homeland activities, perhaps the security situation in London would not have gone out of control.

We often read that the real fountain head of Kashmir insurgency or the anti-homeland activities of Central Asian organization called Hizbu’t-Tahreer lies in London. Likewise many African dissident groups are also basking in the British sun. The British government has one of the elaborate and most efficient intelligence system in the world. Therefore no activity directed against the homeland governments by the Diaspora remains hidden from its sight. However this whole situation is usually politicised and the British government dovetails it to the broad features of its foreign policy. In other words, the British government has been using these elements as a lever to pressurise the homeland governments. In the process, the Diaspora is encouraged and patronized. This prompts them to take the British government for a ride. The freedom of movement and expression which they find on the British soil they do not find even the smallest fraction of it in their homeland. The result is that they begin to step out of their shoes.

Recent London bombing is a case in point. There are over one million Pakistanis in the UK. We cannot say whether the British policy planners who vigorously supported the creation of Pakistan in mid-20th century had ever thought that a day would come when they will have to face the Frankenstein of their own creation. This has now happened and happened with a bang. Innocent lives have been destroyed. Imperialism and colonialism is facing the music and who knows what will be the end.

The one lesson that the British government should learn from this catastrophic event is that it should refuse its soil to be used for any and all anti-homeland activities by anybody whether his case is just or not. This will be one very effective measure of preventing wanton destruction of life in the world’s oldest and most respected democracies.

One more unfortunate aspect of this Diaspora patronization is that of its political fall out. Candidates of British origin contesting elections from Asian dominated constituencies in London have begun to play the communal card in order to win the majority vote. This is contrary to the British values and traditions. This is sensitising the localities of their negative strength. We hope that British political pundits will focus their attention on the phenomenon and thus take adequate measures to disallow an aberration in their political philosophy and scheme of democracy.