India-UK relations need a reboot

Is Boris Johnson the man to do it?

Boris Johnson’s elevation to Downing Street has evoked conflicting reactions ranging from a mixture of barely-suppressed ridicule and concern in Europe and Russia to hoops of joy in the White House with Donald Trump hailing it as “excellent” news for US-UK relations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi confined himself to a bland tweet saying he looked forward to working with Johnson to “further strengthen India-UK partnership”.

Currently, for all the apparent bonhomie, the “partnership” is not exactly flourishing. The two countries are just about muddling through, avoiding any major crisis but showing little sense of urgency to reboot a flagging relationship. Will things look up now that there’s a self-proclaimed Indophile (calling himself India’s “son-in-law”) in-charge at No 10? 

At the heart of the problem is a lingering colonial mindset that still informs British foreign policy treating former colonies simply as markets to be mined. The reality that countries like India are now major economic powers in their own right and expect to be treated as equal partners in accordance with their new status has  not fully sunk in. 

Here’s what British Parliament’s influential Foreign Affairs Committee said in a report only a few weeks ago: “India's place in the world is changing fast and the UK government needs to adjust its strategy to fit India’s enhanced influence and power; the UK cannot afford to be complacent or rely on historical ties.”

It warned that Britain risked being left behind in the global race to engage with India and called for an urgent review of its current approach. Is the Johnson administration willing to take up the challenge? It will mean ditching successive Tory governments’ policy solely focused on pressuring India into opening up its economy to British businesses while offering little in return. 

Johnson’s predecessors, David Cameron and Theresa May, talked a good talk describing India-UK ties as one of the “most important relationships of the 21st century” but then went on to take decisions that directly hurt Indian citizens — like retrospective changes to residency rules for high-skilled immigrants that forced many legally settled Indian migrants to return home. Indian protests were ignored. Indians have also been affected by frequent tightening of visa rules for students and intra-company transfers. Indian businesses find visa rules a major hindrance to trading with Britain.

Will Johnson be more accommodating given his much-adumbrated “India connection” (through his estranged wife Marina Wheeler’s Indian ancestry), and  his personal chemistry with Narendra Modi. He has called him a “firecracker”, and a “political phenomenon”. 

His appointment of Priti Patel, a Modi supporter, as home secretary (one of the three great offices of state), and promotion of Alok Sharma and Rishi Sunak to senior positions are seen as a nod towards the BJP/Modi leaning sections of the Indian diaspora. 

But looking for clues to Johnson’s India policy (to the extent that he might have a cogent policy given his reputed impatience with details) in his rhetorical flourishes and cabinet choices is to ignore the real issues that divide the two countries. The most contentious of these is immigration with India pressing for a preferential visa regime for its citizens on the lines of the one China enjoys to facilitate a “grand” post-Brexit trade deal Britain is seeking.

The May administration’s response was a blunt “no”. Adding insult to injury, it excluded India from an expanded list of countries from which student visa applicants require “reduced level of documentation”. A decision described by Lord Bilimoria, Chancellor of Birmingham University, as “another kick in the teeth for India”. 

The May government also tried to arm-twist India into taking back thousands of people who it says are Indian citizens living in Britain illegally. But India has questioned the figure. Modi declined to sign an MoU on the issue during his UK visit last year for the Commonwealth conference. 

During the Brexit referendum campaign, Johnson promised to open up immigration from Commonwealth co­untries once free movement of workers from the European Union stopped. Now, however, he’s touting an Australian-style points system to be applicable to all applicants with no exe­mptions for Commonwealth citizens. 

Priti Patel, in-charge of immigration, has made clear that only those with “highest skills” would be considered — and that too “only if they have a job offer from an employer registered with the Home Office and if they can speak English”.

So, as of  now, the prospects of improved India-UK relations don’t look too promising. But the threshold is so low that even a slight bounce might seem like a great leap forward. Assuming of course that Johnson himself survives the Brexit turmoil. 

The writer is based in London. His new book, Who Killed Liberal Islam, is published in August