Blog: Session 1 – History of the Commonwealth’s Constitutional Experiences

By Rohan Bannerji

What a start to the forum! Yesterday morning saw the Keith Forum on Commonwealth Constitutionalism begin with a look into the past – at the history of the commonwealth’s constitutional experiences.

The first two presentations, by Dr Emma Hunter, and Dr Raphaelle Khan, focused on the histories of two states of the commonwealth that could not be more different – India and Tanganyika. One feature that the two lectures had in common, however, was that they were about both countries attempting to navigate their role in the post colonial era – India in the commonwealth, and Tanganyika in its neighbourhood. Dr Khan spoke of the place that India tried to etch for itself in the commonwealth while taking the unprecedented step of becoming a republic, and no longer recognising the Queen as its head of state. It did so to aim to protect the rights of its citizens who lived in the other dominions of the British Empire – something of striking relevance to me, as an Indian born and raised in Hong Kong. I found her account of how India held the interests of people like me at the helm of their priorities when constructing their foreign policy a timely, relevant discussion, given the fact that the current government in power recently set up a Ministry for Overseas Indian Affairs, in an attempt to draw Indians in the diaspora ‘home’.

Dr Kate Quinn, from the Institute of the Americas at University College London spoke of the constitutional crises that have occurred in the Caribbean in relation to the ceremonial heads of states, known as ‘governor generals’, who play the residual ceremonial role left behind by the Queen in their legislative process. It was interesting to see how a role established in the legislative branch of the cluster of commonwealth countries in the Caribbean solely as a result of their British heritage could be abused to the extent that they had – Dr Quinn referenced an occasion on which the Governor General of Grenada awarded her housekeeper and driver national honours (for service to the Governor General, interestingly). More broadly, she spoke of the constitutional crises that had unfolded across the anglophone Caribbean, and how the nature of their constitutions had allowed them to occur.

Lastly, Dr Donal Lowry of the University of Oxford spoke of the links between Ireland and South Africa – how one country, which was at that time a ‘home state’, looked to a nation in the commonwealth for inspiration on how to etch a role for itself.

Sessions on politics and law are to follow. The buzz and excitement within me has not dissipated one bit – I can’t wait for what’s to come.