On the 14th of October, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Catherine landed in Islamabad to begin their five-day tour of the country. It involved meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan, a visit to Government School in Islamabad and to the Margalla hills. It included a reception at the Pakistan monument where they entered in a rickshaw garbed in traditional Pakistani attire. The visit drew several comparisons to visits by Princess Lady Diana in the 1990s, who retains some popularity in Pakistan. They visited the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital in Lahore and swung a bat around at the National Cricket Academy. Much attention was also paid to the Duchess’ Salwar-Kameez outfits throughout the trip. In a short interview with CNN they described their visit as a very special experience that allowed them to engage with community work for causes they were deeply invested in.
This visit was arranged by the foreign ministries of both countries. The royal couple preceded it by visiting countries such as Namibia and Kenya in September 2018 and New Zealand in April 2019. The purpose of these royal visits has been often to serve as diplomatic exercises. It aims to preserve and promote the relations the United Kingdom has with its allies around the world, especially its former colonies.
It is that question of the former colonies that has divided the reaction to this royal visit. While a large section of the media and of the citizenry welcomed this visit, a different section found it pertinent to underline the colonial oppression and subjugation that the people of this region suffered at the hands of the British Empire. For 250 years, the British subjected united India to economic exploitation and brutal political disenfranchisement. First the East India Company and then the British government directly made laws and policies that favored British settlers. They extracted raw materials from India to feed British industries. Rebellion was brutally suppressed as the British undertook both insidious and overtly violent means to divide and rule.
India’s share of global GDP was 24.4% in 1700 and 4.2% in 1950. Infrastructure built by the British was a means to serve their ends. Millions of people died from famines caused by the concentration of resources into British hands. The structural and institutional legacy left by our former colonial masters has inhibited socio-political and economic development even after Independence. This legacy remains far too extensive to detail in this piece, but is seen in nearly every former colony of the British Empire that does that not house a majority white population.
As such, one reaction to the royal visit is to insist that it is morally and ethically unjustified for the Royal Couple to receive so much praise and admiration upon their tour to Pakistan. They are members of the Royal family that played a role in creating the depleted living standards of the people of South Asia. Neither the Royal family nor the British government has ever issued a formal apology or provided any compensation (reparations) for the colonial period.
It is argued that such tours are meant to whitewash the bloody history of the Empire, to suggest as if that is the forgotten past that no one today has a responsibility for. These tours reinforce certain ideas of power and influence; that the British royal family is still to be admired and welcomed because they are royals. It implies that they are doing us a large honor by visiting our country, something we should be grateful for.
However, on the other side of the spectrum, away from all the glitzy media coverage of Kate’s attire and memories of Diana, lies the unique purpose and benefit of this visit. The Duke and Duchess serve primarily as political and cultural diplomats on the international stage. They are a means of promoting better bilateral ties between the UK and other nations. To recognize colonial history is an onus on all of us, including the royal couple. But William is the great-grandson of the last Emperor of United Kingdom, King George VI and his wife is no royal descent at all. The burden of answering for colonialism does not lie on them alone when they visit Pakistan. If the current UK government policy is detrimental vis-à-vis their former colonies, then they have little influence over this policy.
What the royal visit does bring to us is an opportunity to exhibit ourselves on the world stage as a nation that seeks to promote positive bilateral ties and open itself to the international community. It is a means for us to communicate vital messages to the populace of the UK via these individuals. Some argue that the institution of the monarchy is itself out-dated and unnecessary. If this is true, it is not a concern of ours if viewed in the context of foreign relations and our personal image-building. That is a concern for the British people and hence to us, the royal couple remain a pair of ambassadors. The citizenry of the UK attaches great value to the word of the Royal family. This visit was covered in numerous British media outlets and a positive experience for the couple can help improve our battered image.
Had the royal couple not visited, there would have been no significant benefit to us. Nor would not have gained a deeper understanding of colonialism; an issue whose legacy is not fully known to large numbers of our population. It is essential is for us to understand and recognize the horrors and continuing consequences of colonialism; to engage with the UK government and with the world at large over our colonized history. But it is also essential to understand political needs of the hour and to recognize opportunities to improve our foreign relations. And of course, to get our own act together in our country, over 70 years after the Indian subcontinent freed itself from the chains of colonial rule.
