West Indies political entity
Nehal Adil | Saturday, 9 April 2011
Nehal Adil
During the Cricket World Cup West Indies draws our attention. For half a century, the West Indies team has a dominating presence in the cricket world. But does it have a unified national entity? No, though it was once part of the British Empire, the British left their colonies in the Caribbean as micro states. There are eleven such states. Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago are the only three big entities. The British policy of divide and rule as it took shape in our sub-continent culminated in the division of these English speaking black countries inhabited by descendents of free slaves who were not allowed to settle in the continental British colonies which Britain wanted to maintain as white domain. Obviously one can question why they named it West Indies when it is so far away from the Indian sub-continent. The Europeans got the idea about the continent of America only five hundred years ago though the Indians knew it as Maya (love) and the Chinese Mai Qu (the beautiful country) and had maritime communication with it. The Arabs also knew this continent. They called it Carib al Hind or near India. From here the name Caribbean came. Its inhabitants were called Caribbean Indians. Columbus with some Senegalese sailors reached the Caribbean Islands and called them Indies. In fact the Caribs were black people possibly immigrants from Africa. In fact the Africans were great seafarers. It was in Egypt that compass was invented as Barack Obama mentioned in his great Cairo speech. But the Europeans took advantage of it and used the technology for their communication with America and colonisation of Asia and Africa. As Marx said technology creates new vistas of political control. First it comes in the form of military control and then in the form of economic and political control. For nearly three centuries the Spaniards and the Portuguese maintained their domain in the New World. Then came their French cousins followed by the Dutch and the British. The British and the French fought between themselves for the cooler and relatively underdeveloped northern part of North America. But with the development of technology, they became the richest entities, today's Canada and USA. But the hot humid islands of the Caribbean were left to the black slaves. With the Monroe doctrine the United States imposed its total dominance on the Western Hemisphere with the support from Britain. USA and Britain tried to occupy the last left frontier of Central Europe and Middle East. And this landed them into war with Turkey and Germany. The blacks of the West Indies were called upon to save the Empire. Thus they mastered a new technology - warfare. The technology that was used to build the Empire was used to strike back. After the First World War resistance movement grew not only in India but also in the West Indies which was inhabited by large coolie population. Dr Cheddi Jagan, a Marxist and later President of Guyana who recollected, the Great October Socialist Revolution in Soviet Union inspired the people of the West Indies to shake off colonial yoke. But then Second World War broke out. Soviet Union was an ally of Britain and USA. The trade unions in the West Indies dominated by the communists came to support the British and American war efforts. But after the Second World War the West Indies came out in favour of total independence. Soviet Union, China and newly freed countries like India, Pakistan and Indonesia supported them. The great Cuban revolution jolted the Western Hemisphere. The British decided to leave but they left with island mini-states turning against each other. They tried to create enmity between the people of Indian origin and African entity. Recently the countries of West Indies have taken initiative to unite in CARICOM, Caribbean Community as we have taken initiative in the SAARC. With the demise of the British Empire the British influence has declined. But its place has been taken by the colossus of the North, USA. Yet, it is the British Cricket that unites the West Indies. Would it help to turn it one day a single political entity?
During the Cricket World Cup West Indies draws our attention. For half a century, the West Indies team has a dominating presence in the cricket world. But does it have a unified national entity? No, though it was once part of the British Empire, the British left their colonies in the Caribbean as micro states. There are eleven such states. Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago are the only three big entities. The British policy of divide and rule as it took shape in our sub-continent culminated in the division of these English speaking black countries inhabited by descendents of free slaves who were not allowed to settle in the continental British colonies which Britain wanted to maintain as white domain. Obviously one can question why they named it West Indies when it is so far away from the Indian sub-continent. The Europeans got the idea about the continent of America only five hundred years ago though the Indians knew it as Maya (love) and the Chinese Mai Qu (the beautiful country) and had maritime communication with it. The Arabs also knew this continent. They called it Carib al Hind or near India. From here the name Caribbean came. Its inhabitants were called Caribbean Indians. Columbus with some Senegalese sailors reached the Caribbean Islands and called them Indies. In fact the Caribs were black people possibly immigrants from Africa. In fact the Africans were great seafarers. It was in Egypt that compass was invented as Barack Obama mentioned in his great Cairo speech. But the Europeans took advantage of it and used the technology for their communication with America and colonisation of Asia and Africa. As Marx said technology creates new vistas of political control. First it comes in the form of military control and then in the form of economic and political control. For nearly three centuries the Spaniards and the Portuguese maintained their domain in the New World. Then came their French cousins followed by the Dutch and the British. The British and the French fought between themselves for the cooler and relatively underdeveloped northern part of North America. But with the development of technology, they became the richest entities, today's Canada and USA. But the hot humid islands of the Caribbean were left to the black slaves. With the Monroe doctrine the United States imposed its total dominance on the Western Hemisphere with the support from Britain. USA and Britain tried to occupy the last left frontier of Central Europe and Middle East. And this landed them into war with Turkey and Germany. The blacks of the West Indies were called upon to save the Empire. Thus they mastered a new technology - warfare. The technology that was used to build the Empire was used to strike back. After the First World War resistance movement grew not only in India but also in the West Indies which was inhabited by large coolie population. Dr Cheddi Jagan, a Marxist and later President of Guyana who recollected, the Great October Socialist Revolution in Soviet Union inspired the people of the West Indies to shake off colonial yoke. But then Second World War broke out. Soviet Union was an ally of Britain and USA. The trade unions in the West Indies dominated by the communists came to support the British and American war efforts. But after the Second World War the West Indies came out in favour of total independence. Soviet Union, China and newly freed countries like India, Pakistan and Indonesia supported them. The great Cuban revolution jolted the Western Hemisphere. The British decided to leave but they left with island mini-states turning against each other. They tried to create enmity between the people of Indian origin and African entity. Recently the countries of West Indies have taken initiative to unite in CARICOM, Caribbean Community as we have taken initiative in the SAARC. With the demise of the British Empire the British influence has declined. But its place has been taken by the colossus of the North, USA. Yet, it is the British Cricket that unites the West Indies. Would it help to turn it one day a single political entity?