The Empire Strikes Back

Impact of historical empires such as Rome and China

Cultural and demographic shifts brought about by migration from former colonies

The rise of former colonies as major economic and geopolitical players

This is a thought-provoking topic. And many would immediately think of the Perfidious Albion and its Empire, on which the sun never set, striking back. Yes, more on that later.

But let us dwell for a moment on recent history and the distant past. By necessity, this would only be a brief survey, and some might even disagree with my comments and observations.

There has been a multitude of empires, some massive, others small. For example, the Greeks, Egyptians, Persians, Romans, and many more in the West. In the East are the Chinese, the Mauriyas, the Guptas, the Cholas, and the Mongols, just to name a few. Some of the Indian empires had an enduring impact on Sri Lanka. This influence covered a wide spectrum. Religion, culture, people, food, attitudes, you name it. The various Empires on the subcontinent influenced us tremendously over the centuries.

Some of these empires were overrun by others. Some ran out of puff, disintegrated and just collapsed. And yet others simply ceased to exist.

Historic role

But a few of them left a lasting legacy and their role in history is instructive when examining the impact of the more recent empires. Rome, for example, which ruled much of Europe, Asia Minor, and North Africa, left a mark for eternity. Language, an alphabet, a widespread culture, and later, a religion, etc. English, which I am using to address you today, gained an alphabet, thanks to Latin. So did most European languages. The common law of this country, Sri Lanka, so far removed from Rome, is Roman Dutch law.

The barbarians who brought about the fall of Rome could not or did not wish to destroy all of what Rome had created. Almost one thousand and six hundred years after its decline and collapse, the legacy of Rome remains.

Even in distant Sri Lanka, I had to study Latin at school.

But the fall and disintegration of the Roman Empire holds some interesting lessons for us. Let me highlight just a few. First, it was affected by the inward migration of the colonised and those on the borders. Thousands migrated to Roman-controlled areas and even to Rome itself because of the peace and better life opportunities that the Roman Empire offered. Soon, even some of its legions began to consist mainly of the colonised. It was only a matter of time when its generals, political and business leaders began to come from the colonies. The language, the culture, the way of life and the peace and stability were definite attractions for the colonised. Soon, the imperial purple was not limited to Romans. Does this sound familiar?

The physical extent of the Chinese Empire still remains substantially intact despite the many political upheavals that have occurred over the centuries. The language of the Han, Mandarin, is the most widely spoken language in the world, and the impact of the Han culture is widespread. China is the second biggest economy in the world today and does not hesitate to challenge the order established by the European colonisers.

Contemporary times

Fast forward to contemporary times. While we, in this colonised isle, instinctively think of the perfidious Albion, there were other influential, influential, in global terms, empires around as well. The Portuguese, the Spanish, the French, the Dutch, the German, the Muslim, the Ottoman, the Russian, the Japanese, etc. The Spanish lost their Latin American Empire early in the 19th century, but it was mainly the Mestizo who took over the mantle of power from them. The Spanish language is dominant in Latin America. The French were booted out of Southeast Asia in the early nineteen fifties but clung to Africa until much later. The French language and culture remain influential in the former French Empire and elsewhere. French is the equal second language at the UN.

The Portuguese tried to buck the trend and clung on but lost its African colonies and Timor Leste in the middle eighties.

The empires that were contiguous land masses have substantially retained their territories. The US, Russia and China are the obvious examples. The use of a common language, effective road, rail and air connectivity, a strong central government, military might, a dominant ethnic group and the possibility of shared economic prosperity and access to resources contributed to their endurance.

Now for the Empire that directly relates to us in Sri Lanka. Although much is said about the peaceful handover of power, amid the handshakes and gun salutes, the chaos that exploded or was left behind is glossed over. The powder in the keg was left for us to manage as the toffs returned to blighty and ready to be set alight. Nigeria, Uganda, India-Pakistan, Sri Lanka, apartheid South Africa and Southern Rhodesia, among others, all went up in flames.

Although for outward appearances, the Empire seemed to evolve and change, for essential purposes, it remained intact, at least for some time. The Union Jack was lowered, and new flags were raised. Black, brown and yellow faces began to occupy the rostrum with obsequious politeness. These newbies had acquired the Empire’s language, culture and etiquette. The new faces were comfortable in a new organisation called the Commonwealth, with the British sovereign as the head. The language of the former colonial master still reigns supreme, while the majority of the formerly colonised people possess only a meagre command of it. Others tend to use a local variant of it. The economies of the former colonies remained hitched to London.

But something subtle began to happen in the metropolis, culturally, economically and politically. The language of the former ruler, now the language of the ruling elite in the former Empire, began to be employed by some in the former colonies, better than the natives in the metropolis. The pressure has mounted, and the holy grail of English writers, the Booker Prize, has been grabbed by non-natives with increasing frequency. Two writers of Sri Lankan origin, Shehan Karunatillaka and Michael Ondaatje, have won this much-coveted prize. Eight writers of Indian origin have also won the Booker. V.S. Naipaul, Salman Rushdie, Kiran Desai, Aravind Adiga, Kazuo Ishiguro, Hari Kunzru, Arundhati Roy, Jeet Thayil and Rupi Kaur. Mohammed Hanif won it from Pakistan. South Africans and Australians have also been among the winners.

Demographic changes

Migration from the Empire to the metropolis, at times encouraged, has brought about significant demographic changes that have impacted society and politics. The major waves of migration from the Empire took place in the post-war years mainly to satisfy the labour shortages in the health, transport and cleaning services. It was cheap labour fleeing the poverty and strife left behind in the former colonies. Soon, the corner shops and petrol service stations moved into the hands of the new migrants. Entire neighbourhoods of large cities began to be dominated by migrants. The cultural impact was deeper. Football, invented in Britain, is now dominated by the former colonials. It is the same with cricket. The colonials have indeed decimated England at this game. Food habits changed. A former High Commissioner once told me that the thing an Englishman misses most after a week abroad is the Friday night curry at the local curry house.

The economic takeover is even more striking. The corner shops gradually expanded into bigger enterprises. Many major investments came from India itself. Indian-controlled Arcelor Mittal is the world’s second-biggest steel producer, with over a $79 billion turnover. Tata Motors of India now owns the iconic Jaguar Land Rover brand. China’s Geely owns the Lotus brand. The highly successful expatriates from Sri Lanka own Lyca Mobil. Fewer-known brands are owned by men and women hailing from the former colonies. China boasts the second-largest economy in the world, and India is at number five, having displaced the UK. Having recovered substantially from the ranking occupied in the early post-colonial period as the poster child for global poverty. The Chinese-sponsored Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank is mounting a credible challenge to the West’s Britton Woods financial architecture. China’s Belt and Road initiative has a real impact despite all the negativity in the Western media. The BRICs now encompass a significant part of the global economy. Britain, which ruled the waves for centuries now, is accused of waiving the rules to suit its convenience.

With the demographic shift, elected leaders began displaying pigmented skin tones. Very soon, the top performers in academia came from the migrant population.

Then the unthinkable happened. No 10 Downing Street fell under the stewardship of a man of Indian origin, speaking in his impressive RP accent and openly practising the religion of his polytheistic ancestors. The mayor of London is of Pakistani origin, and the streets get clogged during Friday prayers. The leader of the Scottish National Party, Hamza Yusuf, is of Pakistani origin.

The Empire is indeed following the pattern of Rome. I think it will not be long before the peaches and cream complexions adorning the balcony of Buckingham Palace on ceremonial occasions will display more pigmentation.

(Developed from comments made at a panel discussion at the Ceylon Literary Festival 2024)