The Commonwealth is basically a big club. Drawing from the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation (which amounts to about 29 million pounds per year), the Commonwealth provides its needier member states with advisers on trade and land-use strategies, or consultants to help restructure public services, for example. The Commonwealth gives “technical assistance” in support of economic growth. * (Several Caribbean members also grant residents from Commonwealth countries voting rights.) And if an Indian citizen were traveling somewhere without an Indian Embassy, he or she could get assistance at the U.K. An Indian citizen who resides anywhere in the United Kingdom-that’s England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales-has the right to vote in local and national elections and can also help select members of the European Parliament. More generally, Commonwealth citizens have special rights when living in the United Kingdom-more than what any old immigrant would get. The country in question spends a lot on infrastructure in the hopes of bringing in tourist dollars. For starters, hosting the games is a bit like hosting the Olympics. Why is India still in the Commonwealth, anyway?
She’s delegated Prince Charles, but members of the Indian organizing committee have apparently discussed whether Indian President Pratibha Patil should preside instead. Queen Elizabeth, head of the 54-nation Commonwealth, is too busy to attend the event. There’s been a spat over who should open the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India, next week.
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