ISAS Briefs

The tale of two ‘Brexits’ – the first when imperial Britain retreated from the Indian sub-continent in 1947, and the second when the British electorate has now voted for London’s exit from the portals of the European Union – is replete with similarities and differences. The 2016 Brexit is proving to be as messy as the one from India in 1947. Britain left India divided into two parts. National disintegration may also follow the 2016 move, this time in the United Kingdom. Migration is another parallel. The 1947 Brexit generated a vast wave of migration involving as many as 14 million people; the UK’s move out of the EU now may also result in a migration wave, albeit not on the same scale. In 1947, Britain left the Indian subcontinent in a mess; this time the mess will be in Britain itself.