CommonGround - Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the ...

OriginsOf particular significance at this timewas the independence of India andPakistan in 1947, the outcome of whichestablished a pattern for the modernCommonwealth.Until this point, all self-governingCommonwealth states had retainedBritain’s King or Queen as Head ofState. However, India’s constitutionalassembly wanted the country tobecome a republic and to remainwithin the Commonwealth. These twinambitions precluded the Monarch fromremaining as India’s head of state. Atthe Commonwealth Prime Ministers’Meeting in 1949, it was agreed in theLondon Declaration that India mightremain a member of theCommonwealth, and a republic, byaccepting the Monarch “as a symbol ofthe free association of independentmember nations, and as such Head ofthe Commonwealth”.This development allowed othercountries that had become republics(or had a national monarch) to becomeCommonwealth members.The Commonwealth todayThe use of the word ‘British’ in the titleof the Commonwealth has long gone.Today, the Commonwealth is theworld’s oldest political association ofsovereign states, with 54 independentmember states. Thirty three of these arerepublics, five have their ownmonarchs, and 16 have QueenElizabeth II as Head of State.Queen Elizabeth II is Head of theCommonwealth, but has no authorityto interfere in the affairs ofCommonwealth member states. (Seealso page 20).Although the focus of theCommonwealth today is on improvingthe lives of people living in its memberstates, it also addresses issues of widerinternational concern, such as terrorismand climate change.The Commonwealth runs a range ofprogrammes focussing on economicdevelopment, democracy andgovernance, education, health,environment and the strengthening ofcivil society.MembershipHM Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth,speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2009Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting(CHOGM), Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, 27November 2009.A different kind of organisation 10Common aims 11Joining the Commonwealth 12Around the world 158Cameroon Canada RepublicDominicaof CyprusA practical guide to the Commonwealth ➤ Membership9