The Chagos Archipelago, in the Indian Ocean, was once a British colony. Today its future remains largely unknown.

Homegoing

By Abhrajyoti Chakraborty

Photo Illustration by Chop Choppish Shop

The Last Colony: A Tale of Exile, Justice, and Courage by Philippe Sands

In May 2019, the U.N. General Assembly backed a landmark resolution condemning the ongoing British occupation of a cluster of islands in the Indian Ocean.

The Chagos Archipelago consists of 50-odd islands south of the Maldives that were once administered as part of the British colony of Mauritius. In 1965, these islands were severed from Mauritius (which gained independence in 1968) and renamed the British Indian Ocean Territory, and the largest of them, Diego Garcia, was leased to the U.S. for a military base.