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Queen Elizabeth’s Death Draws A More Muted Response in India


In India, the government declared a day of national mourning on Sunday, with flags flying half a foot high in memory of the late Queen Elizabeth II. But her death sparked a muted response across most of the country, the largest in the Commonwealth of Nations, an association of mostly former British colonies.

Sucheta Mahajan, a history professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi who focuses on colonialism, said: “If you look at social media, there’s a lot of discussion but not a lot of concern. heart”. “And they don’t see it as the death of an important world leader. After all, she didn’t call the shots “.

One of the last times the queen caused significant debate in India was in 1997, when she traveled to the country to celebrate 50 years of independence from the British colony. This is her third trip to India, and finally her last. The question surrounding her at that time was whether her visit would be Jallianwalla Bagh, The site north of the city of Amritsar, where in 1919 a British general ordered the army to open fire on a peaceful gathering, as an official apology for the massacre that left hundreds killed, one of the deadliest incidents of the colonial era.

In the end, she offered something less than an apology. At a state party in New Delhi, the queen, then 71 years old, speak: “It’s no secret that there have been some difficult times in our past – Jallianwala Bagh, which I will visit tomorrow, is a sad example. But history cannot be rewritten, though sometimes we may wish otherwise. It has its sad moments, as well as its happy times. We must learn from sadness and build on joy.”

Elizabeth became queen a few years after India gained its independence and most Indians today were born in the generation after the end of the British Raj. But historians point to the ways in which British rule left indelible scars on the Indian subcontinent, especially the bloody division of India and Pakistan.

The legacy of colonialism remains in the Upmarket club with western dress codethe name on the sign and even in extreme conditions sedation lawenacted under the British Raj and is still in force, which successive Indian governments have continued to use to rein in dissent.

Several Indian news media brooding about the future of Kohinoor diamond, which was placed in the queen’s crown and is believed to have been taken from India. It will be worn by Camillaconsort queen.

But under Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has sought to dismantle other vestiges of the colonial era.

Hours before the queen’s death, Mr. Modi presided over a ceremony to change the name to Rajpath, an avenue in the capital. The original name was Kingsway in honor of King George V, grandfather of Elizabeth. “Kingsway, or Rajpath, the symbol of slavery, has become a matter of history as of today and has been erased forever.” Mr. Modi said on Thursday night.

Late on Thursday, after her death, Mr. Modi pointed to the memories left behind. In a statement, he recalled meeting the queen in England when she showed him the handkerchief that Mahatma Gandhi had given her at the time of her wedding. He tweeted: “Your Majesty’s Queen Elizabeth II will be remembered as a steadfast deity of our time. She provided inspirational leadership for her country and people. She personified dignity and decency in public life. Grieving over her passing. My thoughts are with her family and the people of the UK in this hour of grief.”

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