State mourning for Queen Elizabeth evokes mixed reactions in city

NT Correspondent

 Bengaluru

 The Central government’s move to observe a one-day state mourning on Sunday, as a mark of respect to UK’s Queen Elizabeth II who passed away on Thursday, has evoked mixed reactions among the city residents.

 “I am a subject of the post-colonial era and the state mourning is quite disappointing to witness. It is impossible to mourn the Queen as an individual as the title itself is derived from her imperial institution. It makes no sense to distinguish her from the Empire she represented and forget all their gruesome deeds,” said Sahaya Riju, a marketing professional from the city.

“While the Indian masses were fighting the British loot with their sweat and blood, Savarkar and the Sangh were saying sorry to the British and licking their boots. The same continues today. While the masses are struggling to resist corporate plunder, the Sangh led by BJP is mourning the death of their master, the Queen of England,” All India Student Association (AISA) has said in a statement.

The Queen’s death, however, did evoke some sympathy among others. “I believe the dead must be respected. Despite her horrible past ridden with colonisation and human rights violations, her title deserves a dignified final goodbye. We must keep in mind the good deeds too,” said Kalpana Ramesh, a government employee.

The Union government issued an official statement mourning the queen’s death and stated, “As a mark of respect to the departed dignitary, the government of India has decided that there will be one-day state mourning on September 11 throughout India.” The national flag will be flown at half-mast on the day of mourning throughout India on all buildings where the national flag is flown regularly and there will be no official entertainment on the day, it added.

Across the world the opinion over Queen Elizabeth II was divided. While many grieved her death and highlighted her contribution to hundreds of charities, others recalled the struggles faced by the countries that were colonised and exploited by the British Empire.