India: One-day state mourning for Queen
A STATEMENT from the Indian government said: “Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, passed away on September 8, 2022. As a mark of respect to the departed dignitary, the government of India has decided that there will be oneday state mourning on September 11 throughout India.”
The Indian government was absolutely right to do so. In matters of the Commonwealth, the Queen was always on the right side. It is no secret that she disagreed with Margaret Thatcher who did not want to impose sanctions against the white South African government despite its apartheid policy.
When the journalist Kuldip Nayar was the Indian high commissioner in London in 1990, he complained to the Queen that the crown estate commissioners were planning to hike the cost of leasing 9, Kensington Palace Gardens, his official residence.
I don’t know what the Queen did behind the scenes, but the diplomatic row between India and the UK was resolved amicably.