The queen was not a gentle figurehead for many in former colonies
The death of Queen Elizabeth II has elicited mixed feelings among people from former British colonies, where memories of historical abuses remain strong.
NEW DELHI — Just hours after the world learned that Queen Elizabeth II was dead, Twitter feeds across India exploded with angry demands for the repatriation of a precious diamond called the Kohinoor, which has become a symbol of Britain’s often bloody history of colonial conquest and rule.
The British government has denied stealing the Kohinoor diamond and has repeatedly refused to return it to India. And to millions across the Indian subcontinent, the diamond — one of the most famous in the world — has become a symbol of a colonial past.
The queen's coffin, the wreath of white flowers and her coronation crown with the priceless Kohinoor diamond.Tim Graham / Corbis via Getty Images fileThe demands reflected anger over the history of colonization amid the outpouring of sympathy that followed Elizabeth’s death last Thursday at age 96. Among many residents of former British colonies, such as India and Kenya, the reaction to her death ranged from benign interest to anger and disdain.
At its height, the United Kingdom controlled the largest empire in history, ruling over an estimated 20% of the world’s population and occupying around a quarter of the Earth's landmass. The era was marked by famines, massacres and grinding poverty in the resource-rich countries that were colonized by the British Empire.
In the shadow of New Delhi’s historic Red Fort, where the flag of newly independent India flew for the first time 75 years ago, Devishankar Shukla reflected on the British monarch's death.
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