At banquet for President, she flags new strategic partnership between India and Britain
LONDON: Queen Elizabeth II unexpectedly brought up the subject of the November last Mumbai terror attacks at the banquet she hosted for President Pratibha Patil on Tuesday.
The Queen described the attacks as “appalling” and commended India for showing courage in the face of this great tragedy. “I would like to pay tribute to the courage and steadfastness shown by the Indian security forces and people in the face of this great tragedy.”
The Queen’s banquets are usually very formal and officious in keeping with her position as a ceremonial head.
On Tuesday night, both sides went through the drill. Ms. Patil spoke of “commonalities and shared experiences” that have “helped us understand each other’s vision and concerns.”
The Queen, in turn, sung hosannas to the “long shared history between Britain and India” and the “warmth and hospitality of the Indian people.”
But alongside, there was also recognition that contemporary India had gone beyond the British Raj and was confronting the political and geo-strategic realities of the new millennium on its own strength. Indeed, competing with the old shibboleths were new ones, now considered mandatory when an Indian dignitary visits abroad.
Thus the Queen spoke of the new strategic partnership between the two countries “founded on the sure knowledge that India’s emergence on the world stage would be one of the main forces shaping 21st century.”
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