Monarchy and Queen Elizabeth II a symbol of colonialism for some Windsorites
CBC
Windsor resident Raj Varma says the monarchy's problematic relationship is still felt in his homeland of India.
While many people have been sharing fond memories following Queen Elizabeth's death, for others her legacy is marred by Britain's imperial past.
India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were all overseen by the British until the middle of the 20th century.
According to the U.K.'s national archives, "Britain was one of the most successful slave-trading countries. Together with Portugal, the two countries accounted for about 70 per cent of all Africans transported to the Americas."
"The queen is OK, but all I can say she is still representative of the colonial era," said Varma, who is a retired planner with the City of Windsor.
"I would call her a 'soft colonialist' and very clever to get her things done, not openly in the public."
Varma said the Queen didn't do anything to rectify atrocities that happened in the past in India.
Peter Ijeh, president of the African Community Organization of Windsor, grew up in Nigeria and moved to Canada in 1975. He also chairs the City of Windsor's diversity committee.
Ijeh grew up in Nigeria and moved to Canada in 1975.
LISTEN: Peter Ijeh spoke about Nigeria's relationship with Britain
"We feel as though it is the inability of our leaders that is causing us to remain puppets of the British government and the British empire," Ijeh told CBC Radio's Windsor Morning Friday.
"In my opinion she has doubled down on the torture of those countries, rather than improve on their conditions. She didn't do anything for us. What did she do?'"
Even though Nigeria gained independence in 1960, Ijeh said he doesn't celebrate it because he doesn't think the country is fully independent of Britain.
"All of the former British colonies are still on the umbilical cord of the British government," he said, adding that colonialism is "alive and well."
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