MUMBAI, India — As world leaders gather in London today for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi – head of the Commonwealth's most populous country – is absent.
Seventy-five years after it cast off British colonial rule, India sent its ceremonial president – a woman from one of the country's indigenous tribes – to its former monarch's funeral. As head of state, Indian President Droupadi Murmu's presence adheres to protocol, even though a mix of other prime ministers (heads of government) and presidents and royals (heads of state) are in attendance. Murmu also paid her respects to King Charles III at Buckingham Palace separately, before the service.
