On 8 September 2022, Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving monarch of the United Kingdom passed away. This has reignited debates around the role of British monarchy in the contemporary world and has made some Commonwealth countries think about cutting ties with the British crown.  India did this in 1950 when it declared itself as a republic. However, it still remained part of the Commonwealth which was odd because to be a Commonwealth member was to accept the British monarch as the head of state. But, becoming a republic meant that your head of state could never be a monarch.   In this video, we revisit how Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru convinced the Constituent Assembly to ratify the Indian government's decision to remain in the Commonwealth whilst being a republic.