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| Robert Clive who seized Bengal dishonestly. news18.com |
Robert Clive Clive, when came to Calcutta from Madras settlement with his troops in June 1744 to retrieve Ft. William captured by Nawab Siraj- ud-daulah, was just 19 years of age and had already gained considerable expertise in military warfare at Arcot and Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu. Being a shrewd young man, he is often remembered for his uncontrolled and unbounded exploitation of such opportunities thrust upon him. He availed himself of such opportunities for his personal gains as well for the growth of the English company. In the aftermath of EIC's victory over over Mughal emperor Shah Alam II in the Battle of Buxar in 1764, the Company got the rights to collect taxes directly from the people of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. With the right to raise revenue, employees of the Company serving in India particularly Robert Clive made a bundle. His manipulative powers and military ingenuity put him on the pedestal. Clive finally returned to Britain in 1767 with a personal fortune then estimated at 4,00,000 pounds sterling, a whooping sum in those days. He never earned the money through sweat and blood, rather through dishonestly So till to day he has remained a symbol of racism, dishonesty and corruption.
Lots of petitions addressed to Shropshire County council, England were sent in June 2020 as part of Black lives matter (BLM) Champaign by protestors. The petition already had attracted 1700 people, seeking the removal of the statue of Robert Clive at Shrewsbury, West England, where it has been there for more than 100 years.
The present generation of young people world over have begun to look at those purported historical colonial figures related to slavery and imperialism through magnifying glasses and are spurred by a keen desire to correct the historical wrongs that have left behind vast swathes of scars in the former colonies. The BLM movement is not localized and from America to Australia and from Canada to England, it emphasizes the fact that there is an urgency to confront vestiges of racism and imperialism across the globe. Across the world, the past history has too many dark chapters dominated by racism, killing and exploitation of colonies and the veil has to be removed for ever.in a new world order. The historical injustice and outright exploitation is vented out by way of knocking down off the pedestal of slave traders, racists, and confederate generals. The message is clear: '' the contemptuous heroes of the past must subscribe to the 21st century sense of justice to be on pedestals''.
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| Robert Clive's statue, Shrewsbury, Britain. hindustantimes.com |
Above image: A statue to Robert Clive, (head of an unregulated corrupt East India company) an epitome of nepotism, dishonesty and impropriety. Clive's statue in Shrewsbury, Britain. His house in Claremont, Sussex, purchased from wealth he made in India and the Powis Castle in Wales, which has a large collection of Indian items are among properties managed by National Trust. At least 50 such properties in England and Wales are linked to the East India Company, whose employees dishonestly earned fortunes in India and returned home to build large houses and live in splendor. Such returning wealthy individuals were called White ‘Nabobs’, who also wielded political power in Westminster in the 18th and 19th centuries. Former governor of Madras Ronald d’Arcy Fife’s Nunnington Hall (on a plot of 8 acres) in Yorkshire; the home of Francis Syke (one of the ‘nabobs’), Basildon Park (designed by John Carr in the Palladian style) Berkshire; and Rudyard Kipling’s home Bateman’s in east Sussex are some of the properties bought from the wealth looted in India.
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| Francis Syke's Basildon Park. England, facebook.com |
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| Ronald d’Arcy Fife’s Nunnington hall, England. en.wikipedia.org |
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| Robert Clive's Powis Castle, Wales ottakeepmovin.com |
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| Robert Clive's Powis Castle, Wales ottakeepmovin.com |
Above images: The Powis castle, wales has a vast collections looted from India by Clive. Collection numbering some 1,000 objects from about 1600 to the 1830s, are on display at Powis . They include ivories, textiles, statues of Hindu gods, ornamental silver and gold, weapons and ceremonial armor from India and East Asia.”. All these buildings including Claremont house. were bought from the wealth earned in India. They are being managed by the national trust ......................
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| .Robert Clive's Claremont house, England geograph.org.uk |
Writes Lucy Porten of the National Trust: “At Claremont, purchased with the wealth he (Clive) had made in India, he built a new house, intended to be his main residence and to display the treasures he had amassed. In the early 1770s, Clive had begun acquiring Old Master pictures, which were intended for the Great Room at Claremont”.
“At the time of his death, the house, unfinished and unfurnished, was a repository for his various collections, including that of ‘Indian Curiosities’ (still unpacked at that point). Robert’s son, Edward (1754–1839), would become 1st Earl of Powis, following his marriage to Lady Henrietta Herbert (1758–1830) in 1784, and Governor of Madras in 1798”.
The trust also had identified 93 properties linked to slavery and colonialism during the British Empire. The research is part of historical reviews initiated by several government departments and organizations in the wake of the Black Lives Matter campaign.
Why is there a demand for the removal of Clive's statues from public places in England?'' Clive as a symbol of British colonialism is offensive to Bengali, Indian of SE Asian decent and to attempt to justify it as a celebration of British pride and nationalism is justifiable if one revels in the persecution and murder of millions of innocent people''.
Today, Clive is being held as a historical figure and founder of the British Empire. But, if we delve deep into British India we realize he was symbol of colonialism and exploitation of Indian natives and their vast resources. He is now tagged as ''a greedy plunderer, a ruthless trickster and even a “social psychopath”. The historical writing about him is quite conflicting, a hyped up hero. However, he diligently manipulated human frailties and exploited the Indian natives who were divided among themselves based on religion, castes, creed and culture, etc.
Robert Clive earned the title Clive of India as he was the first Governor of Bengal in the 18th century after dishonestly taking over the entire Bengal and adjacent regions by way of killing the Nawab of Bengal Siraj- ud -daulah and a host of others in collusion with dissident Amirs in his court. Clive cleverly sought the help of William Watts (c. 1722 - 4 August 1764), a British official with the East India Company. Along with Clive he was involved in the overthrow of the last independent ruler of Bengal, Siraj-ud-daulah leading directly to the consolidation of Company rule in India and his own personal enrichment. Through his wife Begum Johnson, he had notable descendants, including a Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Watts' proficiency in Bengali, Hindustani and Persian language was to the advantage of the company. His move set the stage for the the Battle of Plassey (23 June 1757) in which the Nawab was betrayed by his own men as conspired before. On 5 June 1757 Watts visited Mir Jafar and obtained his oath of allegiance in the name of holy ''Koran'' and it finally led to the assassination of Nawab Siraj. Reason: He was not cooperative with the company and demanded payment of vast arrears of customs taxes due from the company. The English company never stuck to the trade agreement and indulged in various illegal trading activities. In recognition of his services, Watts was given £114,000 from the Nawab's treasury and Clive promoted him as the governor of Fort William, Calcutta(Kolkata) on 22 June 1758. As for the black-hole incident, Nawab Siraj had nothing to do with it but he was portrayed as the villain responsible for the killing of so many British subjects in the dungeon.
Clive played no less role in the looting of Bengal and grabbing money from the rich under duress and the riches of Bengal found their way back to England along with him. Clive, with his vast riches looted in India bought palatial mansions in Sussex and wales and they are being managed by the National Trust.
To have a statue commemorating the man who ruined a rich nation and held the innocent people to his barbaric act is offensive and embarrassing; he is nothing more than a figure of oppression and and white supremacy. There is nothing historical about the way he looted the land. For more than 100 years this looter was commemorated for the petty reason that he founded the British Empire in a land trough intrigues and exploitation, besides using brute forces.
People world over are tearing apart historical figures like Columbus and Churchill whos past racist histories have been purposely ignored to glorify them as explorers. leaders and politicians. The history of Columbus is murky. He brought racism to the US and later in 1494 started trans Atlantic slave trade and exploited the indigenous people. The native Americans welcomed Columbus and his men and, in return, his men went on a mass killing and took away their lands. In the later years the evangelists descended on America and destroyed the native American culture and converted them into Christianity. In reality, they were not true Christians as taught by Christ.
