The Clive Museum in Powis Castle, Wales, has made some changes in its website at a time when the Black Lives Matter Movement is rocking the world!

The Palace hosts a collection of artefacts brought from India by Lord Robert Clive (September 25, 1725 – November 22, 1774), and his son Edward. Known as ‘Clive of India’, he was the first British Governor of the Bengal Presidency in colonial period. He, along with Warren Hastings, is credited for laying the foundation of the British Empire in India. Among more than a thousand of collected items, there are wooden carvings of Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah and his palanquin made of gold. It is to be noted that Siraj-ud-Daulah was the last independent Nawab (Monarch) of Bengal, the eastern province of India. The end of his reign marked the start of the rule of British East India Company over Bengal, and later almost entire South Asia. Also, the Museum showcases the royal colourful tent of Tipu Sultan and the jewelled tiger head of his golden throne. Tipu was also known as the ‘Tiger of Mysore’, as he was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore (in southern part of India) and a pioneer of rocket artillery.

Earlier, the Palace’s website mentioned that Clive had successfully suppressed the coup and acquired huge sums of money. Incidentally, the 35-year-old Clive returned to Britain from India in 1760 with assets worth GBP 0.3 million. Again, he went to India and again returned to his country with a huge amount of wealth. The National Trust recently corrected this statement, saying that Clive and his son had looted some artefacts. The Trust also mentioned that the Palace showcases a painful chapter of British Colonial history, and the authorities would retell the history in a different way in the coming days…

A spokesperson of the Trust said: “The National Trust looks after places and collections that are linked to world histories, including the legacies of colonialism and slavery. We are working with partners to ensure these are fully explored and interpreted.” “Otherwise, the shame and pain of history will break our hearts,” he stressed.

The role of Robert Clive in British Colonial History has come under scrutiny as campaigners seek to have his statue removed from its plinth in Shrewsbury Town Centre.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das