Arguing that there is a statue of Robert Clive in Kolkata, a council in England has rejected a petition signed by thousands of people to remove the statue of the controversial 18th century colonialist in the wake of the ‘Black lives matter’ campaign.
The Shropshire council has voted in favour of retaining the statue of the man who is credited with laying the foundation of the British empire in India. The first governor of the presidency of Fort William, Bengal, Clive died in London 1774, leaving behind a controversial legacy.
Peter Nutting, the Conservative leader of the council, mentioned the statue in Kolkata as one of the reasons to retain it, implying that when post-colonial India has chosen to retain it, the statue in the England should also be kept in place.
Steve Charmley, deputy leader and portfolio holder for assets, economic growth and regeneration, said the statue, which has stood in Shrewsbury’s square since 1860, is listed (a protected monument) and would require consultation with authorities to remove it.
Reports from Shropshire said that at the full council meeting, 28 councillors voted in favour of the recommendation of no further action on the removal of the statue, while 17 voted against the proposal and one councillor abstained.
After thousands signed a petition to remove the statue, thousands more signed a counter-petition, insisting that “removing statues does not change history nor help us learn from it. Shropshire has been influenced by the actions of Robert Clive, whether we condone all of his actions or not”.
Clive’s statue is among several across the UK sought to be removed by campaigners. They include Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in Leicester, where the local council is due to decide on a petition calling for it to be removed from the arterial Belgrave Road, the hub of Asian culture and business.
The BLM campaign witnessed protests across the UK after George Floyd’s death in the US, gathering momentum after the statue of slave trader Edward Colston was pulled down in Bristol in early June. The campaign has prompted a review of public spaces in London and elsewhere on symbols of racism, colonialism and slave trade.