The ‘topple the racists’ campaign is on the lookout for its next target. Cecil Rhodes, Robert Clive and even Lord Nelson are on the hit list. But so too is another curious name from the past: Sir Walter Raleigh Gilbert. An army officer in the 19th century, Gilbert led a division of the East India Company responsible for killing Sikhs in the second Anglo-Sikh war. The ‘topple the racists’ website highlights this particular point, whilst providing a postcode (presumably for activists to plug into their sat navs) for the 150ft memorial which looks out over Bodmin.
So should Gilbert meet the same fate as Edward Colston? No, because this nomination requires a more nuanced understanding of history. And while it doesn’t let Gilbert entirely off the hook, it explains something about the build-up to the killings in which he was involved.
The Battle of Chillianwala (one of the two major conflicts in which Gilbert was involved) was ‘one of the bloodiest the British had ever fought in the subcontinent,’ according to British Sikh historians Amandeep Singh Madra and Parmjit Singh.
Get Britain's best politics newsletters
Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in