My city and me.....
The city of my residence (I can't believe I've lived here for 28 years!) turned 370 years old just three days ago. It was on the 22nd of August 370 years ago that a factor, Francis Day, of the East India Company was given a small piece of land on the east coast of India by a local Nayak chieftain, to set up a trading post. The English built the Fort St. George on this spit of land - the city of Madras grew around this Fort with the locals setting up a township outside the walls of the Fort (it was called, rather politically incorrectly, Blacktown). Fort St. George grew into an institution when it became the seat of the Government of the Presidency of Madras and the base of the Governors-General of the East India Company. These Englishmen were essentially called upon to ensure that the company made good profits while making sure the natives were kept in their place and trading lines were kept open. The Madras Presidency ofcourse covered pretty much most of peninsular India s
outh-east of the Mahratta territories. It was a huge swathe of land to be governed by one man but the EIC ensured that their writ ran in all corners of the Presidency. It was only the other day that I actually paid a visit to the Museum at Fort St. George - I am ashamed to say that it took me so many years to get to see this fantastic collection of artefacts relating to the East India Co. It was after this visit that I was pleasantly surprised by the arrival of a courier in my office bearing a cover from Melbourne, Australia - it contained a book by Nick Robins entitled 'The Corporation that changed the world', sent by a friend from down under. It is truly an eye-opening book and I was gob-smacked when I learnt from the book that there is no memorial at all in England to the East India Company that very English entity that helped ensure that the 'sun never set on the British Empire' - even their huge headquarters building on Leadenhall Street doesnt exist any more. Its almost as if the British do not want
to be reminded about the Company. True, the Company wasnt the most ethical in its dealings in India and China but it took home to the English nation untold riches and hastened the ushering in the industrial era in ye olde England. But it makes me wonder why a nation that takes pride in preserving its past would want to remove from memory all traces of a 274 year old Company that brought untold riches to Britain. Seems like our history books did not tell us enough!!
outh-east of the Mahratta territories. It was a huge swathe of land to be governed by one man but the EIC ensured that their writ ran in all corners of the Presidency. It was only the other day that I actually paid a visit to the Museum at Fort St. George - I am ashamed to say that it took me so many years to get to see this fantastic collection of artefacts relating to the East India Co. It was after this visit that I was pleasantly surprised by the arrival of a courier in my office bearing a cover from Melbourne, Australia - it contained a book by Nick Robins entitled 'The Corporation that changed the world', sent by a friend from down under. It is truly an eye-opening book and I was gob-smacked when I learnt from the book that there is no memorial at all in England to the East India Company that very English entity that helped ensure that the 'sun never set on the British Empire' - even their huge headquarters building on Leadenhall Street doesnt exist any more. Its almost as if the British do not want
to be reminded about the Company. True, the Company wasnt the most ethical in its dealings in India and China but it took home to the English nation untold riches and hastened the ushering in the industrial era in ye olde England. But it makes me wonder why a nation that takes pride in preserving its past would want to remove from memory all traces of a 274 year old Company that brought untold riches to Britain. Seems like our history books did not tell us enough!!
No comments:
Post a Comment