Don't tear down statues.

Byline: Pervez Hoodbhoy

WINSTON Churchill was a terrible man. He authorised use of chemical weapons against Afghans and Kurds, called China 'a barbaric nation', spoke of the 'great hordes of Islam' and wrote of Indians as 'a beastly people with a beastly religion'. When informed of mass deaths in the 1943 Bengal famine, he simply asked: 'So is Gandhi dead yet?' Those nostalgic for the Raj love him, as do white supremacists. Zionists adore him for what he told the Palestine Royal Commission in 1937:

'I do not agree that the dog in a manger has the final right to the manger even though he may have lain there for a very long time. I do not admit for instance, that a great wrong has been done to the Red Indians of America or the black people of Australia. I do not admit that a wrong has been done to these people by the fact that a stronger race, a higher-grade race, a more worldly wise race to put it that way, has come in and taken their place.'

Unsurprisingly, Churchill's statue is iconic for leftists and progressives around the world. Galvanised by the killing of George Floyd, they want not just this statue gone but all historical monuments associated with oppression, slavery, and bigotry to be eliminated from public view. Thoroughly decent people are roaring: pull them down!

But stop! This is terribly dangerous. Step back and reflect upon the consequences.

I've dwelt on Churchill here because he is a metaphor for countless racist, supremacist leaders who led wars of conquest and plundered treasures. From Alexander the Great to Chandragupta Maurya, and Mohammed bin Qasim to Napoleon Bonaparte, ambitious conquerors subjugated weaker peoples on various pretexts. So shouldn't we eliminate hurtful memories?

Left-liberals in the West should ponder the effects of effacing historical symbols as Pakistan-India have.

Let's begin by bulldozing the pyramids of ancient Egypt. They are symbols of extreme oppression and the word 'pharaoh' is synonymous with cruelty. Thousands of slaves toiling in the scorching desert sun built tombs for the pharaoh king. When he died his retainers were obliged to collectively commit suicide and be buried in the same pyramid, ready to serve when he awakes in the after-life. Morally, the pyramids ought to be levelled.

And what to make of Babri mosque? For Hindu zealots it was the symbol of cultural oppression by Muslim invaders. In 1992 with bare hands and pick-axes a maddened crowd tore apart a five-centuries-old structure...