Global Affairs

The problem with toppling statues

Instead of pushing historical figures off their pedestals, consider what Singapore did during the bicentennial year in dealing with Raffles' place in its history

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They were once feted as pioneers, leaders who created empires and powerful nations, worthy characters of worship by their successors. Some of their statues stood on their pedestals for centuries in city squares and other central locations, seen by millions of passers-by and pointed to reverentially by parents and teachers of successive generations of schoolchildren.

Now, however, the statues are being toppled. And this is not just the fate of a relatively unknown individual such as Edward Colston, a 17th-century wealthy trader whose statue stood for 125 years in the heart of the English city of Bristol, only to be ripped out now by demonstrators objecting to his role in the slave trade.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 15, 2020, with the headline The problem with toppling statues. Subscribe