Lord Ellenborough as a dancing girl in a Hindu temple; representing press allegations that, as Governor-General of India, he favoured Hinduism over Islam in his policy towards the gates of the temple at Somnath. Wood engraving by or after J.K. Meadows, 1843.
- Date:
- 1843
- Reference:
- 11518i
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- Online
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Description
She holds a tambourine inscribed "The insult of 8 hundred years is avenged". The subject is the policy of Lord Ellenborough, as Governor-General of India, towards the wooden gates of a tomb in Afghanistan which were believed to have been removed by a Muslim conqueror from a Hindu temple at Somnath in Gujarat approximately 800 years previously. Ellenborough's policy was to return them to Somnath. The affair was debated in the British Parliament in 1843, the debate including speeches by Lord Brougham (disputing the press allegations) and T.B. Macaulay
Publication/Creation
1843
Physical description
1 print
Contributors
Lettering
The "Christian" bayadere worshipping the idol "Siva". K.M.
References note
Graham Everitt, English caricaturists and graphic humourists of the nineteenth century, London 1893, p. 360 ("The Christian Bayadere worshipping the Idol Siva, has reference to the tolerance which "John Company" wisely conceded to Hindoo religious ceremony, so long as its traditions were found consistent with the ordinary dictates of humanity.")
Reference
Wellcome Collection 11518i
Type/Technique
Languages
Where to find it
Location Status Access Closed stores