In my Page ‘Other Prestigious Indian Boarding Schools’, I had mentioned a few schools but I did not know of the existence of St. Paul’s School, Darjeeling until a gentleman called Pranav Gupta, an old boy of that school wrote the obituary of Denzil Prince who, for many years was connected with Lovedale. Pranav signed off as an old boy of Havelock House.
Pranav is, I am sure a gentleman but the mention of Havelock made me seethe with anger. Havelock in 2026? Havelock was the character who wanted to and did flay Indians. Flay means skinned alive! I have made reference to Havelock in my Page ‘Other Prestigious Indian Boarding Schools’ but I will name the the other houses and explain further:
The Senior Wing is divided into four houses named Clive, Hastings, Havelock and Lawrence.
William Dalrymple and Will Durant have documented the darker side of these men, framing them not as “builders of empire” but as agents of extraction and brutal repression.
Robert Clive: The “Sociopath” Corporate Raider
Robert Clive is often remembered for the Battle of Plassey (1757), which began the British conquest of India. However, Dalrymple describes him as a “mentally unstable corporate predator”.
- The Pillage of Bengal: Following Plassey, Clive oversaw the systematic looting of the Bengal treasury. This “supreme act of corporate violence” drained the region of its wealth.
- The Great Famine: Under the East India Company’s administration, the Bengal Famine of 1770 led to the deaths of approximately 10 million people. Despite the catastrophe, the Company, under the structures Clive established, continued to enforce tax collection.
- Will Durant’s View: Durant famously noted in The Case for India that the British conquest was “the most terrible of all the invasions of India,” characterised by “the most shameless and systematic pillage of a people that the world has ever known.”
Warren Hastings: The Architect of Misrule
While some see Hastings as a scholar-administrator, his career was defined by corruption and the violent consolidation of Company power, leading to his historic seven-year impeachment trial in London.
- The Rohilla War: Hastings was accused of “renting out” Company troops to the Nawab of Oudh to ethnically cleanse the Rohilla Afghans, a move condemned in Parliament as a “shameful and unprovoked” act of mercenary violence.
- Judicial Murder: He was implicated in the “judicial murder” of Maharaja Nandakumar, who was executed on dubious forgery charges after accusing Hastings of bribery.
- Corporate Absolutism: Dalrymple notes that during Hastings‘ era, the East India Company functioned as a “dangerously unregulated private company” that prioritised shareholder profits over the lives of millions.
Henry Havelock: The “Christian” Butcher of 1857
Henry Havelock is often mythologised as a hero of the “Cawnpore Relief,” but his actions during the 1857 Rebellion were marked by what modern standards would define as war crimes.
- Indiscriminate Slaughter: Havelock’s forces engaged in “enraged and cruel rampages”. He sanctioned the summary execution of countless Indians—often without proof of involvement in the rebellion—leaving a trail of “blazing huts” and butchered civilians.
- The “Flaying” Doctrine: His “scorched earth” tactics and the brutality of the reprisals were intended to instill a “reign of terror” to reassert control.
- Propaganda of Virtue: Dalrymple points out that British media at the time framed these atrocities as a “fight against barbarians,” a narrative used to justify the slaughter of “old men who had done us no harm”.
IT IS ALL THE MORE IRONIC THAT A PRTESTIGIOUS BOARDING SCHOOL HAS A HOUSE NAMED AFTER HAVELOCK. In UK, a road named after Havelock has had been removed and the replaced with Guru Nanak Road!
I have written extensively about Lawrence on other Pages so will not bother repeating that here.
What I can say is the sycophantic (sycophantic to the British) influence of the Anglo-Indians continues to run deep. Why else would St Paul’s school still have such names? The school was started for Anglo-Indians by Anglo-Indians, but even here there is a deep irony. None of the characters were in any way respectful towards Anglo-Indians. Sir Henry Lawrence, the character after whom my old school is named put in writing that only children BOTH of whose parents were European were to be accepted, which means that Anglo-Indians were specifically excluded!
I will conclude this post by saying that the Government of India renamed Havelock Island in the Andamans and Nicobar as Swaraj Dweep. St Paul’s has stuck to the original house names! Disgraceful!