An exhibition reminds us of the forgotten legacy of the French in India

In our everyday experiences as Indians, the British Raj continues to cast a long shadow. But the legacy of the French is largely forgotten or unrecognised. An exhibition at the National Museum in Delhi, which opened yesterday, attempts to right the skew of imperialist memory.

Titled Rajas Nawabs & Firangees, the exhibition looks at the late 18th and early 19th century — a period which saw the waning of the French East India Company.

Samuel Berthet, a historian and director of Alliance Française, Hyderabad, curated the collection of paintings and manuscripts. Alliance Française, along with defence think tank United Service Institution of