This article is a great example of comparing apples and oranges.
[thread]. https://www.dawn.com/news/1565493/dont-tear-down-statues

1. Removal of racist colonists' statues is an expression of protest by violently marginalized communities; Hindu/Buddhist heritage sites in Pak & Muslim sites in India were destroyed by violent state nationalist projects

2. The assumption of a neutral standpoint from where to access history is intellectual naivety at best, and moral bankruptcy at worst. There is no such thing as A Past. There are multiple pasts & contests over these pasts shape both the present and the many possible futures.

3. Instead of patronizing protesters, perhaps our liberal intellectuals should ask: what do different symbols signify to those on the social margins?

4. Taj Mahal & pyramids symbolize oppressive regimes from the past, but the present realities of ordinary Indians and Egyptians are marked by ruthless capitalist exploitation with the social veneer of Hindutva fascism and the brutal military dictatorship of Sissi.

5. Unlike Taj/pyramids, the statues of colonists like Churchill personify social and economic structures that sustain racial capitalism. The worms may have eaten away his flesh, but the ghost of the ‘fat, cigar-smoking, racist Englishman’ still haunts many communities

6. The fall of Saddam Hossain's statue did not yield anything of substance because it was part of an imperial war. If imperialism manages to co-opt ongoing movements, then perhaps the fall of racist statues may also not yield anything substantial, but that’s a moot point for now.

7. If you think the fall of racist-colonists' statues is cultural vandalism, your culture is most likely also based on racist, classist and sexist values.

8. However, if you're concerned about preserving (racist/colonist) past(s) insofar as these may offer lessons for posterity, that can be done in spite of the fall of the physical manifestations of such pasts.