Here stands a man far ahead of his time. Born in Bengal in 1772 to a Brahmin family, Roy became a scholar and reformer. He campaigned against child marriage and suttee. After a career in the East India Company, Roy arrived in Britain in 1831 as the ambassador of the Mughal Emperor. On a visit to Bristol in 1833 he died and is buried in Arno’s Vale Cemetery. This bronze statue marks the golden jubilee of India’s independence in 1997.