Well, using swords of the vanquished foe as a lowly fence was purely symbolic and analogous to dragging their captured flags on the ground during the victory parade: a show of derision. Such practice was known from time immemorial: Alexander burned Persepolis, Tamerlane paraded Bayazet in the cage etc.
Destroying Indian arsenals, on the other hand, was purely practical : disarming, not disrespect.
The cultural effects were the same: loss of historical objects.
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