UK: Gandhi statues spark racism row amid BLM protests
nLONDON: Mahatma Gandhi’s alleged views about Africans when he lived in South Africa are being dredged up to target his statues in the UK, as protesters demand the removal of monuments to those linked to racism and slave trade.
Gandhi’s statue in Parliament Square was targeted during the Black Lives Matter demonstration on Sunday, when the word “racist” was written near its plinth.
Thousands of people have signed an online petition to the Leicester City Council for the removal of Gandhi’s statue in the city which has a large Indian-origin population.
Indian circles believe that the BLM campaign is being exploited by anti-india elements based in the UK, where six Gandhi statues have been installed in five cities in recent decades, including two in London: Tavistock Square (1968) and Parliament Square (2015). There were mixed views when the statue in Parliament Square was installed.
BLM campaigners have a hitlist of 78 monuments in the UK they believe should be removed. Mayor Sadiq Khan has ordered a review of such sites in London.
The BLM campaign has also revived the demand to remove the statue of imperialist Cecil Rhodes from the Oriel College in the University of Oxford, where intense debate continues over its fate amid growing support for its removal.
In London, mayor Sadiq Khan has ordered a review of statues and public spaces for statues and items related to slave trade. Soon after his announcement, the statue of noted slaveholder Robert Milligan was removed from outside the Museum of London Docklands.