White House slams call to move statues

MAHATMA Gandhi has been caught up in the anti-racism movement’s campaign for removing statues and memorials and the White House has decried the targeting of the Father of India.

US President Donald Trump’s spokesperson Kayleigh Mcenany said this week: “What we’re seeing across the nation is this culture where we’re going to tear down our monuments, we’re going to tear down Gandhi…”

What began as an outgrowth of the national protests against police brutality targeting symbols of the Confederate states, has now spawned a Talibanesque statue destruction force defacing memorials to the Father of the Nation George Washington and Gandhi and mindlessly destroying statues of even those who campaigned against slavery and racism.

Last month Trump issued executive orders to prosecute those destroying monuments and to restore those destroyed.

A petition backed by the

Sikh youth organisation, Jakara Movement, with 5000 signatures, demanded the removal of Gandhi’s statue in the Peace Garden at the Fresno State University in California, according to the Fresno Bee newspaper.

A section of Sikhs and others, including African Americans, held a demonstration near the vandalised statue of Gandhi in Davis asking for it to be removed, according to the Davis Vanguard.

The Indian Association of Sacramento has, meanwhile, launched a petition on Change.org asking Davis to retain the statue and also protect it from vandals.