Gandhi statue unveiled in London

A STATUE of Mahatma Gandhi has been unveiled in London’s Parliament Square, close to monuments of Abraham Lincoln and Nelson Mandela.

The 2.7m bronze statue was unveiled on Saturday to mark 100 years since Gandhi returned to India from South Africa to begin his struggle for independence.

His Durban-based great-grandson, Satish Dhupelia, who attended the unveiling ceremony of another statue, in Texas, in October, said Gandhi’s use of peaceful protest had led to India’s freedom from British rule.

It also earned him the respect of the world.

The London statue was unveiled by Indian Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley in a ceremony which also involved Gandhi’s grandson, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan.

“The statue in London is a tribute to his philosophy and also to the thousands who chose to follow his path rather than the path of violence and bloodshed,” Dhupelia said.

“The world more than ever today needs to heed the lessons he left behind and practise them, for you can only get peace if you engage with the opposition in a manner that earns their respect, and not if you engage in violence that breeds hatred. We hope that many visitors will be inspired by Gandhi’s life,” Dhupelia said.

British sculptor Philip Jackson was commissioned to create the work.

He was inspired by photographs of the civil rights leader outside 10 Downing Street on a visit in 1931.

Lord Meghnad Desai, the chairman of the Gandhi Statue Memorial Trust, said the trustees had raised £1 million (about R18m) within six months.

In an ironic twist, noted by the Indian government, Gandhi’s likeness now shares the same space as a statue of Britain’s former leader Winston Churchill, who tried to thwart Indian independence and who despised Gandhi and his aims.

According to his biography, he even suggested that Gandhi should be “trampled on by an enormous elephant”.