A statue of India’s famous pacifist, Mohandas Gandhi, is the latest target in the push to remove statues from the public square that have been deemed offensive.
More than 6,000 people have signed a petition calling for the removal of a Gandhi statue in the British city of Leicester, arguing that the leader of the Indian movement for independence from the British Empire was a “fascist racist and sexual predator,” according to Breitbart News.
“For years he has been idolised and taught in school curriculum. For a lot of people in my community, he has bought inconsolable suffering against my people. As a result, I do not wish to see a statue and praise of that kind of character,” the petition’s author wrote to the Leicester City Council.
A British lawmaker who commissioned the statue expressed dismay at the calls to remove the statue on Twitter.
“When I commissioned Gandhi statue 5-years ago, never thought I’d see this,” Sajid Javid posted. “‘Whenever you are confronted with an opponent, conquer him with love.'”
When I commissioned Gandhi statue 5-years ago, never thought I’d see this.
“Whenever you are confronted with an opponent, conquer him with love.” pic.twitter.com/uU2SVZ1RUo
— Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) June 13, 2020
Calls to remove statues of historical figures have been growing in the United States following the death of George Floyd, and protesters have defaced (and in some cases knocked down) statues of Confederate leaders. In Philadelphia, the statue of outspoken abolitionist Matthias Baldwin was vandalized.
Protesters have vandalized the Gandhi statue in Washington, D.C.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called for the removal of 11 statues, nine of them depicting Democrats, from the U.S. Capitol, arguing that they are too racist to continue being displayed.
“The halls of Congress are the very heart of our democracy,” Pelosi said in a letter. “The statues in the Capitol should embody our highest ideals as Americans, expressing who we are and who we aspire to be as a nation. Monuments to men who advocated cruelty and barbarism to achieve such a plainly racist end are a grotesque affront to these ideals. Their statues pay homage to hate, not heritage. They must be removed.”
