Who vandalized Mahatma Gandhi’s Statue in New York?

02/07/2022 Melwyn Williams

The Indian Consulate and Indian Diaspora condemned the “act of vandalism” in the strongest terms

A life-sized bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi was vandalised in a New York City neighbourhood on Saturday, an act strongly condemned as despicable’ by the Consulate General of India there.

The Indian diaspora has strongly condemned the vandalisation of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi here, saying it is a “sad moment” when such an act is perpetrated against the global icon of peace and non-violence and urged authorities to take strict action against those responsible. The Consulate General of India in New York said early Saturday that the statute was “defaced by some unknown persons”.

The 8 foot high, statue was donated by the Gandhi Memorial International Foundation, and was dedicated on October 2, 1986 to mark the 117^th birth anniversary of Gandhi. Incidentally, the statue was later removed in 2001, conserved and reinstalled in a landscape garden area in 2002. Gandhi’s statue is located in the heart of the popular and busy Union Square neighbourhood near lower and midtown Manhattan.

This is not the first time a statue of Gandhi has been desecrated in the US. In January last year, unknown miscreants had vandalised, broken and ripped from the base a statue of Gandhi in a park in the US state of California, evoking a strong response from India which sought a thorough investigation and appropriate action against those responsible for the ”despicable act.” The 6-ft tall, 650-pound (294 kg) bronze statue of Gandhi, in the Central Park of the City of Davis in Northern California, had been sawed off at the ankles and half its face was severed and missing.

In December 2020, Khalistani-supporters had desecrated a Gandhi statue in Washington, DC in front of the Indian Embassy. The then White House Press Secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, had termed the incident as terrible. No statue or memorial should be desecrated and certainly not one like that of Gandhi, who really fought for the values that America represents of peace, justice, and freedom.

It is appalling that it has happened more than once and we believe the reputation of Mahatma Gandhi should be respected, especially here in America’s capital, she had said.

Also in June 2020, some unknown miscreants vandalised the statue of Gandhi outside the Indian embassy in the US with graffiti and spray painting, prompting the mission to register a complaint with the local law enforcement agencies.

Leading diaspora organisation Federation of Indian Associations – New York, New Jersey and Connecticut (FIA-NY NJ CT) strongly condemned the “cowardly act” perpetrated against the statue of the Father of the Nation.

The Indian Consulate condemned the act of vandalism in the strongest terms and added that the matter has been taken up with the local authorities. The matter has also been taken up with the US State Department for immediate investigation and “appropriate action against those responsible for this despicable act.”