Mahatma Gandhi statue vandalised in New York

A life-sized bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi, located here in Union Square near Manhattan, was vandalised on Saturday, an act strongly condemned as ‘despicable’ by the Consulate General of India, triggering shock and disappointment among the Indian-American community.

The incident took place early on Saturday, when the statue was defaced by some unknown persons, the Consulate General of India in New York said. The Consulate condemns this act of vandalism in the strongest terms, it said, adding that the matter has been taken up with local authorities. The matter has also been taken up with the US State Department for immediate investigation and urged appropriate action against those responsible for this despicable act, it said.

The 8-foot-high statue was donated by the Gandhi Memorial International Foundation, and was dedicated on October 2, 1986 to mark the 117th birth anniversary of Gandhi. American civil rights leader Bayard Rustin had delivered a keynote speech at the ceremony. Incidentally, the statue was removed in 2001, conserved and reinstalled in a landscape garden area in 2002.

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