Another Mahatma Gandhi statue vandalised in New York; triggers disappintment in Indian-American community
Last year, unknown miscreants had vandalised, broken, and ripped from the base a statue of Gandhi in a park in California.
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In a shocking development, unknown miscreants desecrated a life-sized bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi, located here in Union Square near Manhattan. As per the consulate in New York, the incident took place early on 4 February.
The incident has triggered shock and disappointment among the Indian-American community. Indian-American community leaders have strongly condemned the act saying this is disrespect to Gandhi and Martin Luther King, two leaders who sought to eradicate hate.
"As an African American practitioner of the Hindu dharma, I am deeply offended that anyone would disrespect Mahatma Gandhi, who inspired MLK (Martin Luther King) to take up the mission of non-violence, which inspired major changes in society that are still positively impacting our lives today," said Balabhadra Bhattacarya Dasa (Benny Tillman), president of the Vedic Friends Association.
On Mahatma Gandhi statue in New York City being defaced:@MEAIndia @IndianEmbassyUS @DrSJaishankar @NYCMayor @NYPDPC @globalnyc pic.twitter.com/Sr0Q2RQIWn
— India in New York (@IndiainNewYork) February 5, 2022
Utsav Chakrabarti, executive director of the HinduPACT said that this is not the first time that a statue of Gandhi has been vandalised in the US. "In the past few years, statues of Mahatma Gandhi have been vandalised by groups aligned with radical Islamists and their sympathizers in South Asian communities," he claimed.
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.
Last year, unknown miscreants had vandalised, broken, and ripped from the base a statue of Gandhi in a park in California.
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