ID :
67996
Sat, 06/27/2009 - 16:29
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/67996
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Mahatma Gandhi's second statue stands tall in UK
Prasun Sonwalkar
Leicester, June 26 (PTI) India's national anthem rent
the air as over 1,000 people joined British Home Secretary
Alan Johnson at the unveiling ceremony of an imposing statue
of Mahatma Gandhi here on Friday, second in a UK town.
Amidst incense sticks, 'puja' and Indian-origin girls
waving British and Indian flags, Gandhi's followers from
Leicester and across Britain gathered on Belgrave Road to
honour the life and times of a man credited with leading
India's struggle for independence.
The ceremony marked the culmination of a two-year
campaign by Samanwaya Pariwar, an Indian charity organisation
headed by Swami Satyamitranand, who travelled from India to
attend the event in east Midlands town in Leicester.
The well-attended ceremony included India's consul
general in Birmingham, J D Pavel, Labour MP from Leicester
East Keith Vaz, Lord Mayor of Leicester Roger Blackmore and
the Kolkata-based sculptor, Gautam Pal, who has sculpted the
seven-and-a-half foot bronze Gandhi statue. Pal has installed
Gandhi's statues at several places across the world.
"This statue is a landmark not only for Leicester but
to the entire world," Johnson said, adding few leaders had
influenced the world more than Gandhi. He recalled Gandhi's
visit to London for the Round Table Conference and to the
mills of Lancashire. The first Gandhi statue was installed in
Tavistock Square in London in 1968.
Starting his brief speech with 'Raghupati raghav
rajaram', Swami Satyamitranand recalled the hymn’s ignificance
for Gandhi and said the statue was significant not only for
Indians in Britain but to advocates of peace all over the
world.
The seven-and-a-half foot bronze statue in Leicester
cost Samanwaya Parivar 20,000 pounds.
The two-year campaign for the statue was surrounded by
some controversy with several local residents opposing
Gandhi's statue on the ground that he did not visit or have
any links with Leicester.
The Leicester City Council, however, approved
Samanwaya Parivar’s request for permission to install the
statue. The organisation said it will bear the cost of
maintaining the statue located in a busy area mainly inhabited
by people of Indian origin.
Some local residents feared that opponents of the
statue may splash graffiti to disfigure it.
A multicultural town, Leicester has the largest Indian
population in the UK outside London. By 2012, it is predicted
that it will be the first city in Europe with a majority
non-white population. PTI PS
SKT
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Leicester, June 26 (PTI) India's national anthem rent
the air as over 1,000 people joined British Home Secretary
Alan Johnson at the unveiling ceremony of an imposing statue
of Mahatma Gandhi here on Friday, second in a UK town.
Amidst incense sticks, 'puja' and Indian-origin girls
waving British and Indian flags, Gandhi's followers from
Leicester and across Britain gathered on Belgrave Road to
honour the life and times of a man credited with leading
India's struggle for independence.
The ceremony marked the culmination of a two-year
campaign by Samanwaya Pariwar, an Indian charity organisation
headed by Swami Satyamitranand, who travelled from India to
attend the event in east Midlands town in Leicester.
The well-attended ceremony included India's consul
general in Birmingham, J D Pavel, Labour MP from Leicester
East Keith Vaz, Lord Mayor of Leicester Roger Blackmore and
the Kolkata-based sculptor, Gautam Pal, who has sculpted the
seven-and-a-half foot bronze Gandhi statue. Pal has installed
Gandhi's statues at several places across the world.
"This statue is a landmark not only for Leicester but
to the entire world," Johnson said, adding few leaders had
influenced the world more than Gandhi. He recalled Gandhi's
visit to London for the Round Table Conference and to the
mills of Lancashire. The first Gandhi statue was installed in
Tavistock Square in London in 1968.
Starting his brief speech with 'Raghupati raghav
rajaram', Swami Satyamitranand recalled the hymn’s ignificance
for Gandhi and said the statue was significant not only for
Indians in Britain but to advocates of peace all over the
world.
The seven-and-a-half foot bronze statue in Leicester
cost Samanwaya Parivar 20,000 pounds.
The two-year campaign for the statue was surrounded by
some controversy with several local residents opposing
Gandhi's statue on the ground that he did not visit or have
any links with Leicester.
The Leicester City Council, however, approved
Samanwaya Parivar’s request for permission to install the
statue. The organisation said it will bear the cost of
maintaining the statue located in a busy area mainly inhabited
by people of Indian origin.
Some local residents feared that opponents of the
statue may splash graffiti to disfigure it.
A multicultural town, Leicester has the largest Indian
population in the UK outside London. By 2012, it is predicted
that it will be the first city in Europe with a majority
non-white population. PTI PS
SKT
NNNN
The information contained in this electronic message and any attachments to this
message are intended for the exclusive
use of the addressee(s) and may contain proprietary, confidential or privileged
information. If you are not the intended
recipient, you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please
notify the sender immediately and destroy
all copies of this message and any attachments contained in it.
