Mahatma Gandhi's statue unveiled in Leicester

An imposing bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi was unveiled here today by the British home secretary in the presence of over 1,000 people amidst tight security as local residents feared that its opponents could disfigure it by splashing graffiti.
    
India's national anthem rent the air as home secretary Alan Johnson unveiled the seven-and-a-half foot statue in east Midlands town in Leicester, a multicultural city also known as 'Little India' as it houses around 3 lakh Indians, the largest Indian population in the UK outside London.

This is the second statue of the Mahatma in the UK. The first one was installed in Tavistock Square in London in 1968.

At the event where a 'puja' was also performed, Indian- origin girls waved British and Indian flags as Gandhi's followers from Leicester and across UK gathered on Belgrave Road to honour the life and times of the apostle of peace.

"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 a Round Table Conference and to the mills of Lancashire.

The ceremony, which took place amid tight security in the wake of fears expressed by some local residents that opponents of the statue may splash graffiti to disfigure it, marked the culmination of a two-year campaign by 'Samanwaya Pariwar.'

The bronze statue of the Mahatma in Leicester has cost 20,000 pounds to Samanwaya Pariwar, an Indian charity organisation headed by Swami Satyamitranand who travelled from India to attend the event.

The well-attended ceremony included India's consul general in Birmingham, JD Pavel; Labour MP from Leicester East Keith Vaz; Lord Mayor of Leicester Roger Blackmore; and the Kolkata-based sculptor, Gautam Pal, who had sculpted the bronze statue. Pal has installed Gandhi's statues at several places across the world.

Starting his brief speech with Gandhi's favourite hymn 'Raghupati Raghav Rajaram', Swami Satyamitranand said the statue was significant not only for Indians in Britain but to advocates of peace all over the world.

The two-year campaign for the statue was surrounded by some controversy with several locals 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.

By 2012, it is predicted that Leicester will be the first city in Europe with a majority non-white population.