A statue of Mahatma Gandhi, who fought for the rights of non-whites in South Africa, outside the Indian Embassy in Washington DC has been desecrated allegedly by unruly #BlackLivesMatter protesters. The statue was inaugurated in 2000 by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. According to news agency ANI, United States Park Police has launched an investigation into the incident.
US apologises over desecration of Gandhi statue
Reacting to the incident, US Ambassador to India Ken Juster apologised to the people of India and said that he was appalled by the horrific death of George Floyd, which led to violent protests by non-whites.
"So sorry to see the desecration of the Gandhi statue in Wash, DC. Please accept our sincere apologies. Appalled as well by the horrific death of George Floyd & the awful violence & vandalism. We stand against prejudice & discrimination of any type. We will recover & be better," Juster said.
Indians are anguished
People of Indian have reacted with anguish over the desecration of the statue of their 'Father of The Nation', who fought for the rights of apartheid during his stay in South Africa.
"What kind of people desecrates Mahatma Gandhi's Statue with profanities? World Leader who fought against racism, inequality, oppression and violence has been attacked by violent protesters claiming to be fighting for Equality, Justice and against Racism. Shame on Them," wrote a Twitter user Ashish Garg.
Another user Dolli said that Gandhi fought for the rights of non-whites and against class division, yet protesters damaged his statue. "What "BlackLivesMatter has to do with Mahatma Gandhi, he fought for the rights of non-whites and against class division, his statue outside the Indian Embassy in Washington DC was also desecrated by protesters," she wrote.
One more user named Rahul termed the desecration of Gandhi's statue "a shameful act". "Mahatma Gandhi, who stood for Black peoples. His statue got vandalized by Black peoples. What a shameful act," he said.
