The newly installed statue of Mahathma Gandhi in Melbourne was vandalised shortly after its installation. Australian prime minister Scott Morrison had unveiled Melbourne’s first statue of Mahatma Gandhi on November 12.
The life-size bronze statue was targeted by unidentified vandals with a power tool between Friday and Saturday, Victoria Police told ABC news.
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PM Morrison said he is devastated to hear that the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the Australia Indian Community Centre in Rowville has been vandalised.
“Australia is the most successful multicultural and immigration nation in the world and attacks on cultural monuments will not be tolerated.”, he said, adding, “It is disgraceful and extremely disappointing to see this level of disrespect.”
“Whoever is responsible for this has shown great disrespect to the Australian Indian community and should be ashamed.”
Australia’s Assistant Minister for Customs, Community Safety and Multicultural Affairs Jason Woods has also condemned the act.
In Victoria alone, about three lakh Indians live.
The Australia Indian Community Charitable (AICC) trust that manages the Indian Community Centre issued a statement that on Saturday, November 13 evening, “someone has attempted to decapitate the Mahatma Gandhi statue.”
Condemning the act, India’s Consul General in Melbourne Raj Kumar said: “When I saw the pictures I was really shocked. I could not believe this could happen here in Australia. Whoever has done this, is not of sound mind.’’
Many organisations, including the Federation of Indian Associations of Victoria (FIAV), Australia South Asia Society (ASAS) condemned the vandalisation. Deepak Joshi of The Humanist Project in Australia demanded the incident be thoroughly investigated and the culprits brought to justice.
“It’s truly saddens us that someone would vandalise the statue within 24 hours of its unveiling. The aim of the statue was to celebrate India’s history the 75th year of India’s independence and highlight the richness of culture across country. It is disappointing to see this level of disrespect of India’s history displayed towards the community in the most multicultural state in Australia. Whilst Mahatma Gandhi may not be a figurehead in wider Australian community his history is well known among all Indians,” said Vasan Srinivasan, Head of the AICC Trust.
