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Gandhi statue unveiled in Leicester

LONDON: A towering bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi, made by an Indian sculptor, was unveiled in Leicester on Friday, cementing the city’s reputation as ``Little India” and bringing to a happy end a two-year row that nearly scuppered the project.

Hundreds of people, waving Indian and British flags, cheered and hummed the national anthem as Home Secretary Alan Johnson unveiled the seven-and-a-half foot statue in Belgrave Road, a busy shopping centre lined with Indian businesses.

The £20,000 statue, sculpted by Gautam Pal and shipped from Kolkata, has been donated by Samanwaya Pariwar, an Indian charity.

Its spiritual head Swami Satyamitranand flew in from India to attend the function held amid heavy security following threats to deface it.

Leicester is only the second British city, after London, to have a Gandhi statue.

A group of local residents, mostly native whites, had opposed the statue arguing that Gandhi had no links with Leicester and suggested that instead the local football hero Gary Linekar should be honoured. But the Leicester Council ruled in favour of the Gandhi project and Mr Linekar himself said that he supported the idea.

Mr Johnson said: “This statue is a landmark not only for Leicester but to the entire world.”

Local MP Keith Vaz described the statue as an excellent symbol of Leicester’s commitment to diversity.

Leicester, which is home to some 280,000 people of Indian origin, is likely to become the first British city where the native white population will be reduced to a minority by 2015.

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