Gandhi`s statue to be unveiled in UK town today

Prasun Sonwalkar

London, Jun 26 (PTI) Hundreds of Mahatma Gandhi's

followers from across Britain are expected to attend the
unveiling of his statue by Home secretary Alan Johnson in the
east Midlands town of Leicester Friday.

The unveiling will mark the culmination of a two-year
campaign by Samanwaya Parivar, an Indian charity organisation
headed by Swami Satyamitranand.

Besides Swami Satyamitranand, the event will be
attended by Indian High Commissioner Shiv Shankar Mukherjee
and Labour MP from Leicester East Keith Vaz.

"It is absolutely wonderful that the new Home
Secretary has agreed to attend and to unveil the new statue at
this exciting occasion. I am so proud that only the second
statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the United Kingdom will be based
in Leicester," Vaz said.

The first Gandhi statue in Britain was installed in
the Tavistock Square in London some years ago.

"This is the most important event of the year for the
British Asian community and people are travelling from all
over the UK for the event. This statue is an excellent symbol
of Mahatma Gandhi's and Leicester's commitment to diversity,"
Vaz added.

The seven-and-a-half foot bronze statue by Kolkata-
based sculptor Gautam Pal was recently shipped to Leicester.
Samanwaya Parivar met the statue's cost of 20,000 pounds.

The two-year campaign for the statue was surrounded by
some controversy with several local residents opposing
Gandhi's statue since 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.

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