Gandhi Jayanti: Indian High Commissioner Doraiswami pays tribute in London

Gandhi Jayanti: Indian High Commissioner Doraiswami pays tribute in London

Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami on Thursday paid tribute to the Mahatma Gandhi statue at Tavistock Square, days after it was vandalised. The tribute coincided with Gandhi Jayanti and the International Day of Non-Violence.

Speaking at the event, Doraiswami highlighted the symbolic importance of the statue, which has stood at Tavistock Square for more than five decades. “It is particularly timely that we have this event today, not just because it is the International Day of Non-Violence and Gandhi Jayanti, but also because of what was done to the statue and its base a few days ago,” he said.

VIDEO | London: Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami pays tribute to the Mahatma Gandhi statue at Tavistock Square, which was recently vandalised. He says, “It is particularly timely that we have this event today, not just because it is the International Day of… pic.twitter.com/yananH2b2B

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The High Commissioner said that the monument, a longstanding marker of India-UK friendship, had been swiftly restored with the support of the local community and the Indian High Commission. “It has been restored to a brilliant, gleaming white, carrying the message of cleanliness and renewal,” he said.

Doraiswami highlighted Gandhi’s enduring legacy, observing that vandalism could not diminish the power of his ideas. “It reminds us that you cannot do violence to an idea whose time has come,” he remarked.

The Gandhi statue at Tavistock Square was first unveiled in 1968 and has since become a site of reflection and remembrance. Its recent defacement had drawn sharp condemnation, but Wednesday’s ceremony reaffirmed the values of peace, non-violence, and friendship that the monument represents.