Diaspora organization asks New York Mayor Eric Adams to take action against those responsible for this despicable act
Indian consulate in New York City has asked the local authorities and the US State Department to investigate and take appropriate action against those responsible for defacing a statue of Mahatma Gandhi.
The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) has also condemned vandalization of the Gandhi statue at Union Square in New York City by some unknown persons on Feb 4.
The Consulate condemns this act of vandalism in the strongest terms, the Indian mission said in a tweet. “The matter has been taken up with the US State local authorities as well as the US State Department for immediate investigation and appropriate action against those responsible for this despicable act,” it wrote.
Read: Vandalized Mahatma Gandhi statue in Washington restored (July 3, 2020)
“Mahatma Gandhi is the Father of the Nation in India and an apostle of peace and vandalizing the statue is a not acceptable and the culprit must be apprehended and punished,” said GOPIO Manhattan President Shivender Sofat.
Mahatma Gandhi statue, erected at the Union Square Park in the mid-1980s, was one of the first such statues in the USA by the Indian American community. The USA has the highest number of Gandhi statues outside India.
“We Indian Americans are deeply hurt by the disrespect shown to Gandhiji, especially when we are observing the Black History Month, celebrating the contribution of African American leaders including the late Rev. Martin Luther King who was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent struggle against the British Empire to achieve freedom for India,” said Dr. Thomas Abraham, Chairman of the GOPIO International.
Read: Mahatma Gandhi statue in Washington vandalized amid George Floyd protests and riots (June 4, 2020)
GOPIO has also written a letter to the Mayor Eric Adams to take immediate action against on those people responsible for this despicable act.
“As you know, Indian Americans constitute a large ethnic community, estimated to be over 200,000 in the city,” Abraham and Sofat wrote noting, “We are a major contributor to the economic growth of the city.”
“However, we Indian Americans are dismayed by the news that the statue of Mahatma Gandhi, Father of the Nation in India and an apostle of peace, was vandalized,” they wrote.
“This despicable act is not acceptable and the culprit must be apprehended and punished,” Abraham and Sofat wrote.
Read: Indian diaspora strongly condemns vandalism of Gandhi statue in New York (February 5, 2022)
“We the Indian American community, numbering close to 5 million people, is deeply hurt by the disrespect shown to Mahatma Gandhi, especially when we are observing February as the Black History Month, celebrating the contribution of African American leaders including the late Rev. Martin Luther King who was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s nonviolent struggle against the British Empire to achieve freedom for India.”
GOPIO urged Adams to find the culprit(s) and increase police presence at the Union Square Park where the statue is located.