(Image source from: })
The nine-foot bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi was unveiled in London’s Parliament Square today by British Prime Minister, David Cameron and Finance Minister, Arun jaitley.
"It is a time to look at the future of the India-UK relationship rather than some of the differences we may have had in the past," told Mr. Cameron when asked if he regretted Churchill’s critiques on Mahatma Gandhi.
Winston Churchill had once condemned Gandhi for "posing as a (half-naked) fakir."
The statue has been funded by donation of over a million pounds to the Gandhi Statue Memorial Trust which is headed by Labor Party associate Meghnad Desai and his wife Kishwar Desai.
"Mahatma Gandhi is not just an inspiration to Indians or British-Indians but an inspiration to the whole world," British Finance Minister, George Osbourne told when announcing the decision to install the statue.
"The British empire did need taking on," said a bystander in Parliament Square. "It couldn't have remained the way it was in the early 20th century and something had to be done. And the way the Mahatma did it was really inspiring as far as I am concerned."
Gandhi will be the first Indian, and the only person never to have been in public office, to be honored with a statue in the square.
His memorial will stand alongside those of Abraham Lincoln and Nelson Mandela opposite the Houses of Parliament.
The sculpture is inspired by photographs of the civil rights leader outside 10 Downing Street in 1931.
-Smrutirekha
