LONDON: A statue of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi was unveiled on Saturday at the symbolic heart of the British establishment that once loathed him for his campaign against imperial rule.

Gandhi joins figures including Britain’s World War II leader Winston Churchill, who described him as a half-naked “fakir”, in London’s Parliament Square, opposite Big Ben and the House of Commons.

Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley unveiled the bronze statue at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister David Cameron, Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan — who gave a speech quoting Gandhi’s principles — and Gandhi’s grandson, Shri Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

Hundreds of people gathered to watch, while a band played Indian classical music and Indian flags flew around the square.

Despite such pomp, Gandhi was historically resented by many in Westminster as the leader of the non-violent campaign for Indian independence from Britain, which was granted in 1947. In a speech at the event, Cameron hailed Gandhi as “one of the towering figures in the history of world politics” and said that the statue would give him “an eternal home in our country”.

The unveiling marks the latest step in Britain’s efforts to recast both its past and present in India, once known as the “jewel in the crown” of the British empire.

In 2013, Cameron became the first British premier to visit the site of a notorious massacre in Amritsar in 1919 where troops under British control gunned down hundreds of unarmed protesters.

Published in Dawn March 15th , 2015

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