A statue of Mahatma Gandhi has been unveiled in Parliament Square in central London to mark 100 years since he returned to India from South Africa to begin his struggle for independence.
The statue was unveiled at an inauguration ceremony on Saturday, by Prime Minister, David Cameron and India’s Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley.
Gandhi’s grandson, Shri Gopalkrishna Gandhi, and Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan were also in attendance.
Speaking in front of the crowd at the ceremony, Prime Minister David Cameron said, “This stunning 9ft bronze statue is a magnificent tribute to one of the towering figures in the history of world politics, putting Ghandi in this famous square, we are giving him an eternal home in our county”
“The man who turned the politically unimaginable into the politically inevitable, who’s work in South Africa paved the way for Mandela, a man who’s doctrine became the inspiration for the civil rights movement across the world, this inspirational man worked out who he was and what he stood for, right here in Britain”
British sculptor, Philip Jackson was commissioned to create the work and was inspired by a 1931 photo of Gandhi at the prime minister’s residence at No. 10 Downing St. The Prime Minister said, “British Sculpture Philip Jackson has done an incredible, a magnificent job”
