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Leicester
campaign for Gandhi statue gets MP backing
Malaysia
Sun
Monday 8th October, 2007
(IANS)
Leicester, a bustling town in the east Midlands
with a large minority of people of Gujarati origin, has launched a campaign to
install a statue of Mahatma Gandhi as a symbol of the city's multiculturalism.
The location of the statue is suggested to be a corner near Belgrave Road, the
nerve-centre of Asian
business and cultural activities. Several Indian banks have offices on the
road, apart from Indian restaurants, shops selling saris, jewellery, and
Bollywood music.
The idea for the statue came from a local charity organisation, Samanwaya
Pariwar, and has found considerable support from Leicester East MP, Keith Vaz,
and citizens. The statue is expected to be bronze with a height between seven
and nine feet.
Leicester is also the home of Richard
Attenborough, the Oscar-winning director of the film 'Gandhi' (1982), in which
the lead role was played by Ben Kingsley. Attenborough, however, expressed some
reservations about the idea of a statue.
He told the local media: 'He was one of the major people who ever lived and
should be revered, not necessarily with a statue but as a man who once, when
asked about his message, said 'my life is my message'.'
Goa-origin Keith Vaz, who is planning an 'early day motion' in the House of
Commons this week, has backed the campaign and has urged the people to send him
their views on the issue.
Vaz said: 'Gandhi's philosophy of brotherhood among those of different
religions and ethnicity should be honoured and celebrated in the diverse
community of Leicester. It would become a good
tourist attraction and highlight the city's diverse communities.'
He said there were also plans to erect a Gandhi statue in London,
but he felt Leicester - and Belgrave Road in particular - would be a
better home. He hoped that the 'early day motion' would help enlist support
from other MPs for the statue.
Jitendra Acharya, a functionary of Samanvaya Parivar, said: 'It would become a
permanent reminder of Gandhiji's life and what he stood for. We felt Belgrave
would be a better home for the statue than London
because of the close links the city has with Gujarat,
where he was born.'
The charity organisation is expected to provide funds for the project, which
will soon be discussed with the local council. A local county sculptor is being
sought to make the statue.
A statue of Indian social reformer Raja Rammohun Roy has been installed in the
city centre in Bristol,
where he died in the 19th century.
http://story.malaysiasun.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/b8de8e630faf3631/id/288795/cs/1/
Sanny de Quepem <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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