New Delhi: As India remembers Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi on his 73rd death anniversary, the Indian-Americans in the United States have expressed deep anguish and shock over vandalisation of the Bapu’s statue in a park in Davis, California, while emphatically stating that an atmosphere of hatred was being created. ALSO READ | At All-Party Meet, PM Modi Speaks About Farmers' Protest; Says Proposal To Halt Agri Laws Still Stands
Strongly condemning the vandalisation of Gandhi’s statue, Guarang Desai of the Friends of India Society International (FISI) said “an atmosphere of hatred was being created by many anti-India and hinduphobic radical organisations like OFMI and other Khalistani separatists for many years now”, the Davis Enterprise daily reported.
“They have not only run hate campaigns against Indian icons but have been at the forefront of attempts to push hinduphobia and erase India from California school textbooks,” he added.
The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) too condemned the “cowardly desecration” and demanded that the incident must be investigated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as a hate crime.
Asserting that the desecration was likely done with the intention of intimidating the Indian American community, HAF California Advocacy Director Easan Katir Katir urged the local police to apprehend the perpetrators and called upon the city council to resurrect the statue as a statement that “such destructive acts are not in harmony with our community standards”.
The HAF condemned the incident on Twitter as well, saying this is not about legacy of Gandhi as a person, but about intimating India and Indian Americans.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://news.abplive.com/news/under-rising-death-toll-mexico-plans-to-procure-oxford-astrazenca-vaccines-from-india-1441745">#Gandhi</a> statue decapitation in Davis CA should be investigated by <a >@DHSgov</a> <a >@FBI</a> as a hate crime. Make no mistake <a >@GavinNewsom</a> <a >@CityofDavis</a> this is not about legacy of Gandhi as a person, but about intimidating India & Indian Americans: <a >https://t.co/8W7G3MBM61</a> <a >pic.twitter.com/iwqq0OWLpu</a></p>— Hindu American Foundation (@HinduAmerican) <a >January 29, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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The Government of India also strongly condemned “this malicious and despicable act against a universally respected icon of peace and justice”.
“The Embassy of India in Washington D.C. has taken up the matter with the U.S. Department of State for a thorough investigation into the incident and appropriate action against those responsible for this despicable act,” said the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a statement.
“The Consulate General of India in San Francisco has separately taken up the matter with the City of Davis and local law enforcement authorities, which have initiated the investigations. The Mayor of Davis deeply regretted the incident and informed that they have initiated an investigation. Local Indian community organisations have condemned the act of vandalism,” the MEA added.
The MEA further said “the US Department of State has conveyed that this act of vandalism is unacceptable and expressed the hope that perpetrators will be brought to justice as quickly as possible”.
Unknown miscreants vandalised Gandhi’s statue at the Central Park in Davis, California, on January 28. The statue was a gift to the City of Davis by the Government of India in 2016.