The removed Gandhi statue. Picture: Joy 99.7 FM/Twitter
Earlier on Thursday, it was reported that a statue of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi has been removed from Ghana’s most prestigious university after complaints that he was racist against black Africans.
In response, South Africans have responded expressing solidarity with the move on social media, calling for similar steps to be taken locally.
A search for the words “Gandhi square” on Twitter reveals that many on the platform have a problem with the name, and want Gandhi Square, in the Johannesburg CBD, to be renamed. Others want the statue of Gandhi in the square removed.
A post on the interview quotes directly from The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, in which the globally recognised peace icon, who lived in South Africa for 21 years, says several racist things towards black Africans.
The racist quotes, which may be offensive to some readers, can be read here.
READ MORE: ‘Mahatma Gandhi was a racist’ – Mbalula
While confirming that Gandhi had made racists comments, his great-grandson Satish Dhupelia told IOL he reformed his views in later life.
“However, we must take it in the context of a man who was on a journey to find himself and these comments were made in the early parts of his life when he had insufficient knowledge of life and of people. He later changed these views of his and went on to embrace all South Africans, not just Indians,” said Dhupelia.
White paint was thrown on Gandhi’s statue in Gandhi Square in 2015, as a result of his early racism.
Around a similar time, then sports minister Fikile Mbalula tweeted that Gandhi was racist, later tweeting again to clarify that he was a reformed racist, with his spokesperson at the time, Esethu Hasane saying that Mbalula respected Gandhi greatly.
For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.