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2023-08-14T19:33:47Z

Removed empty portal template using script

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->Ham II: added "portrait sculpture" parameter to Template:Public art in London (via WP:JWB)

2021-06-05T07:06:54Z

added "portrait sculpture" parameter to Template:Public art in London (via WP:JWB)

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{{short description|Statue in Parliament Square, London}}
{{Infobox artwork
| italic title = no
| title = Statue of Mahatma Gandhi
| image = Statue of Mahatma Gandhi, Parliament Square wider view.jpg
| image_upright = 1
| caption = The statue in 2015
| artist = [[Philip Jackson (sculptor)|Philip Jackson]]
| year = {{date and age|2015}}
| completion_date = 
| type = Sculpture
| material = Bronze
| subject = [[Mahatma Gandhi]]
| height_metric = 270
| width_metric =
| length_metric =
| diameter_metric =
| height_imperial = 
| width_imperial =
| length_imperial =
| diameter_imperial =
| dimensions =
| dimensions_ref =
| metric_unit = cm 
| imperial_unit = in 
| city = [[London]], {{postcode|SW|1}}<br>United Kingdom
| coordinates = {{Coord|51.500570|-0.127241|region:GB-WSM_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| mapframe = yes
| mapframe-zoom = 15
| owner =
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}}
The statue of [[Mahatma Gandhi]] in [[Parliament Square]], [[Westminster]], London, is a work by the sculptor [[Philip Jackson (sculptor)|Philip Jackson]].

==History==
In July 2014, [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] of the United Kingdom, [[George Osborne]], announced while on a visit to India that a statue of [[Mahatma Gandhi]] would be placed in [[Parliament Square]], Westminster. He said that "I hope this new memorial will be a lasting and fitting tribute to his memory in Britain, and a permanent monument to our friendship with India."<ref name=skyannouced/> It was announced at the same time that sculptor [[Philip Jackson (sculptor)|Philip Jackson]] had been asked to create the statue.<ref name=skyannouced>{{cite news|title=Gandhi Statue To Stand in Parliament Square|url=http://news.sky.com/story/1297240/gandhi-statue-to-stand-in-parliament-square|access-date=15 March 2015|publisher=Sky News|date=8 July 2014}}</ref> He had previously created the statue of the [[George VI and Queen Elizabeth Memorial|Queen Mother]], the [[RAF Bomber Command Memorial]],<ref name=sky>{{cite news|title=Mahatma Gandhi Statue Unveiled in London|url=http://news.sky.com/story/1444956/mahatma-gandhi-statue-unveiled-in-london|access-date=15 March 2015|publisher=Sky News|date=14 March 2015}}</ref> and the [[Statue of Bobby Moore, Wembley|statue of Bobby Moore]].<ref name=skyannouced/> Planning permission was granted by Westminster City Council later that year in November.<ref name=revealed>{{cite news|last1=Hope|first1=Christopher|title=Revealed: The design for the new £600,000 Gandhi statue in London's Parliament Square|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/11214113/Revealed-The-design-for-the-new-600000-Gandhi-statue-in-Londons-Parliament-Square.html|access-date=15 March 2015|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=9 November 2014}}</ref>
[[File:Gandhi and 300 from gov uk.jpg|left|thumb|The statue in the workshop before it was installed in Parliament Square]]
Financing for the statue was by public donations and through sponsorships.<ref name=skyannouced/> This was supported by the work of the Gandhi Statue Memorial Trust, which was set up by [[Meghnad Desai, Baron Desai]], as well as a special advisory panel created by the Government. This was chaired by [[Sajid Javid]] MP, the [[Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport]].<ref>{{cite web|title=About Us|url=https://www.gandhistatue.org/about-us/|publisher=Gandhi Statue Memorial Trust|access-date=15 March 2015}}</ref> By the time that planning permission, £100,000 had been raised by the Trust, but a further £500,000 was needed and they sought to raise that by January 2015 in order to tie in with a planned visit to London by [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]], [[Narendra Modi]] of [[India]].<ref name=revealed/>

The statue was unveiled by the Indian [[Finance Minister of India|Finance Minister]] [[Arun Jaitley]] on 14 March 2015. It was dedicated as a commemoration of the centenary of Gandhi's return to India from South Africa, which is generally regarded as the commencement of his efforts for [[Indian independence movement|Indian independence]]. Speakers at the unveiling of the statue included [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] [[David Cameron]], the Indian film actor [[Amitabh Bachchan]] and Gandhi's grandson [[Gopalkrishna Gandhi]].<ref name=Independent/>

In June 2020, during the [[George Floyd protests]], the statue was vandalised by protesters along with the statue of Winston Churchill. Someone painted the word "racist" onto the Gandhi statue.<ref>{{cite news |title=35 cops injured in further London violence as Gandhi statue defaced |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/35-cops-injured-in-further-london-violence-as-gandhi-statue-defaced/articleshow/76269593.cms |work=The Times of India |date=9 June 2020}}</ref>

==Design==
[[File:2015-12 Gandhi.jpg|thumb|left|Detail of the statue]]

The statue is {{convert|9|ft|m}} tall, and made from bronze.<ref name=bbcnews>{{cite news|title=Statue of Mahatma Gandhi unveiled in Parliament Square|url=http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-31885895|access-date=15 March 2015|publisher=BBC News|date=14 March 2015}}</ref> It is based on a photograph of Gandhi standing outside the offices of [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[Ramsay MacDonald]] in 1931.<ref name=Independent>{{citation|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/gandhi-joins-churchill-statues-of-old-enemies-sidebyside-in-parliament-square-10108362.html|title=Gandhi statue unveiled in Parliament Square – next to his old enemy Churchill|first=James|last=Dunn|date=14 March 2015|work=The Independent|access-date=15 March 2015}}</ref> The plinth that the statue is mounted on is lower than those on the other statues in Parliament Square, which was a deliberate choice by the Gandhi Statue Memorial Trust.<ref name=guardian>{{cite news|last1=Johnson|first1=Chris|title=New Gandhi statue unveiled in London's Parliament Square|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/14/new-gandhi-statue-unveiled-in-londons-parliament-square|access-date=15 March 2015|work=The Guardian|date=14 March 2015}}</ref>

It was planned to be the final statue to be placed in Parliament Square.<ref name=history>{{cite web|title=Making history: the Gandhi statue, Parliament Square, London|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/making-history-the-gandhi-statue-parliament-square-london|publisher=Gov.uk|access-date=15 March 2015}}</ref> Because of the placement of the statue of Gandhi, developers are expecting to move the placement for a planned statue of former British Prime Minister, [[Margaret Thatcher]], to outside of the [[Supreme Court of the United Kingdom]] in [[Middlesex Guildhall]].<ref name=revealed/>

On its unveiling, commentators noted the irony of the statue's placement near the [[Statue of Winston Churchill, Parliament Square|statue of Sir Winston Churchill]] that also stands in Parliament Square. ''[[The Telegraph (Calcutta)|The Telegraph]]'' of [[Kolkata]] noted that the fact "that Gandhi and Mandela now stand alongside a slew of white men in Parliament Square is proof of how much England itself has moved away from Winston Churchill's views on racism and imperialism."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1150321/jsp/opinion/story_9863.jsp|title=Statues in a square – Churchill's obsession with Gandhi|work=The Telegraph (Kolkata)|last=Guha|first=Ramachandra|date=21 March 2015|access-date=25 March 2015}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of artistic depictions of Mahatma Gandhi]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Statue of Mahatma Gandhi, Parliament Square, London}}
* [https://www.gandhistatue.org/about-us/ Gandhi Statue Memorial Trust]

{{Mahatma Gandhi}}
{{Philip Jackson}}
{{Parliament Square}}
{{Public art in London|portrait sculpture}}
{{Portal bar|India|London|Visual arts}}

[[Category:2015 establishments in England]]
[[Category:2015 sculptures]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials in London]]
[[Category:Outdoor sculptures in London]]
[[Category:Parliament Square]]
[[Category:Sculptures by Philip Jackson]]
[[Category:Sculptures of men in the United Kingdom|Gandhi, Mahatma]]
[[Category:Statues in the City of Westminster|Gandhi]]
[[Category:Statues of Mahatma Gandhi|London, Parliament Square]]
[[Category:Vandalized works of art in the United Kingdom]]

Statue of Mahatma Gandhi, Parliament Square - Revision history

CleanupBot II: Removed empty portal template using script

->Ham II: added "portrait sculpture" parameter to Template:Public art in London (via WP:JWB)