A statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Davis, California, has been vandalized, shocking Indian American groups, who have demanded that officials investigate the incident, possibly as a hate crime.
Multiple news outlets in Northern California’s Sacramento area report that the Davis Police Department is investigating the vandalism of the Gandhi statue after discovering its head had been sawed off.
Deputy Chief Paul Doroshov with the Davis Police Department told media outlets that the statue, which has been in Central Park since 2016, was discovered vandalized around 9 a.m. Jan. 27 as city crews surveyed storm damage.
According to the Doroshov, an unknown suspect or suspects cut down the statue at the ankles, then sawed off a portion of the head, which is still missing at this time, the reports said.
The remainder of the Gandhi statue has been removed from the area, and a fence has been put up around the statue's base, it said.
The statue will be stored in a safe place until it can be evaluated, said Davis City councilman Lucas Frerichs.
According to a PTI report, "An atmosphere of hatred was being created by many anti-India and Hinduphobic radical organizations like OFMI and other Khalistani separatists for many years now," said Guarang Desai of Friends of India Society International.
The Hindu American Foundation has demanded that the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation investigate the incident as a hate crime.
“We condemn this cowardly desecration and call upon the Department of Homeland Security and FBI to investigate this hate crime, as it was likely done with the intention of intimidating the Indian American community,” said HAF California advocacy director Easan Katir, a former member of the Davis Business and Finance Commission.
The Indian Overseas Congress strongly condemned the destruction of statue, saying in a statement: “It is more hurtful to see that the miscreants who had done this despicable act on the eve of Jan. 30th, the day when Mahatma Gandhi paid the ultimate sacrifice for every Indian citizen's freedom. IOCUSA shares the shock and anguish in this regard along with every member of the Indian Diaspora.”
The 6-foot-3, 650-pound bronze Gandhi Statue of Peace has stood in the park since 2016. It was a gift from the Indian government.
The motivation for the vandalism is unclear, according to Doroshov.
He said that Davis Police is currently investigating the incident, and taking it seriously due to the fact that Gandhi is a cultural icon to some in the city, according to the report.
In a statement, the California Sikh Youth Alliance board of directors said it did not support how the statue was removed, but added it opposes monuments that lionize Gandhi, according to the Bee.
“After CSYA and hundreds of Davis residents lobbied to remove Gandhi’s statue, it seems like frustrations have come to a boiling point,” the statement read. “Whilst we want to make it clear that we do not condone such behavior, there is no disputing Gandhi represents racism, anti-blackness and is a blatant affront to Davis’s values.
The installation of the statue in Davis was protested in 2016. A petition last summer called for the removal of a Gandhi bust from California State University, Fresno, and San Joaquin Memorial High School student Akhnoor Sidhu started an online petition that garnered more than 6,000 signatures asking for the removal of the bust, the Bee added.
ABC10 previously reported in 2016 on the outcry in the wake of the announcement that the statue would be placed in Central Park. The statue was officially erected on Oct. 2, 2016.
https://www.indiawest.com/news/global_indian/mahatma-gandhi-statue-in-davis-california-vandalized-police-investigating/article_5772cd92-6399-11eb-9d43-cb73682740fc.html
2021-01-31 18:00:00Z
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