Presse-Net
One year ago a statue of Mahatma Gandhi, the famed Indian independence leader, has been removed from a university campus in Ghana’s capital, Accra. And now? Where is this statue
University of Ghana lecturers began a petition for its removal shortly after it was unveiled in 2016 by India’s former President Pranab Mukherjee
The petition said Gandhi was “racist” and African heroes should be put first
In the wake of the row, Ghana’s government at the time said the statue would be relocated
Lecturers and students told the BBC that the statue, originally located at the university’s recreational quadrangle, had been removed on Wednesday
The university confirmed this, saying that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration was responsible
Law student Nana Adoma Asare Adei told the BBC: Having his statue means that we stand for everything he stands for and if he stands for these things [his alleged racism], I don’t think we should have his statue on campus
Mahatma Gandhi was one of the most celebrated figures of the 20th Century. He is best known for leading non-violent resistance to British colonial rule in India
However, as a young man he lived and worked in South Africa, and although he has inspired people throughout the world his comments on black Africans have been controversial
In his early writings he referred to black South Africans as “kaffirs” – a highly offensive racist slur. He also said that Indians were infinitely superior” to black people