Mahatma Gandhi, Tavistock Square, London
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N 51° 31.505 W 000° 07.734
30U E 699162 N 5712126
Mahatma Ghandhi needs no introduction, being a figure of global historical importance. In this statue he appears in a meditative pose.
Waymark Code: WM8GCW
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 03/29/2010
Views: 11
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2 October 1869 - 30 January 1948) was a major political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian independence movement. He was the pioneer of "satyagraha" — the resistance of tyranny through mass civil disobedience, firmly founded upon "ahimsa" or total non-violence — which led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.
Gandhi is more commonly known across the world as Mahatma Gandhi and in India as Bapu. Mahatma means "great soul" and Bapu means "father". In India, he is recognized as the Father of the Nation and 2nd October, his birthday, is a national holiday.
The statue is a bronze work by Fredda Brilliant. It was unveiled on 17 May 1968 by the then Prime Minister of Britain, Harold Wilson. Gandhi is seen in a meditative pose wearing one of the homespun and woven dhotis that were so evocative of the simple life he sought to lead and which make him so immediately recognisable a figure just about anywhere in the world.
The statue is the centrepiece of the park in Tavistock Square in Bloomsbury, London and is almost invariably decked with flowers left by admirers. It is sadly ironic that Gandhi, the master of non-violent protest, has to look over the scene of a terrorist atrocity. 13 of the 56 people who died in London in the bombings of 7 July 2005 died when a suicide bomber blew up a No 30 bus pretty much directly in front of the Gandhi statue.
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