A large statue of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (MK Gandhi) was vandalized and defaced in Richmond Hill, Canada on Wednesday. The police have said that they are treating it like a hate crime. The Indian authorities have also reacted calling this a distressing act meant to terrorise the Indian community living in Canada.
According to the York Police, the statue was 5 meters high and was placed at the Vishnu Temple in the area of Yonge Street and Garden Avenue. The vandalisation was noticed and the police were called in at 12:30 PM, local time.
The statue was reportedly defaced with words like “Khalistan” and “rapist”. Const. Amy Boudreau, the spokesperson for York Regional Police, confirmed the development saying that these offensive words were two among others used to deface the MK Gandhi statue. “York Regional Police does not tolerate hate crime in any form”, said Boudreau, saying that this crime will be investigated as a “hate bias-motivated incident”.
According to a report in cbc.ca, Boudreau said, “Those who victimize others based on race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, age, gender, gender identity, gender expression and the like will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We recognize that the community-wide impact of hate crimes is far-reaching and we do vigorously investigate all occurrences of hate crimes and any hate bias incidents.”
The chairman of the temple expressed his disappointment at the vandalisation. He said that the statue has existed in the Temple peace park for over 30 years but such an act has never taken place. He said that they have been living in the community for so many years but nothing of the sort has ever happened. They hope that such things don’t happen but “what can you do”, he remarked. He further emphasised that the graffiti, which was in big black letters, has been removed from the statue of MK Gandhi.
The High Commission of India in Ottawa has condemned the incident in the strongest words. In a tweet on July 14th, the commission said, “We are deeply anguished by this hate crime that seeks to terrorize the Indian community. It has led to increased concern and insecurity in the Indian community here. We have approached the Canadian government to investigate and ensure perpetrators are brought to justice swiftly”.
In a tweet, the Consulate General of India in Toronto said that the criminal, hateful act of vandalism has deeply hurt the sentiments of the Indian community in Canada.”We are distressed at the desecration of Mahatma Gandhi’s statue at Vishnu temple in Richmond Hill. This criminal, hateful act of vandalism has deeply hurt the sentiments of the Indian community in Canada,” the Consulate General of India in Toronto, Canada said in the tweet.
(This piece is taken with gratitude from OpIndia)
