University of Ghana pulls Gandhi’s statue down

The University of Ghana has pulled down the statue of India’s civil rights and independence icon, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi at the Sam Aboah quadrangle of the of the school.

This follows a vicious protest in 2016 for the removal of the statue by some academics of the university who argued that Gandhi was a racist and had no place in the school.

The men, in the company of university security, who carried out the demolishing of the figure of the civil rights leader which stood in the heart of the university, only said that they had “received an order from above” and could not speak to why or who exactly had given the order.

“We received an order from above and we can’t tell you why it is being taken down”, one of the security men told UniversNews.

For many diplomats including Ghana’s former High Commissioner to India and current Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Aaron Mike Ocquaye, the decision to demolish the statue might have implications on diplomatic ties between Ghana and India.
The decision to take down the figure, which was donated by the Indian government and unveiled on 14 June 2016, has been hanging in the balance for about 2 years after an online petition was brought to the members of the University of Ghana Council and the then-chairman Kwamena Ahwoi.

Despite the anti-Ghandi sentiments, some have argued that the racist comments he is accused of making come nowhere close to his humanitarian activities and the impact he had on the entire world.

Background

In September 2016, a group of lecturers and students launched the hashtag #GandhiMustFall to get the authorities to remove the statue of the man accused of racism.

The “Gandhi Must Fall” movement was spearheaded by a former Director of the Institute of African Studies (IAS), Professor Akosua Adomako Ampofo.

According to her, the man widely acclaimed for his doctrine of non-violence, is undeserving of having his statue mounted on campus because he was a racist.

Before now, Gandhi’s statue remained the only figure of a historical personality on the campus of the university.

Source: universenewsroom.com