Decks cleared for Gandhi statue in Parliament Square, London

November 06, 2014 00:46

Plans to erect a bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament Square in London have received an official clearance.

Westminster City Council granted planning permission for the sculpture commemorating the Father of the Nation, which will be placed close to the statue of Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid revolutionary.

Britain's Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, and UK Cabinet ministers William Hague and George Osborne had announced plans for the memorial during their recent visits to India.

The bronze sculpture, to be created by Philip Jackson, will show Gandhi wearing a shawl and traditional 'dhoti', with his hands clasped, the Evening Standard newspaper reported.

Inspired by photographs of Gandhi on the steps of 10, Downing Street during a visit to London in 1931, the statue portrays him as "a thoughtful, determined, compassionate man", according to the documents submitted to the council.

"There is no doubt that Gandhi is a world-renowned figure who should stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of Nelson Mandela and Abraham Lincoln, who both fought for civil liberties," said Richard Beddoe, Westminster City Council's deputy cabinet member for the built environment.

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