US envoy to India apologizes for desecration of Gandhi statue
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New Delhi: The US Ambassador to India, Kenneth Juster, on Thursday apologized for the desecration of Mahatma Gandhi's statue in Washington DC.
The statue was vandalised by unidentified rioters during the ongoing violent protests against the custodial killing of an African-American citizen, George Floyd, in Minneapolis on May 25.
Reports said the statue of India's founding father Gandhi, who is globally known as an apostle of peace, was defaced with graffiti and spray paint outside the Indian embassy in Washington.
The US envoy to India in New Delhi apologized for the vandalization of the statue. "So sorry to see the desecration of the Gandhi statue in Wash, DC. Please accept our sincere apologies. Appalled as well by the horrific death of George Floyd & the awful violence & vandalism. We stand against prejudice & discrimination of any type. We will recover & be better," Juster tweeted.
It is not for the first time Gandhi statues are vandalised by anti-racist activists. In 2018, Gandhi’s statue was removed after a “Gandhimustfall” hashtag went viral.
African social activists point to Gandhi's early writings where he used disparaging words to describe native people of South Africa.