By Lalit Garg
The recent attack on the 57-year-old bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Tavistock Square in London is not just vandalism. It is an assault on Gandhi’s very existence, his philosophy, and the soul of India. Attackers scrawled in black paint: “Gandhi-Modi, Indian Terrorist…” and even desecrated the tricolor. The timing was deliberate—just three days before Gandhi Jayanti, the International Day of Non-Violence. This act reflects a sinister attempt to erase Gandhi’s identity and the philosophy of peace he embodied.
Gandhi’s statue is more than metal. It is a symbol of values that gave India and the world a new vision and a path of non-violence. To attack it shows that forces of hatred and terror remain afraid of his ideas. Gandhi, however, remains unconquered. Neither bullets nor abuses could silence him. His politics rested not on power but on service, on the belief in Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam—the world as one family. He sought to free people from fear and give them true independence. Gandhi belongs not to India alone but to humanity itself. His greatest strength lay in the harmony between word and deed.
The Indian High Commission rightly called the desecration an attack on the legacy of non-violence. Britain’s High Commissioner Lindy Cameron expressed sadness, reaffirming that Gandhi’s teachings continue to unite. The attack, however, is not only on India’s dignity and cultural identity but also on humanity’s conscience. Gandhi is a moral guide for the world, and damaging his memorial is to wound universal values of peace and coexistence.
At a time when terrorism, fanaticism, and war scar the globe, Gandhi’s thought is even more vital. This incident forces us to ask why non-violence is intolerable to some today. Why are voices of peace under attack? Statues can be repaired, but if ideas are destroyed, the soul of humanity is imperiled.
Such attacks are not new. India’s great figures, whether Gandhi or others, have long been targets of mudslinging. But this act is not a petty prank; it reflects a violent mindset that seeks to silence Gandhi’s voice of non-violence. It is part of the same mentality that killed him in 1948, now reappearing in extremism, racial hatred, terrorism, and economic domination.
This attack is a warning. If Gandhi’s voice of truth and non-violence is stifled, civilization risks sliding into darkness. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has, in recent years, projected India’s role as a messenger of peace, echoing Gandhian ideals on the global stage. Undermining Gandhi is also an attempt to weaken this mission of dialogue and cooperation.
The response must be more than outrage. It must be a reaffirmation of Gandhi’s message through practice. Each time his statue has been attacked, Gandhi has only grown taller in moral stature. As he said: “You may kill me, you may even destroy my body, but you cannot kill my ideas.” The attempt to suppress non-violence only strengthens it.
We must ensure that Gandhi is sought not in stone but in our conduct. His defense lies not in monuments but in the daily practice of truth, tolerance, and love. Statues may fall, but if his ideas are lost, it will be humanity’s defeat.
The Gandhi statue at Tavistock Square, unveiled in 1968 with the India League’s support, has long been a focal point for Gandhi Jayanti in the UK. Each year, flowers are offered there and his favorite hymns are sung, coinciding with the UN-recognized International Day of Non-Violence. The pedestal bears the words: “Mahatma Gandhi, 1869–1948.” Gandhi’s connection to London was historic—he studied law at University College London.
The statue may be broken. Gandhi’s idea cannot.
