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In the latest in a series of such incidents, a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Canada has been defaced and spraypainted with pro-Khalistan and anti-India graffiti.
The vandalism occurred in the early hours of Thursday near the City Hall in the town of Hamilton, in the province of Ontario. The statue of the Mahatma has been at that location since 2012.
According to a video of the vandalism, the six-foot tall bronze statue, which had been gifted by the Indian Government, was doused with paint and graffiti written around the base of the statue, including abuse of Gandhi himself, and an attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A Khalistan flag was also attached to the walking stick held by the statue.
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The vandalism was discovered in the early of the morning and city authorities worked quickly to clean the statue and the graffiti. Hamilton Police confirmed to the Hindustan Times that they received a complaint in this regard on Thursday afternoon and were investigating.
In February, a Hindu temple in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) was desecrated, with anti-India and pro-Khalistan graffiti spraypainted on its back wall, the fourth such incident of that nature within a period of eight months. The target of the vandalism was the Shri Ram Mandir in the town of Mississauga in the GTA.
On January 30, the Gauri Shankar Mandir in Brampton was similarly desecrated. Prior to that, a statue of Mahatma Gandhi, located at the Vishnu Mandir in Richmond Hill, was defaced in July last year. The 20-foot tall bronze statue was situated in the temple’s Peace Park. Weeks later, in September, an episode of such vandalisation occurred at the front entrance to the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Toronto.
None of these incidents have so far resulted in any arrests. While they have been linked by some to the so-called Punjab Referendum being organized by the secessionist group, Sikhs for Justice or SFJ, Canadian law enforcement has yet to establish that connection.
As with previous episodes, a video of the incident, apparently taken during the night when the vandalisation occurred, was shared on social media by some apparently pro-Pakistan handles.
The September incident had led to India issuing a formal diplomatic communique, called a note verbale to Global Affairs Canada, the country’s foreign ministry.
Even that wasn’t the first time a statue of the Mahatma has been targeted in North America. In February last year, such a statue was decapitated in New York, while in January 2021, another was vandalised in Davis, California.
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