Gandhi statue vandalized outside CMHR
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A vandal or vandals targeted a bronze statue of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi outside the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg over the weekend.
Pink paint covered parts of the life-size sculpture, including the face, on Sunday morning, while an offensive message and allegation were spraypainted on the ground around the base of the figure, which is on a walking path at The Forks.
CMHR spokeswoman Amanda Gaudes said the vandalism was reported to Winnipeg police.
“Steps are underway to have the statue and area restored, which we expect to take 24 hours,” Gaudes wrote in an email. “We do not condone acts of vandalism.”
India’s government gave the statue to Friends of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, a charitable organization, in 2004.
The sculpture, created by Ram Vanji Sutar, went on display in its current location in 2010, four years before CMHR opened.
Anil Sedha, vice-president of the Mahatma Gandhi Centre of Canada based in Winnipeg, said a proposal for further beautification and security of the statue is being prepared.
Gandhi statues in other Canadian cities have been vandalized or damaged in recent years. In 2023, a statue was decapitated at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver.
