Counting Losses: On Mahatma Gandhi Statue Theft In Australia

The theft of a bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi from the Australian Indian Community Centre in Melbourne this week has drawn predictable diplomatic condemnation from India. During the night, the statue was cut loose with power tools and taken away. It was not a quiet theft, the statue weighs over 420 kilograms. Australian authorities are investigating the incident. India’s Ministry of External Affairs called the act “deplorable” and asked for the statue to be returned without delay.

Mahatma Gandhi is more than a figure from history books. For many people, especially Indians living abroad, he remains a powerful symbol. Yet incidents like this also point to a long-standing contradiction that is hard to ignore While India is quick to defend Gandhi’s image abroad, the substance of his values within his own country is increasingly marginal. Gandhi’s political philosophy had education, social equality and the annihilation of casteism at its core. Today, however, emphasis on education is not close to the required decibels. Caste operates openly, often reinforced rather than challenged by the state.

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This is not a question of symbolism but of policy direction. The Father of Nation warned against hollow nationalism, one that venerates personalities while abandoning the principles they stood for.Recovering a statue is administratively straightforward. Recovering Gandhi’s relevance in India’s public life is not. Hence, we as Indians should lend eyes to the loud absence of Gandhiji’s values. The statue theft did make it to the headlines this week. The loss of Gandhian principles, apparently, make it to papers everyday under cases of various kinds.