Mahatma Gandhi Memorial (Washington, D.C.)
The Mahatma Gandhi Memorial is a public statue of Mahatma Gandhi, installed on a triangular island along Massachusetts Avenue, in front of the Embassy of India, Washington, D.C., in the United States.[1] A gift from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, it was dedicated on September 16, 2000 during a state visit of Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the presence of US President Bill Clinton.
| Mahatma Gandhi Memorial | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Gautam Pal |
| Year | 2000 |
| Type | Bronze |
| Location | Washington, D.C., United States |
Sparked to action in the wake of the 50th anniversary of Indian independence in 1947, the US Congress passed a bill in 1998 authorising the Government of India to establish a memorial to Gandhi on US federal land in the District of Columbia.
The 8 ft 8 in (2.64 m) bronze statue depicts Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in ascetic garb, in reference to his 1930 march against the salt tax in India. It was designed by Gautam Pal, a sculptor from Kolkata. The statue is mounted on a 16 ton plinth of ruby granite from Ilkal, Karnataka, standing in a circular plaza of gray granite pavers. Behind it are three slabs of Karnataka red granite with inscriptions honoring Gandhi's memory, and in front of it is a seat also of red granite. The statue bears an inscription with Gandhi's answer to a journalist who asked for his message to the world: "My life is my message."
The Mahatma Gandhi Memorial unveiled in Milwaukee in 2002 includes a similar statue by Gautam Pal, also mounted on a red granite plinth.
See also
References
- "Mahatma Gandhi Memorial in Washington, DC". Embassy of India. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
External links
