- Friday, April 26, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
A statue of India’s iconic freedom fighter Mahatma Gandhi was vandalised at the campus of a university in Canada’s province of British Columbia, days after another statue of the towering leader was targeted in the North American country by Khalistan supporters.
In the latest incident, the statue placed at Peace square on the Burnaby campus at Simon Fraser University was vandalised, the consulate general of India in the city of Vancouver said on Tuesday (28). It also condemned the act and urged the Canadian authorities to urgently probe the matter and bring the culprits to justice. The consulate tagged the Indian external affairs ministry in its tweet.
“We strongly condemn the heinous crime of vandalising the statue of the harbinger of peace Mahatma Gandhiji, @SFU Burnaby campus,” the consulate said in a tweet.
“The Canadian authorities are urged to investigate the matter urgently and bring the perpetrators to justice swiftly @MEAIndia,” it added.
We strongly condemn heinous crime of vandalizing the statute of harbinger of peace Mahatma Gandhiji, @SFU Burnaby campus. The Canadian authorities are urged to investigate the matter urgently and bring the perpetrators to justice swiftly.@MEAIndia @GAC_Corporate @MayorofBurnaby
— India in Vancouver (@cgivancouver) March 28, 2023
The incident comes after Khalistani supporters defaced and spray-painted a statue of Gandhi near the City Hall in the town of Hamilton in Canada’s Ontario province on Thursday (23).
In July last year, a statue of the Indian leader at a Vishnu temple in Richmond Hill, Canada was vandalised, drawing sharp condemnation from the consulate general of India in Toronto.
“We are distressed at the desecration of the Mahatma Gandhi statue at Vishnu temple in Richmond Hill. This criminal, hateful act of vandalism has deeply hurt the sentiments of the Indian community in Canada,” it said in a tweet at the time.
Canada has witnessed a surge in anti-India activities recently by Khalistan supporters who have vandalised some Hindu temples.
A Ram Mandir in Mississauga was defaced by “Khalistani extremists” with anti-India graffiti on February 13, drawing strong reaction from the Indian Consulate in Toronto.
“We strongly condemn the defacing of Ram Mandir in Mississauga with anti-India graffiti. We have requested Canadian authorities to investigate the incident and take prompt action on perpetrators,” India’s consulate in Toronto had tweeted.
Pro-Khalistan protesters have carried out acts of vandalism in some major democracies such as the US, UK, Canada and Australia in the wake of police in India launching a manhunt for radical preacher Amritpal Singh.
(With PTI inputs)
