Indian government urges Australia to ‘hold the culprits accountable’ over theft of Gandhi statue in Melbourne | Melbourne
The Indian government has condemned the theft of a bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi from a community center in Melbourne’s southeast last month and called for the culprits to be held accountable.
Victoria police are investigating the theft at the Australian Indian Community Center in Rowville and have warned scrap metal dealers to be wary of anyone trying to sell a statue of India’s independence leader.
On Tuesday night, Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswa said the government had forwarded the matter to Australia.
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“We strongly condemn the vandalism and removal of the Mahatma Gandhi statue at the Australian Indian Community Center in Rowville, Melbourne, by unknown individuals,” he said in a statement posted on social media.
“We have strongly raised the issue with Australian authorities and called on them to take immediate action to recover the missing statue and hold the culprits accountable.”
Vasan Srinivasan, president of the Australian Indian Community Charitable Foundation, which owns the centre, said the Indian government donated the statue to the center in 2021.
He described Gandhi as the “icon of India” who believed in the “power of the people”.
“We’ve lost it now. There’s only one in Victoria,” he said.
While the Indian diaspora in Australia has been prominent in anti-immigrant rallies, Srinivasan said he did not believe the theft was motivated by racism and stated that there were no slogans or graffiti at the scene.
The statue was subjected to a beheading attempt in 2021, on the day that then-prime minister Scott Morrison unveiled the statue.
Srinivasan said the statue was vandalized with anti-Gandhi and anti-Hindi graffiti in 2023 and 2024, and the center later removed the statue.
Gandhi’s statues have also been the subject of controversy abroad; some activists pointed to Gandhi’s “well-documented anti-black racism”.
Gandhi, who died in 1948, is known as one of the key leaders of India’s independence movement, known for his philosophy of non-violent resistance.
Victoria’s opposition multiculturalism spokesman, Evan Mulholland, expressed “deep support and solidarity” with the state’s Indo-Australian community.
“Our multicultural communities should feel safe and respected in every suburb of this state,” he said.
A Victoria police spokesman said they believed three people were involved in the theft of the statue.
“Officers were told the criminals used an angle grinder to cut down the statue,” the spokesman said.
Victoria’s minister of multicultural affairs has been contacted for comment.
