| Statue of Mahatma Gandhi | |
|---|---|
 The statue of Gandhi in 2004. | |
  Statue of Mahatma Gandhi | |
| Artist | Tinka Christopher |
| Year | 2003 |
| Subject | Mahatma Gandhi |
| Location | Gandhi Square, Johannesburg |
| 26°12′23″S28°02′35″E / 26.20647°S 28.04316°E | |
M. K. Gandhi is a bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Gandhi Square, Johannesburg, which depicts the Indian independence campaigner and nonviolent pacifist as a young man.
Prior to the statue's unveiling the square had been named Government Square. It was unveiled by the Mayor of Johannesburg, Amos Masondo, on October 2, 2003, Gandhi's birthday. [1]
The square had previously been known as Government Square and was the location of the Johannesburg Law Courts where Gandhi practiced law. The main Johannesburg bus terminus now stands where the law courts were located.. [1]
Tinka Christopher was chosen as the statue's sculptor by the advisory committee of the Johannesburg Art Gallery. The piece took Christopher three months to complete, with Christopher saying that she worked "...worked 10 hours each day, seven days a week, to complete the work in time". The other shortlisted artists were Naomi Jacobson, Ben Omar, and Maureen Quin. [1]
The statue is situated on a 5 meter high plinth, and benches surround the base of the statue. The statue depicts Gandhi as he may have appeared in his time in Johannesburg, as a young man wearing his legal gown over his suit, with his cloak blown by the breeze. Gandhi holds a book and is looking forward. The statue contains an alarm monitored by a security company that detects vibrations arriving from theft. [1]
The statue was half funded by the city of Johannesburg, with the remainder coming from private donations. [1]
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule. He inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. The honorific Mahātmā, first applied to him in South Africa in 1914, is now used throughout the world.
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Sonja Schlesin was a South African best known for her work with Mohandas Gandhi while he was living in South Africa. She began her service as his secretary at the age of 17. By her early twenties, she had become entrusted with the executive decision making within Gandhi's law practice and sociopolitical movements. Gandhi said "during the Satyagraha days ... she led the movement single handed". She was a lifelong friend to Gandhi and would have been a fellow lawyer if she had not been female. She ended her career as a teacher of Latin and made a late attempt to become a lawyer at the age of 65.
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. 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.
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Kirti Menon is an activist, educator and writer based in Johannesburg, South Africa. She is the Senior Director at the University of Johannesburg and the chairman of the Gandhi Centenary Committee, South Africa. Menon is known for reforming the policy environment in post-secondary education sector in South Africa. She is the granddaughter of Manilal Gandhi and the great-granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi.
A bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi by Fredda Brilliant was unveiled in 1968 at the centre of Tavistock Square in London, to mark the impending centenary of Gandhi's birth in 1869. Mahatma Gandhi had studied law at University College London nearby from 1888 to 1891, before being called to the bar at the Inner Temple.
The Statue of Mahatma Gandhi is a 16-foot (4.9 m) tall bronze statue of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi located in the precincts of the Parliament House of India in New Delhi. Designed by Ram V. Sutar, it was inaugurated in 1993, and has become iconic as a site for protest by members of the Indian Parliament.
