Indian Americans staged a nonviolent demonstration in Time Square against the city’s increasing hate crimes and Gandhi statue destruction. The protest was planned in collaboration with other local organizations including the powerful Federation of Indian Americans (FIA). Participants asked state governments and the Biden administration to take action against such incidents. Representatives from the community also expressed concern about the recent and numerous egregious attacks on the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in New York and other US cities. In remembrance of the victims and the heroes who gave their lives to keep everyone safe, there was a moment of silence and prayers.
India’s consul general in New York, Randhir Jaiswal, addressed the crowd and underlined the importance of recommitting to the fight against terrorism and hate crimes as well as the need to embrace Gandhi’s teachings of nonviolence and peace. Additionally, Mr. Jaiswal paid respect to the 9/11 victims.
Nothing, according to FIA President Kenny Desai, is better than a peaceful march to draw the issue to the authorities notice.
As we pay tribute to and commemorate those who died on this day, he continued, “we should work in harmony with a determined desire to destroy extremism and hate crime.”
Prem Bhandari, a community leader and the head of the Rajasthan Association of North America, vehemently denounced recent acts of vandalism in which the statue of the revered world leader was damaged or destroyed, saying that there is much to be learned from the values that Mahatma Gandhi exemplifies.
According to FIA, he requested that the US government take stern steps to punish the guilty parties. Alok Kumar, head of the Bihar Foundation of North America, and FIA chairman Ankur Vaidya both spoke during the event.
