By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A community survey has overwhelmingly rejected a proposed statue of Mahatma Ghandi in Dandenong’s Indian cultural precinct.
The idea floated a statue of Gandhi, who led India’s independence movement 70 years ago, as well as a second statue of a 12th century “philosopher, statesman, poet and social reformer”.
Greater Dandenong Council received 963 responses to its survey in four weeks – with 87 per cent from an Indian or Indian subcontinent background.
About 65 per cent were against the Gandhi proposal.
“We consulted with the community on this issue and the community have told us that a statue would not be in the best interests of the precinct,” mayor Youhorn Chea said.
The survey was initiated by the Indian Cultural Precinct Taskforce.
After the survey results, it concluded there was not enough community support for statues of Gandhi or of any type.
A taskforce member Vasan Srinavasan, who runs Museum India, proposed the statue in the Journal in 2014.
It was backed by then Multicultural Affairs Minister – now Opposition Leader – Matthew Guy for a berth at Settlers Square at the time.
Mr Srinavasan said it would have been a “drawcard” to the precinct that had albeit “changed a bit for the better” in recent years.
About 12,400 first-generation Indian residents live in Greater Dandenong – with more than 52,000 in the South East region.
A temporary mural of Ghandi had been created near the precinct by Melbourne artist Julian Clavijo in May.
It coincided with a digital exhibition at Melbourne’s Immigration Museum.
