Gandhi statue to be unveiled next month

London sunsetA statue of Mahatma Gandhi will be unveiled in Britain’s prestigious Parliament Square in London next month, a media report said.

The memorial will be unveiled March 14 and will stand alongside those of Winston Churchill and Nelson Mandela. The Gandhi Statue Memorial Trust has given one million pounds (over $1.5 million) for the sculpture.

Gandhi will be the first Indian, and the only person never to have been in public office, to be honoured with a statue in the square, BBC reported.

Gandhi earned his law degree in London before leading India’s independence movement against British rule.

This year also marks the 100th anniversary of Gandhi’s return to India from South Africa to start the country’s struggle for self-rule.