High Commission of India donates a statue of Mahatma Gandhi

_{Photo: Statue of Mahatma Gandhi}

by Charles Gladden

BELIZE CITY, Mon. Jan. 13, 2025

The High Commission of India donated a life-sized statue of Mahatma Gandhi to the University of Belize on Friday, January 10, in Belmopan.

The iconic political ethicist was celebrated for his leadership in nonviolent resistance that led to India’s independence from British rule. Decades after he died in 1948, Gandhi is internationally remembered as a peaceful protester, and his work has continued to inspire civil rights and freedom movements internationally.

_{Photo: (l-r) Dr. Pankaj Sharma, High Commissioner of India to Belize and Hon. John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize}

“This institution, a beacon of learning and enlightenment, is a fitting place for the likeness of Mahatma Gandhi, who held education in the highest regard,” said Dr. Pankaj Sharma, High Commissioner of India to Belize. “The statue represents [not only] a tribute to a global icon of peace and nonviolence, but to the enduring friendship and shared values between India and Belize,” he added.

The statue can be seen at the center of the University of Belize’s Belmopan campus, where over 5,000 students attend classes. Dr. Vincent Palacio, president of the University of Belize, commented, “This unveiling of the Mahatma Gandhi statue is a ceremony and reflection of our values—peace, nonviolence, and transformative power of education. Hosting this statue on the campus of our university is deeply fitting. This institution is a beacon of learning and a gathering place for exchanging ideas much like the ideals Gandhi championed. His visions of truth, harmony, and equality resonate with the mission we try to uphold here to nurture critical thinking and leadership in our students.”

Prime Minister of Belize, Hon. John Briceño made a special appearance at the unveiling ceremony, and during his remarks he compared Gandhi to the Father of the Nation, George Price, for their determination to not give up.

“There are a lot of similarities, I must tell you, with our father, George Price. Both of them were extremely spiritual and humble, but both of them had this will of steel that could not be bent once they decided what they wanted … The UK and the United States were telling him [Price] to give up a portion of Belize to Guatemala so that you could get Independence; and he never wavered in this belief that Belize is this territory intact, and for him to forge a country out of nothing, just like [Mahatma Gandhi],” he said.

At the end of the ceremony, a Ficus Religiosa tree was planted, symbolizing the growth of an environment rooted in enlightenment and knowledge.