Mahatma Gandhi accused of racism; his statue removed from Ghana University after protest

Agencies
December 13, 2018

Accra, Dec 13: A statue of Mahatma Gandhi has been removed from Ghana's most prestigious university after complaints that he was racist against black Africans.

India's former president Pranab Mukherjee unveiled the statue to the global peace icon at the University of Ghana in Accra two years ago as a symbol of ties between the two nations.

But lecturers soon began a petition calling for its removal, citing passages written by Gandhi claiming that Indians were "infinitely superior" to black Africans.

The online protest was one of a number on university campuses in Africa and beyond about the enduring symbols of the continent's colonial past.

The Gandhi statue on the university's Legon campus in Accra appeared to have been removed overnight Tuesday to Wednesday, students and lecturers told AFP.

The head of language, literature and drama at the Institute of African Studies, Obadele Kambon, said the removal was an issue of "self-respect".

The university authorities refused to comment while an official at Ghana's foreign affairs ministry said only: "It's an internal decision by the university."

Ghana's former government had said the statue would be relocated "to avoid the controversy... becoming a distraction from our strong ties of friendship" with India.

Though Gandhi is more commonly remembered for his non-violent resistance to British colonial rule in his native India, his legacy in Africa is more mixed. He lived and worked as a lawyer in South Africa from 1893 to 1915.

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News Network
February 24,2025

Karnataka's Primary and Secondary Education Minister, Madhu Bangarappa, announced that skill-oriented classes will be introduced for students of grades 8 to 12 alongside the regular curriculum from the next academic year.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Skill and Employment Fair organized by the District Administration, Zilla Panchayat, and Skill Development Department at the National College of Education, in Shivamogga, he emphasized the importance of skill-based education in shaping students' futures.

"Introducing skill training at an early stage will help students acquire expertise in their chosen fields, secure desired jobs, and lead self-reliant lives," the minister stated.

To improve job opportunities for youth, Bangarappa proposed a transport facility for job seekers. Instead of organizing job fairs at the taluk level—where employer participation is limited—he suggested conducting them at district headquarters with free bus services for registered candidates from rural and urban areas. This initiative will be discussed with concerned officials and implemented next year, he added.

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News Network
February 20,2025

delhispeaker.jpg

New Delhi: Ten years ago, the BJP's Vijender Gupta was forcibly removed from the Delhi Assembly amid controversy over derogatory remarks made by a party colleague, OP Sharma, against then-AAP MLA Alka Lamba. Dramatic scenes from the Assembly showed Mr. Gupta, dressed in pristine white kurta-pyjama, being lifted, shouting and twisting, by several marshals. The BJP leader even clung to furniture, resisting all the way out.

Today, Mr. Gupta returns as the Speaker of the same Assembly, after the BJP achieved a remarkable victory in the 2025 Delhi election. He retained the Rohini seat he has held since 2015.

"I am thankful to the party for giving me this responsibility... to be Speaker of the Delhi Assembly. I will fulfill my responsibility. I hope we will have healthy discussions in the House," he told news agency PTI.

Mr. Gupta was previously the Leader of Opposition. Sources earlier mentioned he was even considered for the Chief Minister's post, a role that ultimately went to Rekha Gupta, a first-time MLA from Shalimar Bagh. Rekha Gupta becomes the fourth BJP Chief Minister of Delhi and the second woman from the party to hold that position.

What Happened In 2015?

On November 30, 2015, chaos ensued in the Delhi Assembly as AAP and BJP MLAs clashed over the alleged derogatory remarks. Ram Niwas Goel, then the Speaker, ordered Vijender Gupta to leave the House till 4 pm. When he refused, marshals were called in. Mr. Gupta resisted and tried to hold onto the bench, but the staff ultimately evicted him.

Before his eviction, Mr. Gupta accused the Speaker of being biased towards the AAP, then in power, claiming that three BJP legislators had been abused and assaulted by ruling party MLAs. "But no action has been taken against them," he alleged.

The AAP has yet to comment on Vijender Gupta's nomination.

Rekha Gupta's Big Day

Ms. Gupta, a first-time MLA from Shalimar Bagh, said she had no expectations when she left her home Wednesday evening to attend a legislators' meeting. It was widely anticipated that her colleague, two-time former Lok Sabha MP Parvesh Verma, who defeated AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal for the New Delhi seat, would get the job.

However, the BJP delivered a surprising decision. "When I left home, I did not know that I would become the Chief Minister," Ms. Gupta said, adding that it was Mr. Verma who proposed her name.

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News Network
March 1,2025

The Trump administration has given the go-ahead for a nearly $3 billion arms sale to Israel, sidestepping the standard congressional review process to expedite the delivery of 2,000-pound bombs widely used by the Israeli military in its ongoing onslaught in the Gaza Strip.

In a series of notifications sent to Congress on Friday, the State Department has reported it has approved the sale of more than 35,500 MK 84 and BLU-117 bombs and 4,000 Predator warheads worth $2.04 billion to Israel.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio “has determined and provided detailed justification that an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale to the Government of Israel of the above defense articles and defense services in the national security interests of the United States, thereby waiving the Congressional review requirements,” the department said.

Deliveries are set to begin next year, it said.

According to the same statement, Rubio has also approved another munitions sale to Israel worth $675.7 million to be delivered starting in 2028.

The Israeli regime has extensively used the MK 84, also known as the 2,000-pound bomb, in its genocidal wars against the people of Lebanon and Palestine, including the assassination of top Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.

Last May, the previous US administration attempted to curb Israel’s military aggression in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, by imposing a temporary ban on the sale of 2,000-pound bombs.

This effort, however, proved futile in halting the invasion, as the US continued to supply other weapons to the Israeli regime.

On February 25, Trump’s National Security Adviser, Michael Waltz, rescinded the ban to allow the State Department to resume the sale of the bombs to the regime.

The State Department has also approved the sale of Caterpillar D9 Bulldozers and related equipment for an estimated cost of $295 million to Israel.

The Israeli regime has used D9 bulldozers to demolish thousands of Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights has advised Caterpillar Inc. that by supplying the bulldozers to the regime, it is complicit in human rights violations.

D9 has been involved in several incidents of civilian deaths, including in 2023 when it was used against the refugees sheltering outside the Kamal Adwan Hospital.

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