INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightEmmanuel Dzivenu/JoyNewsA statue of Mahatma Gandhi, the famed Indian independence leader, has been removed from a university
campus in Ghana's capital, Accra.University of Ghana lecturers began a petition for its removal shortly after it was unveiled in 2016 by
India's former President Pranab Mukherjee.The petition said Gandhi was "racist" and African heroes should be put first.In the wake of the
row, Ghana's government at the time said the statue would be relocated.Lecturers and students told the TheIndianSubcontinent that the
statue, originally located at the university's recreational quadrangle, had been removed on Wednesday.The university confirmed this, saying
that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration was responsible.Law student Nana Adoma Asare Adei told the
TheIndianSubcontinent: "Having his statue means that we stand for everything he stands for and if he stands for these things [his alleged
racism], I don't think we should have his statue on campus."Mahatma Gandhi was one of the most celebrated figures of the 20th Century
He is best known for leading non-violent resistance to British colonial rule in India.However, as a young man he lived and worked in South
Africa, and although he has inspired people throughout the world his comments on black Africans have been controversial.In his early
writings he referred to black South Africans as "kaffirs" - a highly offensive racist slur
He also said that Indians were "infinitely superior" to black people.Image copyrightEmmanuel Dzivenu/JoyNewsImage caption
Lecturers and students celebrated in front of the newly empty plinth after the statue was removed
