Someone vandalized the statue of Mohandas Gandhi at Central Park earlier this week, resurrecting for some the controversy that surrounded the figure when Davis city leaders approved its installation nearly four years ago.
The vandal or vandals used red and black spray paint to deface the 6-foot-tall bronze statue of the social activist and its concrete base, located near the park’s main playground, with expletives and words such as “rapist.”
Davis police Lt. Art Camacho said the vandalism, discovered on Monday, initially went unreported to the Police Department.
“However, police became aware of this incident through social media” and sent a community services team to the park to take a report, Camacho said. By Tuesday, a cleanup effort left only small patches of red paint.
The incident spurred lengthy debates on local social media platforms, where some denounced the vandalism while others found it unsurprising in light of allegations in recent years that Gandhi had engaged in sexual misconduct, racism and sexism.
“Is nothing safe? These people are awful. I have teenagers and I try to teach them respect for other opinions AND property. Stop defending destructive behavior,” one person wrote in a Nextdoor thread that had generated more than 100 comments as of Tuesday afternoon.
“Defacing racist statues is a perfect form of protest. By defacing statues protestors successfully identified the ideological symbol that should be disparaged and puts the public on notice of the movement. It’s strategic and clearly it worked because we are here talking about it,” wrote another.
Some proposed petitioning the city for the statue’s removal.
Davis acquired the Gandhi likeness in late 2016 when the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, an India government affiliate, donated it the city. It received quiet approval from both the Davis Civic Arts Commission and Recreation and Parks Commission, and the City Council unanimously accepted the gift as part of its consent calendar in February of that year.
After that approval, however, some local residents, along with members of the Organization for Minorities of India — a Lathrop-based group representing multiple religious factions in India — voiced its opposition to the statue, saying it does not represent all members of the community.
Then-Mayor Robb Davis invited further discussion on the matter, which packed the Community Chambers at City Hall. Many traveled to the meeting from out of town to air their concerns.
Vandals hit the statue of Mohandas Gandhi in Davis’ Central Park sometime Monday morning. Debrup Ghosh/Courtesy photo
“It is undisputed that Gandhi was a hero to many, but it should be (noted that) he was also a bigot and predator of members of his own family,” Sacramento businessman Amar Shergill said at the time.
Others described the statue as a symbol of love and peace.
“We want nothing more than to see Gandhi’s life and lessons — in particular his commitment to love, inclusion and non-violence — to continue to teach and inspire new generations of Davis citizens and those who visit our city,” said local resident Ravinder Trewn.
The council ultimately rejected with a 3-2 vote a motion to suspend the statue-placement process in order to conduct a wider community dialogue. An unveiling ceremony followed several weeks later on Oct. 2, 2016 — Gandhi’s birthday, commemorated each year as an International Day of Non-Violence.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene.