GANDHIJI IN SASKATOON

It isn’t very usual to expect to run into a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the middle of the Prairies of Canada. But this is exactly what we encountered way back in the year 2004, when we, a team of 4 members along with a team leader, were a part of the Group Study Exchange program selected by Rotary International, to represent India at the Rotary District 5550 in Canada. As goodwill ambassadors and skilled professionals from India, we were expected to display high ethical and moral qualities, improve international understanding, promote friendship and goodwill and above all, exchange ideas with fellow professionals and gain first-hand knowledge about our vocation as practiced in another country

A symbol of peace, unity, universal tolerance, non-violence, social harmony and equality, the Mahatma has touched the core of humanity far and wide. We were pleasantly surprised on the very first day of our tour through downtown Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, to come across this bust of Gandhiji. It was a moment of great pride for us as Indians, but our Canadian hosts were equally proud that such a great man who was from the faraway mystical land of India, was given an honor in their city, as a reminder to all those who pass by that “Non-Violence is a Universal Law Acting Under All Circumstances”.

Mahatma Gandhi’s bust was commissioned at the request of the Saskatoon India-Canada Cultural Association and was gifted by the Government of India to the people of Saskatoon. This bronze sculpture was installed in the year 2000, sculpted by the artist Ram Vanji Sutar, and represents Gandhiji’s philosophy of non-violence transcending all geographical boundaries.

As we stood for a moment to take picture in front of the bust of Gandhiji, in downtown Saskatoon, in the heart of the Canadian Prairies, each one of us was a proud Indian.  It is moments like these that make our hearts swell with pride, that we belong to a Nation whose Father has taught us the core values of humanity.