A bust of Mahatma Gandhi was unveiled by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday at the UN Headquarters in New York. The ceremony, held at the North Lawns of the United Nations, was also attended by president of the 77th session of the General Assembly Csaba Korosi.
The bust was the first Gandhi sculpture installed in the UN headquarters. It was made by renowned Indian sculptor and Padma Shree awardee Ram Sutar, who has also designed the ‘Statue of Unity’ in Gujarat, PTI reported.
On the occassion, Jaishankar said Gandhi’s ideals must continue to guide actions in ensuring peace and stability around the world.
“Today, as the world grapples with violence, armed conflicts and humanitarian emergencies, Gandhi ideals must continue to guide our actions in ensuring peace and stability around the world,” the minister said.
“Conflict and inequality seem an inevitable part of the human condition. Mahatma Gandhi’s greatest lesson to the world was that this may not be so. conflicts can be resolved, and inequalities can be addressed,” he further said.
The UN headquarters proudly displays gifts and artifacts from around the world. The only other sculpture from India on display at the UN headquarters is an 11th century black-stone statue of ‘Surya’, the Sun God, donated on July 26, 1982.
Later in the day, Jaishankar presided over an UN Security Council (UNSC) debate on reformed multilateralism. India holds the presidency of the powerful 15-nation Security Council for the month of December.
In a veiled attack on China and its “all-weather friend” Pakistan, Jaishanlar said multilateral platforms were being misused to justify and protect perpetrators of terrorism.
Jaishankar also said the knock on effects of conflict situations had made a strong case that it cannot be “business as usual” in the multilateral domain, PTI reported.
“On the challenge of terrorism, even as the world is coming together with a more collective response, multilateral platforms are being misused to justify and protect perpetrators,” the Foreign Minister further said.
Jaishankar’s remarks seemed to be aimed at China, which has on several occassions blocked bids by India and the US to list Pakistan-based terrorists like Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar.
On climate action and climate justice, Jaishankar said the state of affairs was no better.
“Instead of addressing the relevant issues in the appropriate forum, we have seen attempts at distraction and diversion,” the minister said.
“The knock on effects of conflict situations have also underscored the necessity for a more broad based global governance. Recent concerns over food, fertilizer and fuel security were not adequately articulated in the highest councils of decision making. Much of the world was therefore led to believe that their interests did not matter. We cannot let this happen again,” he said.
(With inputs from PTI)
