Mysuru :

Extending an invitation on behalf of the British Indian community to unveil the Statue of the 12th century Indian Philosopher Basaveshwara in London, United Kingdom (UK), the former Mayor of London Borough of Lambeth, Dr. Neeraj Patil met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at New Delhi on Mar.24 and requested him to unveil the statue during his next visit to London.

Modi has expressed his willingness to unveil the statue during his visit to London, slated to be in the month of June/July this year after the British General Elections in May.

Modi has thanked the British Indian community for their efforts to get the approval for Basaveshwara Statue in the backdrop of Big Ben bell and the British Parliament.

As per the Statue’s Act of 1854 of United Kingdom, a petition to erect the statue of the 12th century Indian Philosopher, social reformer and Statesman, was approved by the Planning Department of the London Borough of Lambeth on Apr. 4, 2012 and subsequently by the British Cabinet Minister for Culture, Jon Penrose on July 3, 2012.

Paying tribute to Basaveshwara, Speaker of British Parliament, John Bercow said, “It is amazing and extraordinary that Basaveshwara professed, campaigned and advocated genuine democracy, human rights, gender equality way back in 12th century, even before anyone in UK had even thought about it.”

The statue of Basaveshwara which will be installed on the bank of River Thames will be the second statue of an Indian only after Gautham Buddha.

The other Indian leaders’ who’s statues have been approved and installed in London are that of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Rabindranath Tagore.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Friday – March 27th, 2015