Opening ceremony of monument to Mahatma Gandhi took place in Yerevan

ArmInfo.A monument to Mahatma Gandhi, a political figure and spiritual leader of India, was opened on the territory of Buenos Aires Park in Yerevan.

According to the press service of the Ministry of Education, Science,  Culture and Sports, the opening ceremony of the monument was attended  by Deputy Minister of the Ministry Ara Khzmalyan, President of Indian  Council for Cultural Relations, member of the Upper House of the  Parliament of India Vinay Sahasrabuddhe , who is on an official visit  to Armenia, and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of India  to Armenia Kishan Dan Dewal.

<Armenian-Indian historical ties have deep roots. Since ancient  times, Armenians have been active in India in the fields of  publishing, economics and trade. And the opening of the monument is  evidence of the stability and progress of these relations, "Ara  Khzmalyan said, noting that today's event is a tribute to the respect  of the Armenian people for the history of the Indian people.

In turn, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe  said that the erection of the monument  would remind Armenians and Indians who came to Armenia about the  principles and ideology of Mahatma Gandhi. "This will be the driving  force for us in creating a better world," he stressed.

Expressing gratitude for the unveiling of the Gandhi monument in  Yerevan, Ambassador Kishan Dan Dewal noted that this event is an  argument in favor of strengthening and continuing the long-standing  Armenian-Indian relations.  To recall, the decision to erect the  Gandhi monument in Yerevan was made at a meeting of the Council of  Elders on April 28, 2020. The installation of the monument was timed  to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the birth of Gandhi. Then  it was reported that the initiative to erect the monument came from  the Armenian Foreign Ministry. The Indian side has undertaken all the  necessary expenses. 43 members of the Council of Elders voted for the  installation of the monument, two abstained.

Mahatma Gandhi is an Indian political and public figure, one of the  leaders and ideologists of the movement for India's independence from  Great Britain. His philosophy of nonviolence (satyagraha) influenced  the movement for peaceful change.