Statue of Historic Figure: Mahatma Gandhi - Fort-de-France, Martinique

Mahatma Gandhi

Fort-de-France, Martinique

N 14° 36.463 W 061° 04.339

Short Description: 

A monument honoring the leader of the Indian independence movement and apostle of non-violence Mahatma Gandhi is located in a traffic island north of the intersection of Rue Victor Severe and Rue Xavier Orville in Fort-de-France, Martinique.

Long Description:

A monument honoring Mahatma Gandhi contains a life size bronze bust of Mahatma Gandhi mounted on a rectangular marble base. The shaven head of Gandhi is depicted without any garment from the shoulders up. He is wearing a mustache and is looking straight ahead.

The dado on the front of the marble base is inscribed:

Le Republique de l'Inde a la Ville de Fort-de-France 

en commemoration de l'arrivee des premiers Indiens en Martinique en 1853 

MAHATMA GANDHI 

1869 - 1948 

Homme de l'Universel, Apotre de la non-violence, Pere de la nation Indienne 

"Je ne veux pas que ma maison soit entouree de murs de toutes parts et mes fenetres 

barricadees. Je veux que les cultures de tous les pays puissent souffle aussi librement 

que possible a travers ma maison. Mais je refuse de me laisser emporter par aucune." 

12 decembre 2003

The Republic of India has the City of Fort-de-France

in commemoration of the arrival of the first Indians in Martinique in 1853

MAHATMA GANDHI

1869 - 1948

Man of the Universe, Apostle of non-violence, Father of the Indian nation

"I do not want my house to be surrounded by walls on all sides and my windows

barricaded. I want cultures of all countries to breathe as freely as 

possible through my house. But I refuse to let myself be carried away by any. "

12 December 2003

Mohandas (Mahatma) Karamchand Gandhi was born on 2 October 2, 1869 into a Hindu merchant caste family in Gujarat, India. He studied law at the Inner Temple, London. He then moved to South Africa where he first used nonviolent civil disobedience in an effort to establish equality and to end discrimination.

He returned to British colonial India and in 1921 he assuming leadership of the Indian National Congress. Gandhi led the movement to address social injustice and self-rule for India by non-violent means. He hoped for a pluralistic India but when in 1947 the British granted independence the sub-continent was partitioned into a Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. On January 30, 1948 Gandhi was shot and killed by a Hindu nationalist, Nathuram Godse, who thought Gandhi was was too accommodating to political demands of Indian Muslims.