Well over half-a-century after his death, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi remains one of the most widely recognisable public figures of the 20th century.
Born in 1869 at Porbandar, a small, coastal town in Gujarat, he studied law in London and spent time in South Africa before returning to India in 1915. His advocacy of nonviolence and tolerance, while helming the turbulent struggle against the British, defined India’s independence movement—and inspired many others the world over.
There is perhaps no other Indian as admired and respected, both at home and elsewhere, as the Mahatma. In India, almost every sizeable city has a street named after Gandhi. Abroad, from Geneva to Johannesburg, statues of Gandhi stand as a tribute to his life’s work.
Today (Oct. 2), on the 146th birth anniversary of the Mahatma, Quartz presents images of his statues from across the world.
Snow falls on a statue of Mahatma Gandhi on a winter morning in the Ariana Parc outside the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva.Image: Reuters/Denis Balibouse
A worker sprays water on a statue of the late Mahatma Gandhi on the eve of his birth anniversary at Gandhi Park in Bhubaneswar.Image: AP Photo/Biswaranjan Rout
A musician plays music next to a statue of Mahatma Gandhi during an anti-coup rally near Bangkok’s Grand Palace.Image: Reuters/Chaiwat Subprasom
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi bows his head after scattering flower petals at the feet of the Mahatma Gandhi Statue outside the Indian Embassy in Washington.Image: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst
Gandhi’s grandson Gopalkrishna Gandhi makes a speech next to a new statue of Mahatma Gandhi by British sculptor Philip Jackson after it was unveiled in Parliament Square, London, on March 14, 2015.Image: AP Photo/Matt Dunham
A statue of Mahatma Gandhi stands in Union Square Park in New York.Image: AP Photo/Shiho Fukada
A statue of Mahatma Gandhi stands among debris of Malacca village, which was destroyed by tsunami in Car Nicobar, in India’s southeastern Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Jan. 2, 2005.Image: AP Photo/Manish Swarup
Johannesburg residents enjoy lunch beneath the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Gandhi Square in Johannesburg.Image: EPA/Jon Hrusa
Fireworks explode over a statue of Mahatma Gandhi during Diwali celebrations in Leicester in the UK.
A statue of Mahatma Gandhi stands in the Occupy Boston encampment, with Boston’s Federal Reserve Building in the background, in Boston, Massachusetts.Image: Reuters/Brian Snyder
A statue of Mahatma Gandhi, on view at India House, London, March 2, 1949.Image: AP Photo
People walk on a snow-covered road next to a statue of Mahatma Gandhi after a heavy snowfall in the northern hill station town of Shimla, India.Image: AP Photo/Mainka Gill
Spanish Queen Sofia (second right) unveils a sculpture of Mahatma Gandhi at Joan Miro Square in Madrid.Image: EPA/Fernando Alvarado
A statue of Mahatma Gandhi is seen after it was vandalized with white paint at Ghandi Square in Johannesburg.Image: Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko
A statue of Mahatma Gandhi is seen wearing a Robin Hood-style hat and mask in New York.Image: Reuters/Andrew Burton
A wooden statue of Mahatma Gandhi belonging to The Peace Abbey in Sherborn, Mass., stands at the Occupy Boston encampment in Boston’s financial district.Image: AP Photo/Michael Dwyer
A statue of Mahatama Gandhi overlooks the Indian parliament in New Delhi, India.Image: AP Photo/Manish Swarup
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