Mahatma Gandhi's bust unveiled by EAM Jaishankar at UN HQ under India's Presidency

A bust of Mahatma Gandhi has been inaugurated as a gift from India to the United Nations during India’s Presidency of the Security Council. It is the first sculpture of the 'Father Of The Nation' installed at the world body’s headquarters. The only other gift 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.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres inaugurated the bust of Gandhi on Wednesday at a sombre ceremony at the North Lawns of the United Nations, marking the arrival of the Mahatma at the world body's headquarters during India's Presidency of the powerful 15-nation Security Council for the month of December. President of the 77th session of the General Assembly Csaba Korosi was also present on the occasion.

'Mahatma Gandhi's bust at UN HQ is an honour': UN Resident Coordinator in India

Meanwhile, calling the first Gandhi sculpture installation at the United Nations headquarters an "honour," Shombi Sharp, UN Resident Coordinator in India said that it is an 'opportune gift' for us and that Mahatma Gandhi's principles have a defining and lasting influence on multilateralism and the global work of the United Nations.

"It is an honour that the Mahatma's bust is being unveiled at the UN headquarters, where his values have been embedded in our collective vision, work and very existence. I thank the Government of India for this opportune gift to all of us. Mahatma Gandhi is a global icon of peace. His principles of Ahimsa (peace) and Satya (Truth) have a defining and lasting influence on multilateralism and the global work of the United Nations," Sharp said.

He added, "With the overlapping crises the world faces today, from conflicts to climate change, the global community has a lot to learn from Gandhi's powerful ideology of non-violence and the concepts of sustainability and the earth as one family. India's G20 Presidency has notably adopted the theme of 'One Earth, One Family, One Future'."