--- description: Critics accused Gandhi of being racist toward black Africans title: Ghana Will Remove 'Racist' Gandhi Statue From Its Oldest University image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1ca63fd7a8e8a5c/6988a8f2fb4eacb70688f61d/ghana-university-mahatma-gandhi-statue-racist-south-africa-petition-remove.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Ghana](/tag/ghana/) ## Ghana Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Ghana Will Remove 'Racist' Gandhi Statue From Its Oldest University by [Abigail Abrams](/author/abigail-abrams/) ## Abigail Abrams Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 6, 2016 3:35 PM CUT  A statue of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi in Accra, Ghana on Sept. 22, 2016\. Professors at a university in Ghana's capital are campaigning for the removal of a new statue of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi. A statue of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi in Accra, Ghana on Sept. 22, 2016\. Professors at a university in Ghana's capital are campaigning for the removal of a new statue of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi.Christian Thompson—AP by [Abigail Abrams](/author/abigail-abrams/) ## Abigail Abrams Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 6, 2016 3:35 PM CUT Ghana has said it [will remove](http://www.mfa.gov.gh/index.php?id=358 "undefined") a statue of Mahatma Gandhi from a university campus in the nation’s capital where it had [sparked protests](http://time.com/4505357/university-ghana-racist-gandhi-statue/ "undefined") over the leader’s allegedly racist attitudes. The statue, which was unveiled by Indian President Pranab Mukherjee during his visit to Ghana in June, was meant to symbolize friendship between the two countries, according to [Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs](http://www.mfa.gov.gh/index.php?id=358 "undefined"). But professors and students at the University of Ghana called the statue “a slap in the face” because of Gandhi’s “racist identity.” They started an [online petition](https://www.change.org/p/the-members-of-the-university-of-ghana-council-gandhi-s-statue-at-the-university-of-ghana-must-come-down "undefined") calling for the statue’s removal. The petition, which had more than 1,700 supporters on Thursday, cited letters Gandhi wrote during his time in South Africa as evidence that he advocated for the superiority of Indians over black Africans. It also took issue with his use of the derogatory term _kaffir_ to refer to native Africans and criticized the lack of statues of African heroes and heroines on campus. In light of the petition and protests on social media, Ghana’s government wants to relocate the statue “to ensure its safety and to avoid the controversy,” the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a [statement](http://www.mfa.gov.gh/index.php?id=358 "undefined") on Wednesday. Gandhi is known for peacefully leading India’s independence movement, but [a biography](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/09/20/in-ghana-calls-to-tear-down-a-statue-of-racist-gandhi/ "undefined") published last year also explored the darker side of his time in Africa. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4521241/ghana-gandhi-statue-removing/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4521241/ghana-gandhi-statue-removing/"},"headline":"Ghana Will Remove 'Racist' Gandhi Statue From Its Oldest University","datePublished":"2016-10-06T15:35:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T10:14:54.186Z","description":"Critics accused Gandhi of being racist toward black Africans","url":"https://time.com/4521241/ghana-gandhi-statue-removing/","keywords":["Ghana","Gandhi"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1ca63fd7a8e8a5c/6988a8f2fb4eacb70688f61d/ghana-university-mahatma-gandhi-statue-racist-south-africa-petition-remove.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Abigail Abrams","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/abigail-abrams/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1ca63fd7a8e8a5c/6988a8f2fb4eacb70688f61d/ghana-university-mahatma-gandhi-statue-racist-south-africa-petition-remove.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Ghana Gandhi Statue","caption":"Ghana Gandhi Statue","creditText":"Christian Thompson—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/ghana/","name":"Ghana"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4521241/ghana-gandhi-statue-removing/","name":"Ghana Will Remove 'Racist' Gandhi Statue From Its Oldest University"}}]}] ```