Burnaby Mountain to SFU we are greet- Vancouver, to confirm that SFU’s first Stanley Park, the UBC endowment ed by the giant head of Simon Fraser. At bust would soon be installed. Although lands, or Queen Elizabeth Park. With least this would’ve been the case, if it it would take a couple of months before support of the entire Indo-Canadiit would actually see the light of day, the an community of British Columbia, hadn’t been for another big head. In a meeting with the Aesthetics tale of the Mahatma Gandhi monument they purchased a bronze replica of the committee sometime in May, President actually goes way back to 1965 and the Howard bust created by the famous McTaggart-Cowan showed his frus- correspondence between India and an Wagh and Company of Bombay, India. The members then approached varitration with the gift that just kept on American by the name of Martin Luther ous municipalities and their parks and giving. According to Wayne Elwood King Jr. As a follower of Gandhi’s non- recreation boards to find an appropriate of the Aesthetics Committee, “McTaggart-Cowan held up Jack’s maquette, violence movement in his efforts to site to install the bust. After receiving turned it upside down, and made an bring civil rights for African Americans denials from all of the municipalities, in the United States, Martin Luther colleges and schools that they contactunfortunate comment.” “I suspect at that point, he was so fed King Jr. was repeatedly contacted with ed, they became quite concerned at the up with the whole issue that he couldn’t the purpose of being gifted a bronze prospect of having no place available for the installation of the bust. take any more bickering. I don’t have bust of the Mahatma. After several weeks, Natverlal ThaThe offers were made by a group in the date for that meeting, but it was the Bombay, India called “Sarvajanik Kaly- kore, a member of the Indo-Canadian end of the project, as far as I know.” Even though McTaggart-Cowan had an Samati” (which translates in English community who was a Master’s student been very receptive to the idea of com- to ‘a body devoted to the welfare of the at SFU, finally recommended his school bining all the committees, at this point peoples’). They repeatedly sent letters as a location. J.K. Pavri of the India club nothing was finalized and he still held from 1965 to 1966 offering to pay and sent a letter to Dr. George Suart, the all the power when it came to the gift, ship the monument to hopefully be in- Vice President of Administration at Simon Fraser University on July 24, 1969. stalled at a Children’s park in the U.S. and he decided to cancel the project. By 1969, the LaFarge sculpture fund was transHarman’s sculpture was planned to be 27 feet tall ferred away from the statue project towards general and the bronze bust of Simon Fraser would be five feet high. art purchases. McTaggartCowan was gone. The AesEven though there were no longer While it seems as if Dr. King never thetics committee no longer existed. While most at SFU probably would’ve answered these letters, following his three committees, permission to install been happy to never have to deal with death, his wife did accept a Gandhi bust the statue still had to pass through the another statue gift again, a sculpture which she unveiled at Howard Universi- Board of Governors and the Senate. donation would rear it’s ugly head in no ty in Washington D.C. in spring of 1969. Bureaucracy once again made it difficult time, when a little famous Indian man The monument at SFU is a direct replica to complete the project. of this sculpture. According to the India Club “the sitdecided to drop by the campus. SFU’s version of it was first dreamed uation became more frustrating when ear Mr. Pavri: The University Works of Art Committee has up by a group called India Club who someone raised the following quesconsidered the generous offer of the were formed by a number of Indo- tion: Why should the statue of MahatEast Indian Community of British Co- Canadians in the Vancouver area on ma Gandhi be installed at the Univerlumbia regarding the proposed donation May 21, 1969. As this year was the sity; why not the statue of the famous to Simon Fraser University of a one and 100th anniversary of the birth of na- explorer Simon Fraser, after whom the one-half times life size bust of Mahatma tional Indian hero Mahatma Gandhi, it university has been named?” Unlike the original Fraser statue howGandhi. I am pleased to write on behalf was decided their first project be dedicated to his honour. ever, the India Club had “the spirit of of the Committee, accepting this gift.” The club made it their mission to the great soul of Mahatma” on their side On August 8, 1969 Jack Behrens of get a statue from India of Gandhi, and and the petty arguments and faculty SFU’s Works of Art Committee wrote to Mr. J.K. Pavri, of the India Club of have it installed at a public place such as politics ended up going in their favour.
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