MELBOURNE: Australia is gearing up to celebrate Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary, with a series of events lined up to honour the Indian leader's lasting legacy.
A week-long exhibition and an interactive talk in Melbourne, a poster competition in Adelaide on Gandhi's philosophy, principles, actions and achievements and a prayer meeting in Canberra-based Indian High Commission will take place in the next few weeks.
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A garland ceremony will be held in the University of Adelaide at the Gandhi Statue in the Garden of Contemplation, followed by the address of eminent jurist and academic Michael Kirby on "The Sesquicentenary of Mahatma Gandhi" and its relevance for Australia and the world.
Five sculptures of Gandhi, engraved with his famous quotes, in four cities of Australia will also be part of the celebration.
The first Gandhi sculpture was installed on August 15, 2002 in Canberra's Glebe Park with an inscription 'Apostle of Non-violence (Ahimsa) & Truth (Satyagrah)', reflecting Gandhi's enduring legacy and representing Australia's closer links with India.
The sculpture, installed near one of the entrances of the Glebe Park showing Gandhi walking with a stick, has become an interesting feature.
Four other sculptures located in Brisbane, Adelaide and Sydney will become an important part of the 150th birth anniversary celebration.
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The most recent sculpture was unveiled last year by President Ram Nath Kovind in Jubilee Park of New South Wales in the presence of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
The life-size bronze sculpture of Gandhi was presented by Kovind to the Australian leader and is designed by Indian sculptors Ram and Anil Sutar.
The statue is identical to the other statue given to Brisbane in 2014 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his first official visit to Australia.
Modi unveiled the 2.5-metre Gandhi statue in Roma street Parkland in Brisbane which engraves Albert Einstein's qoute on Gandhi: "Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth".
The campuses of two universities - Adelaide University and the University of New South Wales (UNSW) - have also seated Gandhi's bust to highlight closer links with India.
The bust which was presented to the University of Adelaide campus by the Indian government in 2012 is located on the varsity's North Terrace Campus in a garden which is also famously now known as the 'Garden of Contemplation'.
The University of New South Wales (UNSW) received the Gandhi's bust in 2010 and installed it in the Library Lawn.
The bronze sculpture and a collection of books were a gift from the Indian Government to the people of the state and the university.