In recent years, statues of Gandhi have been attacked by a variety of radically incommensurable movements. Subaltern social movements struggling to dismantle the legacies of colonialism, slavery and apartheid have attacked Gandhi on the grounds of his alleged racism, casteism, misogyny and because he functions as a cipher for the imperialism of the contemporary Indian state and the racism of Indian society. Yet little about the case against Gandhi is new. This article explores why these arguments are being voiced now by identifying three discursive vehicles that have given them salience – decolonisation in the African academy, US-originated Afropessimism and a resurgent global Dalit movement. The article juxtaposes this global picture with the range of contradictory attitudes expressed towards Gandhi in India, where a state dominated by the neoliberal Hindu Right promotes Gandhi abroad at the same time as it sidelines him at home. Simultaneously, Gandhi is attacked by its domestic electoral base while remaining a talisman for its opponents as a symbol of an elusive communal harmony and environmentalism. In revealing how Gandhi is toppled by radically incommensurable social movements and how attitudes towards Gandhi do not map neatly onto power, the article complicates ongoing debates about decolonisation, memorialisation and heritage.

近年来，甘地的雕像受到了各种根本不可通约的运动的攻击。致力于废除殖民主义、奴隶制和种族隔离遗产的底层社会运动以甘地所谓的种族主义、种姓主义、厌女症为由攻击甘地，因为他是当代印度国家帝国主义和印度社会种族主义的代名词。然而，针对甘地的案件并没有什么新鲜事。本文通过确定三种赋予这些论点显着性的话语载体，探讨了为什么这些论点现在被提出——非洲学术界的非殖民化、起源于美国的非洲悲观主义和复兴的全球达利特运动。这篇文章将这一全球图景与印度对甘地所表达的一系列矛盾态度并列起来，一个由新自由主义印度教右翼主导的国家在国外宣传甘地，同时在国内将他边缘化。与此同时，甘地受到国内选民的攻击，同时仍然是其反对者的护身符，作为难以捉摸的社区和谐和环保主义的象征。这篇文章揭示了甘地如何被根本不可通约的社会运动推翻，以及对甘地的态度如何与权力不完全对应，使正在进行的关于非殖民化、纪念化和遗产的争论变得复杂化。