Hundreds of people turned out to see the unveiling of the new Gandhi Statue on Leicester's Belgrave Road.

Dignitaries, faith leaders and leading politicians helped unveil the monument yesterday.

People from across Britain and from as far away as India attended, including Hindu spiritual leader Swami Satyamitranand, who travelled 8,000 miles to be there.

The £20,000, seven-and-a-half-foot bronzed statue and its five-foot concrete plinth is at the corner of Belgrave Road and Donaldson Road.

It also includes plaques engraved with his name and with the phrase "we must become the change we want to see".

Gandhi campaigned for India's independence from Britain, promoting non-violent civil disobedience.

More than 70 countries have statues of Gandhi. Watcher Meena Parvin, of Belgrave, said: "It was such a wonderful thing to see and was quite moving. This will be a good thing for Leicester and make it more well known."

Leicester East MP Keith Vaz addressed the crowd at the unveiling and told the Leicester Mercury he would like more statues in the city, including one of Princess Diana.

He said: "It is one of the greatest days of my 22 years as MP for this area. Gandhi was an inspiration to so many.

"This is a day that Belgrave, Leicester and the indeed the country will never forget.This is a great landmark for one of the world's great cities.

"I would like to see more statues in this city of people who have inspired us and I can think of no-one better than Princess Diana."

Alan Johnson, on one of his first official appearances as Home Secretary, said: "It was a great honour and privilege to be asked here today.

"A large part of my job is community cohesion and there is no better example than Leicester, where diverse communities work well together.

The bronzed figure was paid for by Indian charity Samanvaya Parivar.

Spokesman Jitendra Acharya said: "After two years of planning and putting in the relevant applications, I am very happy to unveil this statue."

The statue has been created by Indian sculptor Gautam Pal and shipped in from Calcutta.

He was also at the event, as was Leicestershire chief constable Matt Baggott and Lord Mayor Roger Blackmore. Because of the crowds, Mr Baggott's officers increased patrols of the area while the ceremony took place, but no road closures were needed.