Statue of Unity
Yet,
I was surprised that when this statue was inaugurated there were a number of negative
comments or critical questions, from few of our fellow countrymen. Of course,
everyone has a right to their own opinion and we don’t need to feel offended,
but still some of the questions felt outright skeptical.
One
of the comment was, “Does India need a statue for Rs.3000 crores, when there is so much of
poverty and other requirements in the country?
Yes,
there are other priorities in the country, but that does not mean we shouldn’t
create an iconic statue like this, which has great symbolic value. Just because
we don’t have roads in a few villages, doesn’t stop us from having airports in
cities. These sort of comparisons are unjustified and misleading. Let us be
value conscious, and not price conscious.
We
go abroad and stand in awe in front of magnificent statues, such as the Statue
of Liberty. We also joke or brood that these type of things are a faraway dream
for India. But now, we have a statue that is taller than everything else. India
will now have tourist flocking from across the globe to see the tallest statue
in this world, and feel awestruck. Is it not something to be proud about?
Another
comment was, “Why should we build a
statue for Sardar Patel, while there are other more important leaders like
Gandhi?
The
efforts of great leaders in building the nation, cannot be discounted. Everyone
has contributed in their own way. If Gandhi was instrumental in bringing in the
freedom movement, it was Sarder Patel who was the architect in bringing
together the various states together, as we see in India Political Map today. I had the opportunity to visit the Sardar
Patel National Memorial Museum at Ahmedabad, a few years ago. It showcased his
life story and the enormous amount of work; he has put in, to see India as a
united country and thereby formed the seventh largest country in the world.
Another
critical comment was that “India has imported so many tonnes of brass
from China, for creating this statue. It is a shame”
China
didn’t give any charity, it just sold their brass. So, where is the shame here?
We live in an interdependent world and we trade resources. Even the statue of
liberty was gifted by France to USA and not made there. Does it take away the
pride of the statue?
Someone
remarked, “Statue of Unity sound like a copy cat name of Statue of Liberty”.
So
what? If Liberty is a value, Unity is another value. I don’t know what better fitting name can be
given to this statue. The statue is a fitting symbolism of great value Unity.
D. Senthil Kannan,
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