Statue Of Unity: A Statuesque Dividend

By: Shariq Khan.

When the Modi-wave began to blow, even those who ridiculed and discredited it did so out of utter disbelief tinged with amazement at how one man, whose past was blemished with blood stains, rose to such enormous authority that even the mightiest of his depreciators bowed in reverence of his grandeur. With the Statue of Unity, he will unite us in reverence of that grandeur.

Who will be immortalized by the Statue Of Unity?

He is a man who is a champion at the game called Politics. Before the elections, Narendra Modi made promises. After the elections, he continued to do so. But for those who do not know yet, Narendra Modi is someone to whom the very fact of being Narendra Modi is the ultimate source of pleasure and satisfaction. If he has not already turned Man Mohan Singh and the Congress into just another footnote on a page of the bulky book of Indian history, then with Sardar Vallabhai Patel’s statue, he will. He will not just erect a monument in honour of a man that he proclaims to be an admirer of, but more importantly he will accomplish what none other, in the democratic world’s history has come close to accomplishing before him: He will erect a monument in honour of himself. And he will ensure that he is remembered for the many generations to come and that his opponents will look upon the statue of unity and stand divided in despair.

'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings,
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'

Narendra Modi is not a man. He is an idea. A subtle idea that roots from intense insanity and stems into a poised enigma.
Before trying to understand what the Statue of Unity signifies, let’s take a look at the other humongous statues around the world which will soon stand belittled under Modi’s ambition.

All of these are Buddhist statues. It has been a part of Buddhist culture to construct statues of Buddha. These statues are Religious symbols but non-controversial and provoke no communal disharmony. While Sardar Vallabhai Patel, as at least in the present context is not a religious figure and while father of the nation and a many times more world-renowned figure like Mahatma Gandhi stands tallest at 72m, Grand statues are definitely not a part of Indian culture. Adding to the controversy is the very reason for Narendra Modi to pick Sardar Patel’s face for the Statue of Unity. The greatness of the Iron Man of India can never be questioned but the Hindutva overtones that Saffron brigades across India have associated him with will surely be edified with the Statue of Unity and a symbol of that manner can dissonate the secularist feelings of the united people of India.

A comparison of the Statue of Unity with other tall statues around the world.
Photo By User:Hariudayan (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons

The most famous of all the statues is The Statue of Liberty. The statue was designed as a gift to the United States from the people of France to memorialize the alliance of the two countries in the American Revolution and their abiding friendship. Notably, the French people contributed the $25,000 construction cost. The figures paint a blinding contrast. Statue of Unity has been allocated 2 billion rupees ($33 million) in the Union Budget 2014-15 while the total cost of construction is 2989 Crore INR ($480 million). For the statue of Unity too, people’s money will be used but unlike the French, it will not be used with their consent.

What remains common among all the other tallest statues around the world is that they were built in ‘Developed’ countries. The countries that could afford to have them built. India however figures at third in the most number of rape cases over the world but the government allocated only 1.5 billion rupees ($25 million) for Women’s safety in Cities. While female literacy rate is a poor 65.46%, the Modi Government could only shell out 1 billion rupees ($16.5 million) for Girl Education. With this Priority given to a monument in remembrance of Sardar Patel, is Modi trying to make us believe that spreading the ideas of Sardar are what will be the best course of action to develop India? Well, many people seem to have already started believing in that. The tourist value of the statue will add chunks to India’s treasury they claim. One may or may not be excused for asking how many tourists Patel will be able to attract. One may or may not be excused for asking the same counter question ‘Why not Gandhi?’ If it will not be engraved upon the body of Patel, at least the message of Modi is quite clear. If the country will continue to idealise Gandhi and Nehru, he will not be able to purge India of Congress. The ideals of Gandhi and Nehru are surely not as important anymore.

"Narendra Modi at the Chief Ministers' Conference on Internal Security in New Delhi" by Narendra Modi - Flickr

It is amazing how the people fail to see through the total blasphemy of Modi’s policies. ‘Make in India’ became another awe-inspiring campaign of Modi Ji. No one as much as asks why his most ambitious project is being made by Germans and Arabs. With the statue of Unity he will surely clean hundreds of acres of land. So much for the 'Clean India Campaign'.
Ironically, the Statue of Unity will directly face the Narmada Dam. One may or may not be excused for remarking his sadism. As Modi passionately asked the farmers from all across India to donate Iron for the construction, more than 70 tribes continued to protest in the Narmada Valley.

One man’s ideals are towering above the others. From the Hundreds of thousands of brave men that sacrificed their lives for a united India, One man is being made supreme. One man has the power to wipe clear pages of history. Monuments are being erected to face the graves of those that resisted this one Man. And the monument shall smile while their families cry. One man alone has the power to make all of this come true. You may or may not be excused for asking if India is a democracy any longer.

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