Have you ever harboured a wanderlust to visit the Statue of Liberty in New York? Or the Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil? Or have you ever looked up and gazed at Mannat and Atilla buildings in Mumbai? Then you cannot be the one denouncing the government’s pride in building the Statue of Unity.
Large structures are a sign of power. All societies worship power in some or other form. Whether it is the crowds hanging outside Shahrukh’s bungalow or the ones who click selfies outside India Gate, they all are normal humans doing the natural thing. Then why cry foul and say that the Rs. 2,989 crores could have been better spent.
Firstly, this statue will compel people to open this history books again, and recognise that we have been misguided by the regime rewritten history in the last sixty years. Sardar Vallabhai Patel was a stalwart whose name has been suppressed by dynastic politics. And in today’s dystopian times, it is more important than before, to acknowledge a sense of history, and make the right choices.
Secondly, when we praise other countries for their rich architecture, then why denounce when our own country does it? Should we not be non-partisan enough to appreciate when our country joins the highest ranks? When you flaunt your wanderlust with international trips, the same applies to foreigners visiting India.
It is fine to critique the statue for its aesthetics or engineering. But to base the argument on the mere expenses, is to waylay the debate with arm twisting. Did the Chinese think that they could have adopted Elon Musk instead of building the Great Wall? Did the Parisians think that the French could have build space ships instead of building the Eiffel Tower?
Is that bird dropping? pic.twitter.com/63xPuvfvW3
— Divya Spandana/Ramya (@divyaspandana) November 1, 2018
And to add salt to injury, some on Twitter have bowed so low as to call the visiting Prime Minister bird shit against the statue. These high positions come with a lot of responsibility and dignity, especially when he is the representative of India outside. At such junctures, to tease him so is to just prove that politics has compelled the opposition to sacrifice all standards and decorum is so not appreciable.
Sardar Vallabhai Patel is singlehandedly responsible for the present unified structure of our polity, and it is apt to build the world’s highest statue for the Iron Man, without whom we would not have known our country as it presently stands.
