The recent brouhaha over the Statue
of Unity deserves a deeper thinking through and that’s exactly what I propose
to do. But before that, some background first:
The Statue of Unity is a statue of
Indian statesman and (one of the) founding fathers Sardar Vallabhbhai
Patel (1875–1950). It has been built in Gujarat in the district
of Narmada. It is the world's tallest statue, with a
height of 182 metres (597 ft). To give it a reference for ease of
comprehension, it’s about two times as tall as the Statue
of Liberty. The statue is located on a river
island facing the Narmada
Dam (also called the Sardar Sarovar dam) near Rajpipla,
100 kilometres (62 mi) southeast of the city of Vadodara.
It was built by Larsen & Toubro, who received the
contract for ₹2,989 crore (US$420 million) for the design,
construction and maintenance in October 2014. The construction was started on
31 October 2014 and completed in mid-October 2018. It was designed by Indian
sculptor Ram V. Sutar and was dedicated
by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on 31 October 2018 - the 143rd birth anniversary
of Sardar Patel. (source: Wikipedia)
Now what exactly is the ruckus about? Long story
short – why spend 400 million on a statue when you can use that same money to
build a hospital? This is an over simplification – but to me, that’s the crux
of the issue. Frankly, I think this line of thinking doesn’t have too much
merit. I mean, if the country had money only for a statue or a hospital, the
choice would have been unanimous. Build a Hospital. However, that’s surely nit the
case here. There is no dichotomy, and no one is saying no to building
hospitals. So, as per me, the very basis of the above premise is incorrect. The
true question should be – what purpose a statue would serve. I mean what is the
Return of Investment on Tax Payers money. If you use my money, ask me first.
That’s only fair. So ideally, the Govt should have actually taken some inputs
from the citizens (frankly everyone pays tax in some way or the other –
although people confuse Tax Payers with Income Tax Payers).
However, in a country the size of India, this is
easier said than done. Even if the countrymen vote for a statue, it would still
lead to all kinds of chaos (why not Gandhi, why not Bose, why not God and so
on). Hence, the Govt went ahead and built one. And dedicated this to the nation
as close to the next election as possible. For obvious reasons – and I don’t blame
them. Every Govt does this and not just in India.
So the bigger question – what purpose does a
Statue serve? Here are a few ideas:
Prestige / Pride: Puts us on the General
Knowledge map globally. Kids now when asked which is the tallest statue in the
world will say, Statue of Unity in India. Yay !! However, there is no actual gain
here – is there? It’s, at best, a notional gain and temporary at best. Do you
seriously think the US cannot build a taller Statue? It will / would have if it
saw the slightest edge - even if only in enhancing the country’s prestige. They
have not because they DO NOT NEED TO. They already know that they are the best
in multiple areas – science, technology, health care, maternal and infant mortality,
average life spans, space research etc etc. So – given a choice – would you
want to be known for these or the height of a Statue?
Tourism: It does whet the curiosity of someone
travelling to Narmada district for sure. But answer me this – how many times
have you planned your travels to see a Statue. For example, before this, the
tallest statue was the Spring Temple Buddha located in the Zhaocun township of
Lushan County, Henan, China. Its 153 meters tall. Heard of that? The
next to that (current number 3) is the Laykyun Setkyar Budhha Satue located in Hatakan
Taung, near Monywa, Sagaing
Division in Myanmar. Heard of that?? I could go on - but you get the
drift. So, my contention is that, it won’t make too much of a dent. Sure,
people visiting Narmada district in Gujarat will make an extra effort to see
the statue and click pics - but I think that will be about it.
Social Fabric: Having a statue of the Sardar
would somehow shame our junta in to being United?? I don’t think I even need to
write about this here.
Frankly, I think (purely my opinion) that even
the Sardar, from what little I have read of him, would have been the first one
to shoot down this idea. If at all, he would have wanted a statue of his idol,
the Mahatma. And we all know what the Mahatma would have said to that!!
