Skip to main content

Statue of Unity? Expressionless, unconcerned with Sardar's fight for farmers, tribals

By Ravi Kuchimanchi*
My main problem with the statue of Sardar Patel is that it looks like an enlargement of a passport size picture. It may be the tallest statue but does it make an impact? Built to mimic a photograph, devoid of any artistic license, with hands to the side just dangling doing nothing, this is the statue that is supposed to depict unity and pay homage to Sardar Patel.
If we look at the Statue of Liberty with the torch held up in the air, it conveys the thrill of freedom. A Gandhi statue with his long stride and the walking stick conveys motion -- depicting the movement that brought us Independence. A statue of Mother Teresa shows the love and care in her face for the orphan child in her arms.
 An Ambedkar statue with a finger pointing the direction we are headed with India's progressive constitution in his other hand pays homage to the person who headed its writing. A meditating Buddha statue fills us with peace and tranquility. The 50-inch statue of the Fearless Girl in front of the Charging Bull on Wall Street may be tiny, but shows the power of women.
Thousands of crores of public money have been spent on a statue that is supposed to show unity, but fails to depict it in its look. Instead it appears to stand as a symbol of how much has gone wrong in the Narmada valley and in our nation. It shows a Patel who appears to do nothing for the adivasis and farmers inhabiting the Narmada valley from where they have been uprooted to pave the way for the large dam and the statue. It appears to show the iron will of the state that humbled and humiliated a river valley civilization that surrounds it.
The Sardar Sarovar dam is one of the largest dams in the world -- it could have been smaller displacing far fewer families, considering that the upstream dams already hold Gujarat's share of Narmada waters anyway and are legally obliged to release it throughout the year in a regulated manner. But the governments and courts chose not to listen to the voices of the Narmada valley people.
The Sardar Patel statue could have been a true homage, respecting the people of the Narmada valley, built along with their artistic tastes and talents, if only the state had not seen the people's struggle as being something to be unjustly dealt with, but as something to really integrate into our planning and rebuilding processes. Surely then it may not have been the tallest in the world, but it would stand head and shoulders above this one in its impact.
Sardar Patel was a freedom fighter who integrated many territories under the Indian union after independence. India has artists and sculptors that could have done something much more imaginative, than just build a huge statue that shows the power of the state over the people in a region that witnessed one of the greatest non-violent movements against state excesses post independence.
Sardar Patel's idea of a United India likely went beyond his desire to merely see a contiguous map of India. One can only guess that his vision of unity, justice and governance included everyone and especially, the most marginalized. Sardar Patel was a towering figure who inspired a generation of Indians. 
Like his life, a memorial for Patel could have served as a model for the future - in how it looked, in what it stood for and most of all in the humility with which it was built and integrated into the local region, so that there would not be thousands of displaced families opposing it.
---
*Founder, Association of India's Development, charity organization, based in US

Comments

TRENDING

Insider plot to kill Deendayal Upadhyay? What RSS pracharak Balraj Madhok said

By Shamsul Islam*  Balraj Madhok's died on May 2, 2016 ending an era of old guards of Hindutva politics. A senior RSS pracharak till his death was paid handsome tributes by the RSS leaders including PM Modi, himself a senior pracharak, for being a "stalwart leader of Jan Sangh. Balraj Madhok ji's ideological commitment was strong and clarity of thought immense. He was selflessly devoted to the nation and society. I had the good fortune of interacting with Balraj Madhok ji on many occasions". The RSS also issued a formal condolence message signed by the Supremo Mohan Bhagwat on behalf of all swayamsevaks, referring to his contribution of commitment to nation and society. He was a leading RSS pracharak on whom his organization relied for initiating prominent Hindutva projects. But today nobody in the RSS-BJP top hierarchy remembers/talks about Madhok as he was an insider chronicler of the immense degeneration which was spreading as an epidemic in the high echelons of th

Central pollution watchdog sees red in Union ministry labelling waste to energy green

By Chythenyen Devika Kulasekaran*  “Destructors”, “incinerators” and “waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration” all mean the same thing – indiscriminate burning of garbage! Having a history of about one and a half centuries, WTE incinerators have seen several reboots over the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. 

First-of-its-kind? 'Eco-friendly, low cost' sewage treatment system installed in Gujarat

Counterview Desk Following the installation of the Unconventional Decentralized Multi-Stage Reactor (UDMSR) for sewage treatment, a note on what is claimed to be the  first-of-its-kind technology said, the treated sewage from this system “can be directly utilized for agricultural purposes”, even as proving to be a “saviour in the times of water crisis.”

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Indo-Bangla border: Farmers facing 'illegal obstacles' in harvesting, transporting yields

  Counterview Desk  In a representation to the chairperson, National Human Rights Commission, human rights defender Kirity Roy, who is secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), has said that Border Security Force (BSF) personnel are creating "illegal obstacles" for farmers seeking to harvest their ripened yields and transport them to the market in village Jhaukuthi of Cooch Behar district.

Wasteland, a colonial legacy, being used to 'give away' vast tracts to Ratnagiri refinery

By Fouziya Tehzeeb* William D’Souza, a 55-year old farmer from Kuthethur, Mangalore, was busy mixing cattle feed when we arrived at his doorsteps. Around 25 km from the bustling city of Mangalore, Kuthethur is a lush green village with thick vegetation. On the way to William’s house the idyllic view gets blocked by the flares and smoke arising from the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL).

'Flawed' argument: Gandhi had minimal role, naval mutinies alone led to Independence

Counterview Desk Reacting to a Counterview  story , "Rewiring history? Bose, not Gandhi, was real Father of Nation: British PM Attlee 'cited'" (January 26, 2016), an avid reader has forwarded  reaction  in the form of a  link , which carries the article "Did Atlee say Gandhi had minimal role in Independence? #FactCheck", published in the site satyagrahis.in. The satyagraha.in article seeks to debunk the view, reported in the Counterview story, taken by retired army officer GD Bakshi in his book, “Bose: An Indian Samurai”, which claims that Gandhiji had a minimal role to play in India's freedom struggle, and that it was Netaji who played the crucial role. We reproduce the satyagraha.in article here. Text: Nowadays it is said by many MK Gandhi critics that Clement Atlee made a statement in which he said Gandhi has ‘minimal’ role in India's independence and gave credit to naval mutinies and with this statement, they concluded the whole freedom struggle.

CAA disregards India's inclusive plural ethos, 'betrays' ideals of freedom struggle: PUCL

Counterview Desk    "Outraged" at the move of the Central government to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA 2019) weeks before the election, the top rights group, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), has demanded that the law be repealed. 

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Sections of BSF, BGB personnel 'directly or indirectly' involved in cross border smuggling

By Kirity Roy*  The Border Security Force (BSF) of India and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) of Bangladesh met for 54th Director General level meeting at Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 5th to 9th March, 2024 to discuss on minimizing killings at border area, illegal intrusion, trafficking of drugs and other narcotics, smuggling of arms and ammunitions and other crimes at bordering areas. Further, the summit had an agenda to discuss on overall development in 150 yards area at both sides of the border and design an activity plan for the same.