Shivaji statue is a sad excuse to divide India

We are a country of Muslims, Christians, Parsis, Hindus, Dalits, Brahmins, Kayasthas, Banias and several other communities. To be able to accept each other's differences and co-exist peacefully is an evolved sentiment that goes beyond a Hindu eating biryani at his friend's place on Id or people celebrating Christmas with a plastic tree.

Yet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's chosen cultural icons somehow always seem to be Hindu. Work is underway in Gujarat, and Maharashtra is next in line. Perhaps, we will have great historical Hindu icons in various states so we can be spotted from the sky like a chessboard with each state gearing up to checkmate the other.

Modiji has come out with flying colours and never missed a chance at showmanship whether it was demonetisation done at the lift of a finger or the lightning speed at which (19 days, one reads in media reports) he got the Shivaji statue decision cleared. The economy, the environment, the livelihood of the people comes later.

The victory of his image and agenda to conquer regional politics is now a habit. And victory must be swift and noticeable. The slow, long route of doing the right things is much too boring. Experts, if they had an opinion, had best keep it to themselves. Democracy, at least in its true spirit, which allows for differences and dissent is slowly fading away.

Monuments have been built before and leave a legacy of a nation's culture and history. In the past too people have protested the building of monuments. The most well known example is that of the Eiffel Tower. The debate around the Eiffel tower raged on for decades because the people of France and great French thinkers considered it ungainly and obstructive to the view of Paris.

But Gustave Eiffel himself along with Edouard Lockroy took the time to assuage these concerns and clarify that the final construction would look different from what it was on paper and that it would not obstruct the view of other monuments. Above all, the Eiffel Tower (Paris), The Statue of Liberty (New York) or Christ the Redeemer (Rio de Janeiro) were unifying forces. The Statue of Liberty commemorated American independence and welcomed immigrants. The Eiffel Tower was built on the centenary of the French revolution.

Vercingetorix was a great King who unified the Gauls against the Romans and led the war against Caesar, but his memorials are not what France is known for. And yes, you see his memorials and statues in multiple sites because he symbolises valour and fearlessness, but it is not hundreds of metres tall and in the middle of the sea. More importantly, his memorials are art forms and sculptures, not an exercise in grandiosity costing millions of dollars.

The Shivaji statue is not how history or culture is celebrated and showcased. That is how regionalism and nationalistic fanaticism is fanned. Certainly the greatness of Shivaji cannot be questioned as much as that of Vercingetorix cannot be. Both were great warriors, the latter even laid down his life.

Shivaji was accepting of all religions and secular in his approach, but let us not forget that Hindus were the majority under his rule. Another great ruler who was also secular was Akbar and his task was a tough one given that Muslims were a minority and Hindus the majority. Would we ever think of building a memorial for Akbar?

The Mughal culture, art and contributions are much more deeply intertwined in our lives today whether we like to accept it or not. In truth, Shivaji was a practical warrior and administrator who built forts to safeguard land. He did not focus as much on art and architecture as the Mughals did.

It's quite likely, he wouldn't even want this gaudy display of wealth when millions are homeless and going hungry and the environment is under grievous threat. On the other hand, Modiji talks about taking back all the black money and redistributing it to the poor.

If only we could imbibe the true spirit of our great rulers rather than use their greatness to win vote banks. If only the people looked beyond their own fanaticism.