Statue of Unity: Patel was a unifier. Today, more than ever, we should honour his legacy
A full 143 years after Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was born, India inched closer to giving him his due — a 182 metres tall statue, both as a mark of respect and remembrance, and as a token of gratitude for his contribution to shaping India, spread over 3,287,263 sq km, as a single unified nation-state, with an open acceptance of ideas and ideologies, cultures and religions, sects and genders.
A man who single-handedly unified 562 princely states has been honoured with a statue — the world’s tallest — aptly named the ‘Statue of Unity’.
With 29 different states, six union territories and one national capital territory, India today seems to have come together as a natural conglomeration of territories after the British left. This seamless assimilation of varied identities, forming the world’s most heterogeneous mix of people, owes its existence to Patel, who came be called the 'Iron Man of India' for the steadfastness of his spirit and resoluteness of resolve.
Patel was more than just India’s first Deputy Prime Minister. He was its chief architect.
The Statue of Unity is a small tribute to what Patel did for India. His extensive work for the rights of minorities and women, and against untouchability and caste discrimination, also proved he just didn’t want to expand India territorially but create within that territory a space for all who chose to join in.
He was without doubt a unifier. The Statute of Unity will serve to remind us all of what Patel envisaged and how far have we achieved it.
The statue has been criticised for various reasons ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the project five years ago on October 31, 2013, when he was chief minister of Gujarat.
The western media has said that the 600-foot statue reflects PM Modi’s ‘political ego’. But the detractors must realise the fine line between 'ego' and pride. The statue which dwarfs the Statue of Liberty by four times and stands 177 feet higher than China's Spring Temple Buddha is by all means India’s pride.
Honouring national leaders is not a matter of ego, it is a duty that incumbent governments are obliged to perform.
There are many who are seeing the statue as a clever ploy by the BJP government to claim Patel’s legacy — but national leaders do not belong to one party or person. They belong to the country they worked for.
We would be doing a great disservice to Patel by creating an impression that his legacy can be appropriated by one party.
But if the BJP or any other party can inculcate Patel’s ideologies into their belief systems and functioning, we will have reason to celebrate, not complain.
When people from India and across the world visit the statue, they would want to know more about Patel, not which government or leader built it.
There are many who believe that the money spent on building the statue could have been spent on hospitals, schools and museums. Yes, a country needs infrastructure, but it also needs iconic places and markers. The Statue of Liberty attracts tourists, as do many statues and monuments built across the globe. When human beings built them, they also built hospitals and schools alongside. One doesn’t have to happen at the cost of the other. Nor one before the other. If the intent is right, it can all happen together.
National leaders need to be remembered because they remind us of what nations were meant to be.
Patel reminds us of the strength of unity, and the importance of togetherness. In these times, when social media has not just lifted the veil off our concealed hatreds and divisions, but also fuelled it, we need Patel more than ever.
India was meant to be together. Patel wanted it to be together. We must all work towards that. When we start to forget and lose track, let the Statue of Unity remind us that despite our contradictions, which divide us so deeply that we bicker even over how to honour our leaders, we must stay united.