As Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the Statue of Unity, ie the tallest statue in the world, thousands of others wondered if the fuss and the monumental cost was actually worth it.
For instance, what else could a developing country like India have spent Rs 2,989 crore on? IndiaSpend actually looked into this and came up with a variety of answers. In a piece they calculated that the same amount could have funded “two new Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campuses, five Indian Institute of Management (IIM) campuses and six Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) missions to Mars.”
And that’s to say nothing of the people who were displaced from their villages for the statue’s construction. According to NDTV, the construction has affected 75,000 tribals across 72 villages in Gujarat’s Narmada district.
The statue’s official portal says, “The Statue [Of Unity] will not only remind every individual of our great nation’s freedom struggle but will also inspire the people of our country to inculcate Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s visionary ideologies of unity, patriotism, inclusive growth and good governance”.
While the website focuses on Patel, satirist and songwriter Poojan Sahil is more interested in Modi and his government’s reasons for pushing through such a project.
You can read Poojan Sahil’s blog here and follow him on Instagram @poojansahil