Recognition of the greatness of Patel, immortalized in a gigantic statue

India opened Wednesday in Gujarat, the highest statue in the world, the original state of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, subject to heavy security measures for fear of demonstrations local tribal communities.

Narebdra Nidu inaugurated in person this bronze, concrete and steel statue of 182 meters high depicting Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Prime Minister of the Interior of India and one of the figures of the independence of the country, that the party rule wants to become a model.

The work, which is twice as high as the Statue of Liberty in New York, with the pedestal included, shows Sardar Vallabhbhai (1875-1950) wearing a traditional dhoti and d & # 39; a shawl on his shoulders.

"Today is a memorable day in the history of India," Narendra Modi said in his speech. Several helicopters threw flowers on the "Statue of Unity", built on the banks of a river in the remote western region of Gujarat.

The statue cost 29,900 crores, or about 404 million dollars (358 million euros). The tribal communities of the region opposed its construction, criticizing its high price and its impact on the environment.

Before the threat of demonstrations at the inauguration, the authorities had deployed a large police force uniting more than 5,000 police officers within a radius of 10 km around the statue.

Giant Statues

Part of the sculpture, about 100,000 tons, was made in China and four years of work and the intervention of more than 3,000 workers were needed to mount it.

The Hindu nationalist government also plans to inaugurate in 2021 another huge statue in Bombay Bay, in honor of Hindu warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji.

The size of these statues and the choice of characters that it represents, two The historical figures celebrated by the Hindu nationalists, are not a coincidence, the months of parliamentary elections next year.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a training run by India since 2014, considers that history has unfairly forgotten Patel, focusing on Jawaharlal Nehru, the country's first prime minister and key figure of the Congress Party, which is currently in opposition.

"Patel was used to erase Nehru's legacy.The BJP wants to change the way in which history is perceived and show that the right was so important in India's struggle for freedom "against the British colon", recently said Sudha Pai, of the Indian Council of Social Science Research, [19659002] Modi states that the statue of Patel, "the Iron Man" who negotiated the 39, a union of princely states with the young independent nation, will attract "hordes" of tourists despite their location.The nearest town is 100 kilometers from the chosen place and there is no train or hotel in this remote rural area.

The highest statue in the world was, up to now, the Buddha of the Spring Temple, in the center of China, measuring 128 meters without pedestal, according to the Guinness Book of Records, against 157 in unsupported Indian sculpture