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Narendra Modi, India's Prime Minister, Unveiled the World's Tallest Statue on Wednesday as it flew overhead and released flower petals and colored balloons in the shape of the Indian flag. The 597-foot-tall bronze sculpture, called the Statue of Unity, dwarfs the previous title holder, the 420-foot Spring Temple Buddha in China, and is roughly twice as big as New York City's Statue of Liberty.
The country's first deputy prime minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (1875-1950), has been erected in his home state of Gujarat. Patel, who would have turned 143 yesterday, helped unite the modern state of India following Partition in 1947, earning him the nickname the "Iron Man of India."
"This is a question of India's power and might," said Modi during his remarks, calling the massive artwork "a symbol of India's integrity and resolve," and noting that "Patel converted India's diversity into its greatest strength. "
The piece cost 29.9 billion rupees ($ 430 million) and required some 2,000 workers to erect. The Gujarat government, and the rest of the federal government or donations. (Controversially, the bronze cladding for the work was produced in China as the government is promoting a "Made in India" campaign.)
The work of Indian sculptor Ram V. Sutar, the project has been in the works since 2010, when it was commissioned by Modi, then chief minister of his home state of Gujarat. The construction process is nearly complete, and requires 7,416,080 cubic feet of cement, 25,000 tons of steel, and 1,700 tons of bronze.
Sutar, who will turn 94 in February, claims to have created more than 200 monumental sculptures over the course of his 60-year career, beginning with the 45-foot-tall Chambal monument, carved from a single rock in Madhya Pradesh. To sculpt Patel, Sutar referenced over 2,000 photographs. According to the artist's website, building the world's tallest sculpture is his "long-cherished dream."
Ram V. Sutar working on the Statue of Unity. Photo courtesy of Ram V. Sutar.
Some 150 countries have been gifted copies of Sutar's 1969 bust of Mahatma Gandhi, created for the centenary celebrations of the leader's birth. The original is prominently housed at India's Parliament. The artist estimates he has made over 350 statues of Gandhi over the course of his career.
"Governments come and go but their love for statues remains," Sutar told the Times of India. "I can not even remember how many governments I have worked for the provision of the sculptures of their leaders. But I do remember the story behind each sculpture I have made and why they are unique in their own way. "
The hope is that the new statue will become a major tourist attraction, although it's home to the Narmada River near the Sardar Sarovar Dam-named for Patel-is quite remote. Getting to Sadhu Bet, Kevadia, is not accessible by plane. There may be no need to pay taxes or to transport tourists to the statue.
It will cost 350 rupees ($ 4.75) to take an elevator to the statue's gallery and museum, perched almost 500 feet above the ground. (The official website includes a bus ticket option offers you details of where it departs.) Officials are predicting 15,000 daily visitors, and the monument complex includes a 52-room hotel, shopping center, and designated selfie. Valley of Flowers.
Ram V. Sutar and his son, fellow sculptor Anil Ram Sutar, with the Statue of Unity. Photo courtesy of Ram V. Sutar via Facebook.
But not everyone is welcoming the monument. Some in the local community opposes the piece, with local newsletters reporting that the police officers are currently patrolling the area as protests have turned violent. Some farmers and tribal activists are calling for compensation for the rest of the country for the memorial and other civic projects; A number of protesters were reportedly detained this week.
"Instead of spending money on a giant statue, the government should have used it for farmers in the district," Vijendra Tadvi, a local farmer, told the BBC.
Despite the Statue of Unity's title, the artwork has been viewed by some as a calculated political move by Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party. The right-wing party, founded in 1951, was a member of the BJP's rival, the Indian National Congress party.
A rendering of the planned Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Memorial, which stands to become the tallest statue in the world at 695 feet. Image courtesy of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Memorial.
Controversies aside, it's worth noting that the Statue of Unity may be the world's largest. Just off the coast of Mumbai, in the Arabian Sea, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Memorial is slated to reach a height of 695 feet when it is completed in 2021. Chhatrapati Shivaji, a Hindu warrior king renowned for fighting Muslims who died in 1680, will be depicted on horseback.
That work, too, is politically fraught, with Mohan Guruswamy, president of Center For Policy Alternatives, a public policy organization, telling TIME that the statue serves as "a symbol of Hindu-Muslim conflict." The London Times also reports that there is concern that the construction, pegged at a cost of $ 500 million, could irreparably harm the local marine ecosystem.
See more photos of the Statue of Unity below.
Indian construction workers are seen at the plinth structure for the Statue of Unity, the world's tallest statue, dedicated to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's Indian Independence Leader. Photo by Sam Panthaky / AFP / Getty Images.
The Statue Of Unity, the world's tallest statue, dedicated to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's Indian Independence Leader. Photo by Sam Panthaky / AFP / Getty Images.
In this picture taken on August 25, 2018, Indian workers carry on construction works at the Statue Of Unity, a monument dedicated to Indian independence leader Vallabhbhai Patel. Photo by Sam Panthaky / AFP / Getty Images.
The Statue Of Unity, the world's tallest statue, dedicated to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's Indian Independence Leader. Photo by Sam Panthaky / AFP / Getty Images.
The Statue Of Unity, the world's tallest statue, dedicated to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's Indian Independence Leader. Photo by Sam Panthaky / AFP / Getty Images.
Indian Air Force helicopters shower rose petals on the Statue of Unity, the world's tallest statue, dedicated to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Photo by Sam Panthaky / AFP / Getty Images.
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