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| Patel's statue - ‘Statue of Unity’ on Sadhu Bet Island, Gujarat .en.wikipedia.org |
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| Statue of unity, - Saedar Patel, Gujarat irstpost.com |
Patel's statue is twice the height of the Statue of Liberty on the Liberty Island off New York. Surprisingly, 210000 cubic meters of concrete, 6500 tons of structural steel, 18500 tons of re enforcement steel, besides 1700 tons of bronze went into the construction of this statue. Yet another interesting feature of this statue is there is a viewing gallery at 134 meters high above the ground and it can accommodate 200 people at a time. This is not tried in any giant statues in India before. Two express elevators are in service to take the visitors to the top and base. The statue is built to withstand winds of up to 130 kilometres per hour (81 mph) and earthquakes measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale. This is aided by the use of two 250-tonne tuned mass dampers which ensure maximum stability. It was designed by a well-experienced Indian sculptor Ram V. Sutar.
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| ‘Statue of Unity’ on Sadhu Bet Island, Gujarat .en.wikipedia.org |
Armed with political acumen, integrity and good administrative skill, never had Patel failed to pay due attention to the poor and marginalized people. As he happened to be a man of action and, not of words, the farmers, traders and industrialists had deep trust in him. His political and military strategy along with his innate ability and sagacity to implement them were in full display during the integration of Hyderabad province comprising 80,000 sq. miles when the Nizam was was misled by certain anti-Indian Union activists. Patel launched what was called ''Operation polo'' to convince Nizam to join the Indian Union and not to fall prey to Pakistan's false promises and diabolism. In this case, a bit of coercion and military action was inevitable. As for the princely state of Travancore, the then Dewan Dr. Sir. C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar and the ruler initially hesitated to join the Indian Union and later came around and joined the Indian Union. Thus Patel placed a major role in the integration of this states and a couple of states in Gujarat.
Post-Independence period was a turbulant one and on purpose the British left India in the lurch. But for Patel's timely political action and foresight, the Dominion of India would not have become a reality and it was indeed a distinguished accomplishment in modern Indian history without causing any complex political or social problems leading to unrest, revolt and bloodshed. With respect to Kashmir Nehru and his cronies bungled it when they got the first distress call from the then Hindu Maharajah. The action came late from Nehru's side and Pakistan already intruded Kashmir and held part of Kashmir illegally. As of now the Kashmir problem still persists with no solution insight. If patel were in Nehru's position, Kashmir won't not have become a contentious issue. His two letters to Nehru pointed out threats from China in the frontier states and India's internal security.
Patel had political differences with Nehru and was at loggerheads with him on many political matters, but his ego and self-esteem never stood between them, as protecting the larger interest of the Congress party was more important to him than other issues. Being a man of large heart, to save the image of the party, he withdrew his candidacy for Congress President's post in favor of Nehru in 1946, thus proving his loyalty to Gandhiji. He never lived for himself nor did he live for his personal esteem or economic gain. He lived for his mother land, its Democratic process and growth.
Lord Mountbatten, the last Gov. Gen. of India remarked about Patel, ''By far the most important achievement of the present government is the unification of the states into the Dominion of India. Had you failed in this, the results would have been disastrous ...''
A strong and united India owes a debt of gratitude to this man of nerve and steel whose patriotic zeal and persuasive skill made the Princely states join the Indian Union.
This project won appreciation as well as criticism, especially from the media and other party leaders. It is alleged that people's hard-earned money is being wasted on projects like Statue of Unity though several villages of the area and other places are still devpoid of basic facilities like schools, hospitals and drinking water.
Tit-bits:
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| Patterson Clark/The Washington Post |
1. Statue of Unity 240 m (incl. 58 m base)
2. Spring Temple Buddha 153 m (incl. 25 m pedestal and 20 m throne)
3. Statue of Liberty 93 m (incl. 47 m pedestal)
4. The Motherland Calls 87 m (incl. 2 m pedestal)
5. Christ the Redeemer 38 m (incl. 8 m pedestal)
6. Statue of David 5.17 m (excl. 2.5m plinth)
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Iron-man-statue-is-outsourcing-magnet/articleshow/55136676.cms
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Unity
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/prime-minister-narendra-modi-unveils-statue-of-unity-in-honour-of-sardar-vallabhai-p
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