India unveils the world’s tallest statue

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NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will toady unveiled the 'Statue of Unity' in Gujarat's Narmada district on the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Located in Sadhu-Bet Island, Gujarat, the statue occupies over 20,000 square meters and is surrounded by a 12 square km artificial lake. The 182-metre structure of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is touted as the world's tallest. It is twice the height of the Statue of Liberty in the US. The total project cost is estimated to be Rs. 2,989 crore. The statue depicts Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, India's first Home Minister, wearing a traditional dhoti and shawl, towering over river Narmada.









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Vallabhbhai Patel (31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950), popularly known as Sardar Patel, was an Indian politician who served as the first Deputy Prime Minister of India. He was an Indian barrister and statesman, a senior leader of the Indian National Congress and a founding father of the Republic of India who played a leading role in the country's struggle for independence and guided its integration into a united, independent nation.[1] In India and elsewhere, he was often called Sardar, Chief in Hindi, Urdu, and Persian. He acted as de facto Commander-in-chief of the Indian army during the political integration of India and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947.

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As the first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of India, Patel organised relief efforts for refugees fleeing from Punjab and Delhi and worked to restore peace. He led the task of forging a united India, successfully integrating into the newly independent nation those British colonial provinces that had been "allocated" to India. Besides those provinces that had been under direct British rule, approximately 565 self-governing princely states had been released from British suzerainty by the Indian Independence Act of 1947. Threatening military force, Patel persuaded almost every princely state to accede to India. His commitment to national integration in the newly independent country was total and uncompromising, earning him the sobriquet "Iron Man of India".[3] He is also remembered as the "patron saint of India's civil servants" for having established the modern all-India services system. He is also called the "Unifier of India".[4] On 31 October 2018, Patel was honoured by the dedication of a 182 metre statue of him, called the ‘Statue of Unity’. The world’s tallest statue, it was dedicated on the 143rd anniversary of his birthday, at Kevadiya in Narmada District of Gujarat.[5]