Every time i crisscross India gate, a sense of national pride,patriotism, inspiration, self confidence and self respect seeps in. India gate isn't just a monument for commoners like me, but an inspiration, a place to inculcate selfpride among impressionable minds. Marvelous monuments like these, encompasses the otherwise prevailing divisions in our society and unite us as one, bypassing every fissure. Monuments cultivates pride of our past, stimulates our collective national conscious while making us aware of our glorious past struggles.
Indians aren't immune to wasteful spending, monuments dedicated to political parties,sheepishly trying to seduce people into believing the hallownesss of individuals with mediocre achievements. Our villages ,towns, cities,airports and numerous places are renamed, monuments erected, for creating personality cults. From north to southern edge, our country is riddled with statues, monuments etc. with implicit political vendetta. People as usual maintain their silence, become mute spectators fearing persecution. Being branded anti establishment & silencing opponents is normal in political diaspora. So, the end result being countless irrelevant eyesore landscapes devoid of any reconnect with masses.
The desire of politicians to further their clout, leads to obnoxious indulgence at taxpayers money is notoriously known and is deplorable. This is a worrying trend with no remedy in sight , but recent agitation by vested interests to belittle and oppose construction of the Statue of Shivaji raises doubts about the veracity of concerns outlined by certain quarters. There's no merit in clubbing, monument of esteemed iconic cult figure "Shivaji", whose historic role in transforming our country's past is irrevocable with petty politicians.
Shivaji's legacy isn't confined to any political party or region but is an emotive issue for millions of nationalists across India. Being an outsider with negligible influence in present political dispensation could be the only reason why such project wasn't envisaged earlier. Shivaji's mammoth contribution in reshaping Indian history can be gauged from the fact, that he established a modern and powerful Hindu kingdom in south-western India from 1642-1680 in present day Maharashtra but is reverend in Tamilnadu, Karnataka to Bundela land alike. Starting from scratch, the Maratha emperor Shivaji is credited for forming first modern Indian state where jobs weren't connected to caste or religion.
Shivaji's accomplishments are rarely acknowledged or appreciated by leftist intellectuals, or politicians who fear offending a section of public, thus his administrative brilliance or his nation building efforts were unnoticed till now. The monument in the eye of storm, is the proposed 192 m statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji, the highest in the world, in the Arabian Sea off Mumbai coast. It is touted to be the biggest tourist attraction for national and international visitors.
Wastage of money, unemployment, lackluster infrastructure are some of the other arguments raised to defunct this project. It is difficult to analyze how a project of national heritage, that binds and honors aspiration of masses to our glorious past can be seen through the prism of economic viability. But, incumbent government is wiser and well advised ,so, this project has been designed such that jobs creation and environment concerns will outmatch the projected construction cost in due time. Meanwhile it is advisable that these concerned intellectuals and gullible people who were pained by expenditure on monument should pressurize govt in withdrawing security of traitors of Hurriyat, close money guzzling unproductive institutions like FTII etc, saving hard earned taxpayers money. These are some of the measures that can save the draining public wealth.
Shivaji is a glaring example of glorious struggle by a military genius against the tyrants, invaders at that time. For long, left leaning intellectuals who dominated our academic landscapes have poisoned the young minds with viscous, fictitious propaganda brushing off stupendous contribution by gigantic personality like Shivaji. Common taxpayer as we all are, my annoyance about wasteful expenditures undertaken by various government bodies isn't different, but bracketing the expenditure on Shivaji monument with numerous govt black hole projects is unworthy of attention.
Shivaji is a symbol of freedom,pride, justice and courage in the face of adversity. Erecting a statue is an befitting recognition to the achievements of the warrior king, whose contributions are sketched in the hearts and minds of masses across India. Shivaji was a heroic leader,an epitome of nationalism, justice and exemplary achiever and this monument is an apt recognition of his greatness, swelling our heart with pride.
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