NEW DELHI: The 28-feet granite statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose to be installed at the canopy at India Gate is complete and awaiting a go-ahead from the Centre for its placement at the designated site. The sculpture was readied for installation and unveiling on August 15, when an event was reportedly planned to be organised for the purpose. The event, however, was postponed.
“A culture ministry committee comprising eminent artists, a university professor, and director general of National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) Adwaita Gadanayak set up to monitor and keep track of carving reviewed the status and approved it before August 15. However, the installation and unveiling ceremony has been put off,” sources said. Mysuru-based sculptor Arun Yogiraj (39), known for his iconic 12-feet statue of Adi Shankaracharya which was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Kedarnath, was entrusted with the responsibility of carving the status of the legendary freedom fighter Bose.
The black jade granite stone for the carving was ferried from Telangana to Delhi. According to the sources, more than 40 artisans, who were brought from different states, worked for about two and half months under the guidance of Yogiraj on the project at a shed on NGMC campus, where photography was prohibited. The nine-member panel of the ministry reviewed the progress regularly, particularly at crucial stages. The weight of the raw material (stone) was about 300 tonnes and final statue weighs about 80 tonnes. The sculpting began in June.
When The New Indian Express (TNIE) contacted Gadanayak for the comment, he refused to speak on the reasons for the delay in installation and unveiling. Culture secretary Govind Mohan didn’t respond to text messages. Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the announcement in January regarding the installation of a grand statue of Bose at the India Gate canopy, where a marble statue of King George V was placed in the 1930s to honour him for building during his reign the new capital of British administration ‘New Delhi’. After India’s independence, socialist leaders protested across the country against British symbols and demanded their removal. The government relocated the statue of King George V to Coronation Park in 1968 when protestors defaced its nose.