Prime Minister Narendra Modi today unveiled the holographic statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at the India Gate marking the 125th Birth Anniversary of the Illustrious freedom fighter today. The Iconic canopy at the India Gate which once hosted a statue of King George V until 1968, will be hosting the one-of-a-kind holographic statue of Netaji projected by a 4K projector. The hologram will later be replaced by a 28-ft-high permanent jade black statue of Subhas Chandra Bose made in Granite.
The decision to install the Netaji’s statue was announced by PM Modi on Twitter, saying it is a ‘gesture of India’s indebtedness to him’. Earlier in the morning, the Prime Minister paid tributes to the leader in the Central Hall of the Parliament. The event in the evening was graced by the Prime Minister, HM Amit Shah, MoHUA Minister Hardeep Singh Puri among other cabinet ministers, veterans and officials from the armed forces.
The PM in his speech while referring to Netaji as ‘the brave son of mother India’ emphasised that it was Netaji has instilled in us the belief for free India. He added that Netaji, once in front of the British had said, “Mein Svatantra ki Bheekh nahi loonga, mein isse hasil karunga” (I’ll not accept freedom as a beggar, rather I’ll achieve it). Talking about the occasion, the PM said ‘The moment is historic and so is this place which very close to the Parliament and also close to the National War Memorial.” PM Modi said the statue is a fitting tribute to Netaji, who established the first Independent government on the soil of India. Soon this hologram statue will be replaced by a granite statue and it will remind us of our National duties and will continue to inspire generations galore.”
Emphasizing the Importance of Disaster Management, The Prime Minister distributed the ‘Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar’ for four consecutive years (2019 to 2022) to people who have made excellent contributions by participating in managing disasters like floods, droughts and cyclones which hit the country over the years. Talking about the erstwhile condition of disaster management in the country, Modi lamented, “Many wouldn’t know that earlier Agriculture department used to look after disaster management. Things started changing after Gujarat’s 2001 earthquake. Gujarat became the first state to pass the Disaster Management Act. Soon after in 2005, the Govt. of India constituted the NDRF in 2005.”
On the occasion of Parakram Diwas, which marks the birth anniversary of Netaji Bose, the PM recalled the tragedies of cyclones in eastern and western coastal states, earthquakes and floods which stormed the country during the Pandemic. He lauded the efforts of the NDRF and the SDRFs who saved the people stuck in dangerous situations while putting their own lives at stake. “Today is the day to salute their efforts” he added.
Talking about the steps taken to empower the NDRF, PM Narendra Modi added, “Along with Relief, Rescue and Rehabilitation we have moved towards Reform in the practices of disaster control. We are strengthening the NDRF and it is spreading its wings to many regions in the country. We have employed the use of space technologies, methods of planning and management while dealing with the arena in a holistic approach.” He further added, “I’ve been told that the NDMA’s ‘Aapda Mitra’ scheme is inviting a lot of positive response while people are willing to help when a disaster is struck.” He also added that people no longer want to be ‘victims’ but ‘volunteers’ in the disaster management process.
The PM concluded his speech saying, “I am confident that with our Parakram (valour) & Jan Bhagidari (People’s participation), we will be able to build India of Netaji’s dreams”.
The installation of Netaji’s statue marks yet another change to Central Vista avenue, which has been redeveloped under the Central Vista project. The canopy where the statue is installed is located at the centre of the India Gate Hexagon complex, with the National War memorial located to the east of it and the India Gate to the west. After a wait for decades, the war memorial was finally constructed by the Modi government and it was inaugurated in 2019.
According to govt sources, work on the permanent stone statue will start in the next few weeks and it could take at least five to six months to complete the same. The statue made of black granite from Telangana is expected to be installed by August this year. Talking about the statue, a govt official had said, “This will be a realistic sculpture made of a single-piece granite stone. The stone has been selected considering the strong character of Netaji.” The official added that the culture ministry had started the project two months ago and the groundwork has been completed.
