Grand statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose to be installed at India Gate

A hologram of Bose would be unveiled on January 23 and remain in place till the statue is completed

A couple of days before the Modi government is set to start the Republic Day celebrations for the year with Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s 125th birth anniversary, PM Narendra Modi said that a granite statue of the freedom fighter will be installed at the India Gate.

Taking to Twitter, PM Modi said that the statue will be a symbol of India’s indebtedness.

“At a time when the entire nation is marking the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, I am glad to share that his grand statue, made of granite, will be installed at India Gate. This would be a symbol of India’s indebtedness to him,” PM Modi tweeted.

“Till the grand statue of Netaji Bose is completed, a hologram statue of his would be present at the same place. I will unveil the hologram statue on 23rd January, Netaji’s birth anniversary,” read a consecutive tweet.

The 28 feet by 6 feet statue will be placed in the Canopy which earlier had a statue of King George V. The Canopy, built in 1958 had a gilder Tudor crown bearing the Royal Cyphers of King Geaorge V. A decade later, in 1968, the state was removed and now stands at the Capital’s Coronation Park.

The Canopy, which lies 300 metres from the Amar Jawan Jyoti, can be viewed in a straight line from the North and South Block, an area that extends over 2 kilometres. A government official said that the move should be viewed as India “reclaiming its history”.

The statue is part of the Modi government's efforts to celebrate Netaji as a freedom fighter "who did not get his due under the consecutive Congress governments led by the Gandhis".

On Friday, the Press India Bureau’s Jaipur division also held a webinar, Parakram Diwas, where Bose's daughter, economist Dr Anita Pfaff joined in from Germany. His grandniece Renuka Malaker was present as well.

Dr Pfaff told PTI that she was happy about the decision and glad that the statue found such a prominent location, but she was surprised at the timing. “What surprises me is that it came all of a sudden now. One might have prepared a bit earlier, but better late than never, I must say. I hope that the controversy about the tableau can also be put to rest in a satisfactory manner,” she told PTI.

Dr Anita also said though her father Netaji was a devout Hindu, he had respect for all the religions. “My father dreamt of an India where all religions coexist peacefully,” she said.

Netaji’s grandnephew and Trinamool Congress and former Parliamentarian Saugata Ray said that the move was to stop the controversy of not selecting the tableau of West Bengal for the Republic Day parade. The tableau had Bengal icons including Netaji, and Rabindranath Tagore, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo. While the Centre rejected the proposal by West Bengal, it selected one by the Central Public Works Department under the housing and urban development ministry which will have a tableau on Bose.

“We welcome the decision to have his statue, there was no harm in having the West Bengal government’s tableau at the Parade as well. We were also celebrating the legacy of Netaji. This is narrow-minded politics,” Ray said.

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