Full page ads across newspapers as Modi inaugurates the Statue of Unity today

The government of India took out full-page ads across all the major newspapers today to celebrate the inauguration of its pet project, the 182-metre Statue of Unity of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Papers like The Indian Express, The Times of India and Hindustan Times carried the advertisements across all their editions along with a second ad for the statue placed by the project’s executor, Larsen & Toubro. There was also op-eds written by none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi across major national and regional newspapers.

Regional language newspapers weren’t left behind either, as the government published advertisements in the respective languages as well.

The project is already estimated to have cost the government nearly Rs 3,000 crore, even as local farmers and tribals plan to observe a “black day” protesting the cost of the statue and the land acquired for it. Local tribal leaders also announced a boycott protesting the destruction of natural resources for the memorial.

It’s also a project that’s received mixed reviews. The Washington Post said the statue “says as much about India’s global aspirations as it does about the political ego of its leader”. Business Insider Australia stressed the “environmental and minority protections that have been sacrificed”, saying the structure itself is not a model of sustainable design.

The statue will be unveiled five years to the day since the foundation stone was laid by then chief minister Narendra Modi. In an opinion piece in The Indian Express today, Modi wrote, “The ‘Statue of Unity’ is a symbol of both the unity of hearts and the geographical integrity of our motherland. It is a reminder that divided, we may not be even able to face ourselves. United, we can face the world and scale new heights of growth and glory.”

It’s being heralded as the “world’s tallest” when stood next to the Spring Temple Buddha in China (153 metres), the Ushiku Dabaitsu in Japan (120 metres), the Statue of Liberty in the US (93 metres), and Christ the Redeemer in Brazil (38 metres). This, however, may be surpassed by yet another colossal undertaking underway in India itself: the Chhatrapati Maharaj Shivaji memorial in Mumbai might be 30 metres taller than the Statue of Unity.