Mumbai fishermen furious over plans for worlds tallest Shivaji statue
The equestrian statue of the god warrior will measure 190 meters; its construction will cost almost 510 million euro. It is expected to be completed in 2021. It will attract 10 thousand visitors a day. The fishing community complains that the money could be spent on improving health, education and infrastructure. Activist: "The fascist forces use the god's statue as a symbol of Hindutva".
Mumbai (AsiaNews) - The Mumbai fishermen are up in arms against the construction of the memorial in celebration of a Hindu warrior god that could cost them the loss of jobs and livelihoods.
The local Hindu nationalist government has decided to build the world's tallest statue of Shivaji, the Indian maharaja who led his people in a victorious war against a Mughal emperor in 1664. The statue of the divinity will stand over the coast, 190 meters high, riding a horse and holding a sword.
Reacting to the plans with AsiaNews Lenin Raghuvanshi, director of the Peoples' Vigilance Committee on Human Rights, disputes the construction: "We need to promote the ideas and values of historical figures. Building big statues is just tokenism”.
In recent weeks the city of Mumbai has been divided between those for and against: the first group argues that the statue could become one of the most famous tourist attractions in the world, as to exceed a height of 40 meters, the statue of the Buddha in Henan Zhongyuan China (so far the world’s tallest statue). The equestrian bronze tribute would be exactly twice the Statue of Liberty in New York.
The Koli, the fishing community living in Mumbai for hundreds of years, complain that the construction on the banks would destroy the marine ecosystem, a death sentence for their fishing activities. The particularly contest the huge expenditure of public money, 36 billion rupees (equivalent to almost 510 million euro), which might be better invested by strengthening health, education and infrastructure.
The fishermen, about 2 thousand people working on 350 boats and supplying a megalopolis of 20 million people, fear the negative consequences of the maritime traffic of tourists. The authorities have already announced that they estimate the arrival of 10 thousand visitors a day, when the project will be completed in 2021.
Critics complain that the statue only responds to hysteria of a politics that tries to excel at the state level by building memorials in honor of local historical figures. This is the case of Gujarat, where they are raising the statue of Vallabhbhai Patel, 182 meters high, dedicated to the famous statesman of the Congress Party for his efforts in the struggle for India's independence.
In addition, the city of Mumbai is already plastered with statues dedicated to the Hindu warrior prince, as well as a railway station and airport. According to the activist Raghuvanshi, "before starting any project, you need to obtain environmental impact assessments and about what concerns human rights and livelihoods."
He believes that the statue is only "the initiative of the fascist forces that do not promote the concept of Swaraj (self-rule and independence) of Shivaji, based on honor, hope, dignity and pluralism. They just want to paint it as a symbol of Hindutva. In contrast, the warrior god symbolizes inclusiveness, diversity of opinion and freedom.
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18/04/2016 14:36
