The statue of unity

 

Sardar patel & The statue of unity

 

 

 We were privileged to see the tallest statue in the world.

It is impressive, stands on a lofty platform and its vision encompasses the area around for several kilometers.

The holiday crowds and the short time at our disposal made our experience shortlived.

Online bookings deprived us of a chance to see the countryside and the Narmada dam from high on.

Yet it is a moment we cherish.

We found more statues of Sardar Patel than of the Father of the Nation or are we mistaken ?

Junagadh which is famous for its lion sanctuary has had a chequered history.

It was almost on the point of acceding to pakistan.

The Sardar’s contribution in mergence of states was highly commendable.

Contrast this with kashmir which remains a thorn in india’s flesh to this day.

Nehru’s trust in the united nations was misplaced.

The dithering by Hari singh , The kashmir king, cost him and us dear.

We are helpless to undo historical wrongs .

But Nehru’s remark that not a blade of grass grows there, meaning Siachin was born of shallow understanding.

Borders are meant to be safeguarded , in whatever condition and his faith in chinese friendship, counsel of wrong kind and his  fondness for krishna menon deepened the crisis.

India was meant to be a contiguous nation.

By distorting this truth thru partition the rulers then and the ones who succeeded them fared worse in the people’s eyes.

Was partition inevitable?

Yes, because the imperial power desired it so.

Or so I feel.!!

#statueofunity #sardarpatel #gujurat #Nehru

 

 

The Gujurat

 

What is special  about Gujarat?

Not just politics but everything else.

their enterprise is to be seen to be believed.

Their love for language and identity is without any parallel .

Just imagine even restaurant menus are in Guajarati.

Of course the majestic lion is more symbolic .

We did get a glimpse of its majesty and its gaiety.

It chooses its own pace and just does not tolerate any prodding .

Utter self-confidence , if such an expression may be used for the royal animal.

Baroda or vadodara as it is called now reminds one of Mysore and The wadiyars.

Somewhere something went wrong and the period of transition in the case of mysore saw the decline of the ruling family.

Though sri Jayachamaraja wadiyar was extremely friendly with both Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

There is no Ahmedabad without Sabarmati and there is the ashram which was the cradle of the independence movement or almost.

Gandhiji’s wish to return there as free man was perhaps not fulfilled.

But here was his launching pad for the salt Satyagraha.

Still later he spent some years at wardha and experimented with naturopathy and the like.

The work was entrusted to Vinobha Bhave when he moved over to Delhi.

His love for khadi may be traced to the textile centre that was Ahmedabad .

They do talk of Gujarat model of development but I feel they are right if one considers National Expressways and Expressways as the acme of development.

Dwarka retains its ancient character with modern touch.

Somnath , restored, oozes ancient values.

Everywhere we go we see the imprint of Swami Narayan.

The Guajarati’s were entrepreneurs of high order then as now and  the

Remittances have certainly helped the state’s growth.

There was not much evidence of Swatch Bharath in the state though my judgment may be hasty.

The chinese supremo had visited the city when Modiji was Chief Minister.

As destiny would have it, both of them might have been power centres but not the centre.

In recent days when they meet on the sidelines of International conferences or on other occasions they speak for the country.

As for the  border dispute , the question on everyone’s lips is …..

Who blinks first .

#gujurat #modi #swatchbharath #Nationak xpressway #sabhramathiashram #vallabhaipatel