Indonesia is a South-east Asian country which feels proud of its cultural legacy and openly celebrates it. Culturally, in terms of historical heritage, Indonesia and India are quite similar. The only difference is that Indonesia flaunts its culture and Indians follow a fraudulent narrative of secularism. Indonesia, on its independence day, is going to inaugurate the world’s third biggest statue- Garuda Wisnu Kencana [GWK]. After many ups and downs, the massive project is ready for its inauguration. “This is our gift to our nation as we celebrate the 73rd anniversary of our Independence Day this month. May this gift remind us all of one of the great pillars of this nation: our cultural legacy and diversity,” said Nyoman Nuarta, a renowned sculptor who designed the statue. It took 28 years of hard work, dedication and patience to complete the project. According to Jakarta Post, “In the late 1990s, the project was brought to a sudden halt by the combining force of the global economic crisis, the fall of Soeharto, internal turf wars between the companies that co-owned the site and lack of committed investors.” The hiatus came to an end in 2013 and the progress of the project commenced again.
The inauguration ceremony of the statue is on Saturday. Some of the island’s well known singers and artist will perform during the ceremony.
The Garuda Wisnu statute is made of copper and brass sheeting with stainless steel framework and skeleton. The outer sheeting is 22,000 square meters in size. The Garuda Wisnu statue is 75m tall with a wingspan of 65 meters. According Jakarta Post report, “the statue stands on a lofty pedestal that will bring the total height of the monument to 121 m, some 30 m taller than the Statue of Liberty in the United States.” The Garuda Wisnu statue weighs 3,000 tons and its volume will be 11 times greater than that of the statue of liberty.
The Garuda is known for its epic struggle to liberate its enslaved mother. His struggle earned him Amrta, the Elixir of Life.
Back home in India, even the construction of statue of Shivaji is criticized by the so-called intellectuals and opposition parties. On the other hand, there are so many statues and memorials dedicated to people belonging to Nehru-Gandhi family. Leaders like Mayawati went to create parks spending thousands of crore rupees just for self-glorification. Seculars like Akhilesh had spent crores of rupees on the construction of Haj Houses and organizing Saifai festival to entertain rowdy politicians. But only thing which ails liberals is the statue of Shivaji because he doesn’t fit into their secular framework. Shivaji was a great leader who fought for his motherland unlike the leftist-liberals who betray their nation, on a regular basis. He inspired millions and his statue will inspire millions of other people to do something great for the country.
We have lost our Indic narrative somewhere. Instead of being proud of what we are, successors of one of the greatest civilizations this world has ever seen, we are constantly reminded to be embarrassed about our heritage lest the ‘secular fabric’ of the nation becomes endangered. India should take a leaf from Indonesia’s book and it’s time learn from those who learned from us many years ago. In order to get rid of the hatred for its own culture and heroes, India needs to do away with fraudulent narrative of secularism.