Hailing the unveiling of hologram statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has said Netaji's 'presence at India Gate is a long-awaited correction of history'.
"The presence of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose at India Gate is a long awaited correction of history. A leader who fought imperialism and compelled decolonisation is being fittingly recognised," Jaishankar tweeted Monday.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the grand hologram statue of the iconic leader of India's freedom struggle Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at the canopy of historic India Gate in Delhi Sunday evening.
The statute, a symbol of India's indebtedness to Netaji', was unveiled marking the 125th birth anniversary of the great freedom fighter and a leader of erstwhile Indian National Army (INA).
Meanwhile, Netaji's daughter Anita Bose Pfaff on Friday expressed happiness for honouring the great leader by setting up his statute at India Gate,according to media reports.
"It is magnificent and very well thought of because on that canopy there was a statute of King George V till 1960...What I feel is that what PM Modi has done is an absolutely brilliant move for the memory of Netaji, the family is very happy," Netaji's nephew Ardhendu Bose told ANI recently. However, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that the Centre was installing Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's statute at India Gate due to pressure from her government.
She criticized Centre for not releasing all the classified documents on Netaji as promised despite the West Bengal government submitted all thedocuments.
It (statue) was installed at the India Gate canopy, which once housed the statue of King George V, the imperial icon of the country that Netaji fought all his life.
The hologram statue will be in place till a granite statue, earmarked for installation at the same place is completed.
After unveiling the hologram statue Modi also conferred the "Subhas Chandra Bose Zapda Prabandhan Puraskar" for the years 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
With the unveiling of Netaji's statue, India has begun celebrations of its Republic Day from January 23 instead of January 24, to include the birth anniversary of illustrious freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. The celebrations will end on January 30, the day when Father of Indian Nation Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated.
Born on January 23, 1897, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose played a crucial role in India's freedom movement. He defied colonial rule and resisted the British as the leader of the Azad Hind Fauj, the army that faced the maximum attrition from the imperialists but never surrendered. The original statue, the digital version of which was unveiled at the India Gate, was sculpted by Awaita Gadanayak, the director-general of the National Gallery of Modern Art.
