I will say Sardar Patel, after that you all will say: 'Amar Rahe, Amar Rahe'..

 

'Sardar Patel. Amar Rahe, Amar Rahe'

'Sardar Patel. Amar Rahe, Amar Rahe'

'Sardar Patel. Amar Rahe, Amar Rahe'

 

I would like to raise another slogan that will resonate from this land to the entire country every moment. I will say 'Desh ki Ekta’ (Country’s Unity) and you will say 'Zindabad! Zindabad!'

 

'Desh ki ekta! Zindabad! Zindabad!'

 

'Desh ki ekta! Zindabad! Zindabad!'

 

'Desh ki ekta! Zindabad! Zindabad!'

 

'Desh ki ekta! Zindabad! Zindabad!'

 

On stage, the Governor of Gujarat Shri Om Prakash Kohli ji, the popular Chief Minister of the state Shri Vijay Rupani ji, Governor of Karnataka Vajubhai Vala ji, Governor of Madhya Pradesh Smt. Anandiben Patel, my colleague in Parliament and Member of Rajya Sabha Shri Amit Bhai Shah, Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat Shri Nitin Bhai, Speaker of the Assembly Rajendra ji, dignitaries who have come here from around the world and across the country and my dear brothers and sisters.

On this historic occasion, on the banks of the holy river Narmada and close to Vindhyas and Satpura, I greet you all, my countrymen, Indians around the world and everyone who loves India.

Today the entire nation is celebrating National Unity Day in the memory of Sardar Valabh Bhai Patel. On this occasion, our youngsters are running marathon in every corner of the country for India's unity and integrity. I also greet the participants of 'Run for Unity'. Our culture has been flourishing just because of your devotion towards the country for thousands of years. Friends, in the history of every country, there are times when they make us feel complete. The day gets recorded in the history of the nation forever and is difficult to erase it. Similarly, this day too marks a significant occasion in the history of India. Even so many years after independence we failed to show proper respect to a towering personality who had dedicated his life to get India her identity and due respect.  

Today India's present moment has revived a golden personality. As Sardar Saheb is getting coroneted from the land to the skies today, India has not only written a new history but has also constructed an edifice of inspiration for the future. I am fortunate that I am getting this opportunity to dedicate this huge statue of Sardar Saheb to the country. When I had envisaged this concept as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, I had never thought that someday the fortune of inaugurating it as the Prime Minister will be upon me. I am thankful for the blessings of Sardar Saheb and the crores of people of India. I am extremely grateful to the people of Gujarat for the congratulatory letter. It is rather a letter of honour for me. When a mother puts her hand on her child, the son’s strength and energy increases manifold; similarly, this letter of honour is giving me a feeling of mother’s blessing. I have also received a piece of iron that was collected during the Loha Abhiyan. I have also received the flag that was wavered during the launch of the Abhiyan in Ahmedabad. I am really grateful to you all and to the people of Gujarat. And I will leave the things here so that you can place these in the Museum and the country knows about it.

I am reminded of the olden days and I feel like speaking my heart out today. I am reminded of those days when the villages and farmers across the country were asked to give the soil and the collection of old agricultural iron tools or equipment was going on. A mass movement developed when lakhs of farmer families of these villages came forward to make their contributions in the building of this statue. A robust base was constructed with crores of metric tonnes of iron taken out of the tools provided by them.

Friends,

I also remember that when this idea was placed, there were doubts and apprehensions and I wish to reveal something today. When this idea came up in my mind, I was looking for a massive hillock from where Sardar Saheb's statue could be carved out. After a lot of assessment, it came out that it was not possible to get such a massive rock or even if such a rock was available, the carved-out statue wouldn't have been strong enough. So I had to change my mind and whatever you are witnessing today was born out of that. I always kept thinking about it, took advice and suggestions from the people and today I am glad that all the people associated with this important project have upheld the faith and capability of this country.

Brothers and sisters,

This is the tallest statue of the world. It will keep reminding our future generations of that personality's courage, abilities and resolutions; about the one who thwarted the conspiracy of disintegrating Mother India into pieces; about the great personality who ended such desires forever, something that the world was expecting about the future of India. I salute such a Man of Steel Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel.

Friends,

Sardar Saheb's abilities were put to work at a time when mother India was divided into more than 550 princely states. There was pessimism regarding India's future around the world. Pessimistic people existed even at that time. The pessimists felt that India would disintegrate due to its diversity. However, even in that period of pessimism, people could see a ray of hope and that ray of hope was Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel. Sardar Patel was a blend of Kautilya's diplomacy and Shivaji Maharaj's bravery. He had said on 5th July, 1947 addressing the princely states - 'our internal conflicts and enmity were the main reasons for our defeat against the foreign invaders. Now we must not repeat the same mistakes or to be someone's slave again.'

I believe that Sardar Saheb's words are still valid today.

On hearing Sardar Saheb's words and understanding the power of unity, the princely states merged their states. Soon India became one. On the call of Sardar Saheb, several princely states had made sacrifices. We must not as well forget the sacrifices made by the princely states. And it is my dream to create a virtual museum linked to this place for remembering the steps taken by more than 550 princely states towards integration of the nation. Nowadays, if a democratically elected leader, even a Tehsildar is asked to step down one year before his tenure gets over, it will create havoc! But those kings had handed over the possessions belonging to their forefathers to the country. We can never forget this and we must always remember that.

Friends,

The thing that was considered as a weakness of India by the world, Sardar Patel converted that weakness into strength and showed the way to the nation. Walking on the same path, the world that was once apprehensive about India is being subjected to India’s own terms and conditions today. India is moving towards emerging as world's largest economic and strategic power. This was possible only because of the contribution of the extraordinary personality i.e. Sardar Saheb who was born in an ordinary farmer family. He had played a major role. Despite the pressure and difference of opinions, Sardar Saheb had showed how governance could be established in the administration. Today we can freely travel from Kutch to Kohima and from Kashmir to Kanyakumari; this was made possible only by Sardar Saheb and his resolution. Just imagine for a moment, if Sardar Saheb had not done that work or had not taken those resolutions, then in order to see the Lions of Gir or the Charminar of Hyderabad or for Somnath Puja the devotees of Shiva and the other people would have to get a Visa. Had Sardar Saheb's resolution not been there, one could not even imagine a direct train from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and one would have to face many obstacles in setting up an administrative framework like Civil Services.

Brothers and sisters,

On 21 April 1947, while addressing the probationers of All India Administrative Services, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel had said something really important. Even the current IAS, IPS and IFS and everyone else must remember it. He had said - the hitherto Indian Civil Services didn't have any trace of 'Indian' or of 'civil' and not even of 'service'. He had appealed to the youth to change that situation. He had asked the youth that they ought to increase the pride of Indian Administrative Service with transparency and honesty. They need to establish it for rebuilding India. It was for Sardar's inspiration that India's Administrative Service was compared to steel frame.

Brothers and sisters,

Sardar Patel was made the Home Minister at the most difficult time for the country. He was responsible for rebuilding the country's systems and was also entrusted with the responsibility of taking care of the country's law and order system. He had pulled the country out of that difficult situation and also created a base for our modern police force.

Friends,

Sardar Saheb was dedicated every moment to connect the masses of the country with democracy. Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel had also played a major role in getting women their rights in making active contribution to Indian politics. Sardar Saheb had raised his voice against the system wherein mothers and sisters could not even participate in elections of Panchayats or of civic institutions in cities. This discrimination was removed several decades prior to independence on his initiative. It was because of Sardar Saheb that today the fundamental rights are an integral part of our democracy.

Friends,

This statue is an auspicious manifestation of Sardar Patel's love, talent, foresight and spirituality. This statue is not only a token of respect for his strength and dedication, but is also an expression of New India's new self-confidence. This statue is also a reminder to those who questioned the existence of India that India had always been eternal; India is eternal and India will always be eternal.

It is a symbol of self-respect for all those farmers who donated the soil of their fields and also the iron from their tool and equipment, from which the foundation of this statue was built and the soul of this statue was from their expressions of producing food grains by fighting against all odds. This statue is also the contribution of those tribal brothers and sisters who had made their contribution since the freedom movement up to the journey of development. These great heights are to remind the country's youth that the India of the future is like your towering dreams and aspirations. It is massive. There is just one and only mantra of fulfilling these aspirations - 'Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat', 'Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat', 'Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat'.

Friends,

Statue of Unity is also a symbol of our engineering and technical competence. In the last three and a half years, on an average 2500 workers have worked daily on mission mode. Some of them will be honoured in a short while from now.   More than 90 year old Shri Ram Sutar ji is one such eminent sculptor, under whose leadership this prestigious statue was completed by a group of marvelous sculptors. It is because of the feeling of working on a mission, devotion to national unity and towards India that this work could be accomplished in such a short span of time. The foundation of the Sardar Sarovar dam was laid such a long time back, but that was inaugurated decades later. However, this project has been completed right before our eyes, in such a short period of time. I congratulate everyone, every worker, every craftsman, every architect and every engineer associated with this commendable job. All the names associated with it directly and indirectly have also become an important part of history of the statue of Sardar.

Friends,

Today this journey has reached a milestone. The journey had begun 8 years ago on this very day. I had placed this idea in front of everyone in Ahmedabad on 31 October 2010. At that time, just like crores of Indians, there was just one thought in my mind i.e. the great personality who had done such a great work to unite the nation must receive the honour that he rightly deserved. I also desired that the honour must be received by the drops of sweat of that farmer and worker for whom Sardar Patel had fought all his life.

Friends,

Sardar Patel not only led the Satyagraha movement or raised voice against the exploitation of the farmers from Kheda to Bardoli, but also provided solutions to it. Today's cooperative movement that has become a strong base for the economy of many villages in the country is the result of the far-sightedness of Sardar Saheb.

Friends,

This Memorial of Sardar Patel is not only a symbol of respect that crores of Indians have towards him and the capability of the Indians but will also prove to be an important place of economy and employment generation in the country. It will provide employment to thousands of tribal brothers and sisters every year.  Whatever the nature has gifted you in this region of Satpura and Vindhyas will benefit you in a modern way. The entire world will now be acquainted with the forests and tribal culture about which the country had hitherto only read in poems. The tourists coming to see the statue of Sardar Saheb will now be able to witness the Sardar Sarovar dam as well as the mountains of Vindhyas and Satpuras. I would once again like to compliment the Gujarat government for developing the nearby areas of the statue as tourist spots. The 'valley of flowers' that has been developed will enhance the beauty of this statue. And I would like one 'Ekta nursery' to also come up here from where people can take one plant of unity to their homes, sow the seed of unity tree and remind themselves of the country's unity every moment. Also, tourism is going to change the lives of the people living here.

Friends,

The traditional knowledge of this region has always been rich. When tourism develops due to the Statue of Unity, this traditional knowledge too will disseminate and this place will get a new identity. I have been associated with this region for a long time; hence I am aware of a lot of things. The tourists will love the delicacies and dishes of this region made of rice like una manda, tehla manda, thokala manda. Probably the people sitting here feel like having the dishes. Similarly, the people associated with Ayurveda must be aware of the herbal plant Khati bhindi that grow here in abundance. This plant is endowed with a lot of medicinal properties and people around the world will come to know about it. And therefore, I am confident that this place will be the center of research to improve agriculture here and to improve the lives of the tribals.

Friends,

During the last four years, the government has initiated a massive campaign for commemorating the contributions made by the heroes of the nation. Even when I was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, I was always interested in such things! This is our ancient culture and values that we are carrying along with us. Apart from this skyscraper statue of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, we have also created a modern museum in Delhi in his memory. We have set up other such memorials of several great men in the last four years such as Mahatma Mandir at Gandhinagar, Dandi kutir, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar's Panchteerth, farmer leader Sir Chotu Ram's tallest statue in Haryana, the memorial of the freedom fighter from Mandavi, Kutch and the son of Gujarat Shyamji Krishna Verma or the hero of tribal brothers and sisters Vir Nayak Govind Guru.

Besides, we are also trying to re-live the history by setting up museum in the memory of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose or by building a grand statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Mumbai or a museum in the memory of our tribal heroes during the freedom movement or to celebrate constitution day on 26 November to commemorate the contribution made by Baba Saheb or by announcing a National Award in Netaji's name. All these things have been started by our government. However friends, I am astonished that some people of our country try to see this initiative through the lens of politics.

I don't know why we are criticized even for praising the great personalities like Sardar Patel and the sons of our country. We are made to feel that as if we have committed a grave crime. I want to ask you - Is it a crime to commemorate the great personalities born in our country?'

Friends, it is our attempt to ensure that every Citizen of India carries forward the vision of Sardar Patel with his hard work and capabilities.

Brothers and sisters,

Sardar Patel had mentioned about the type of villages that he had dreamt of for independent India in his speech 3-4 months before independence during the establishment of the Vitthalbhai Patel College. During the construction of that college, he had said - we are constructing houses in our villages in an unplanned way, the roads too are being constructed mindlessly and garbage accumulates in front of the houses. At that time he had called upon the villages to be Open Defecation Free and to be free from garbage. I am glad that today the country is moving forward towards accomplishing the dream of Sardar Saheb. Today the percentage of village cleanliness in the country has reached 95% due to public participation.

Brothers and sisters,

Sardar Patel had always desired that India be empowered, gentle, sensitive, alert and inclusive. All our efforts are in the direction of realizing his dreams. We are working on the Bhagiratha scheme to give a pacca house to every homeless in the country. We provided electricity to 18000 villages where electricity had not reached even after several years of independence. Our government is engaged day in and day out to provide power connections to every household in the country under the Saubhagya Yojana. Today the work of connecting every village of the country with roads, Optical Fibre Network, digital connectivity is going on at a rapid pace. The work of delivering gas connections and helping to build toilets in every household is also going on along with it.

The government has started the world's largest health scheme. When I tell the people around the world about it, they are amazed! The Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana or the Ayushman Bharat Yojana caters to a population more than the collective population of America, Mexico and Canada. Some people call it Modicare. This scheme will help in building a healthy India. 'Sabka sath sabka vikas' is our mantra on our mission to fulfil our mission of making inclusive and an empowered India.

Brothers and sisters,

Sardar Saheb had done political unification of the nation by merging the princely states. Similarly, our government has done economic integration of the country with GST. It has fulfilled the dream of one nation one tax. We are relentlessly extending the determination of Sardar Saheb. It includes the e-NAM scheme of integrating all the big agricultural Mandis of the country or the work on one nation one grid, or Bharatmala project, setu bharatam project or the bharatnet etc. With these projects, our government is striving to fulfil the dreams of Sardar Saheb -  'Ek Bharat Sreshtha Bharat'.

Friends,

Today we have the strength of the youngsters who are concerned about the country. This is the only way for development and the countrymen need to move ahead with it. Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel had entrusted all the Indians with the responsibility of maintaining the country's unity, integrity and sovereignty. It is our responsibility to strongly retaliate against any attempt to divide the country. Therefore, we need to be always alert in every possible way and must remain United as a society. We must take a vow that we will not keep any stone unturned in bequeathing to the future generations the values imparted to us by Sardar.

Friends,

Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel used to tell everyone, and I am quoting his statement - every Indian must forget his caste or class and must only remember only one thing that he is an Indian; and he has as much duties for his country as he has the rights over it. May Sardar Saheb's magnificent ideas keep inspiring us like this lofty statue! This statue of unity is a wonder for the entire world and therefore today the entire world's attention has been drawn towards the banks of mother Narmada. I would like to congratulate every person associated with it and everyone who has been striving to fulfil this dream. My best wishes to every tribal brother and sister settled in the valleys of Narmada and Tapti for a better future.

The entire nation is associated with this event. People from all over the world are associated with this event. And with a great excitement and zeal this pilgrimage of unity has been prepared to carry the mantra of unity forward. We are receiving the inspiration of unity from this centre of inspiration. We must stride ahead with this feeling and also take others along with us and must carry forward the dream of 'Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat'.

Say along with me -

Sardar Patel - Jai ho!

Sardar Patel - Jai ho!

Hail the Unity of the Nation!

Hail the Unity of the Nation!

Hail the Unity of the Nation!

Hail the Unity of the Nation!

Hail the Unity of the Nation!

Thanks a lot!

***

AKT/SH/MG/IG/AK