In unveiling of Netaji's statue, PM Modi's message to the world
The installation of Netaji’s statue is not merely all about nationalistic pride, it is also a message to the world as India stands up to pay respects to a revolutionary leader who was with the losing side in World War II.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today will unveil the digital statue of freedom fighter and leader of erstwhile Indian National Army (INA) Subhas Chandra Bose 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. Home minister Amit Shah and culture minister G Kishan Reddy will also be present on the occasion as India celebrates the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji.
PM Modi, wearing an INA cap in Netaji's honour, announced renaming three islands of Andaman and Nicobar in 2018 on the occasion of 75th anniversary of Tricolour hoisting by Subhas Chandra Bose in Port Blair.
{{^htLoading}} {{/htLoading}}
While both PM and HM are slated to speak on the occasion, the installation of the granite statue of Netaji under the canopy is in recognition of the leader of INA as one of the foremost freedom fighters of India. INA was the army that faced maximum attrition (26,000 out of total 90,000 died) but never surrendered to the British. Its officers and men were captured and put on trial but never signed any surrender document before the British.
{{^htLoading}} {{/htLoading}}
{{^usCountry}}
From this evening, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s statue will be put at the place where the statue of George V used to reside till 1968. The imperial ruler for whom the 1911 Delhi Durbar was held with practically all the ruling prince and noblemen in India present to pay his obeisance to the newly crowned Emperor of India. It is also befitting that Netaji will be taking salute of the Republic Day parade every year hence.
{{/usCountry}}
{{#usCountry}}
From this evening, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s statue will be put at the place where the statue of George V used to reside till 1968. The imperial ruler for whom the 1911 Delhi Durbar was held with practically all the ruling prince and noblemen in India present to pay his obeisance to the newly crowned Emperor of India. It is also befitting that Netaji will be taking salute of the Republic Day parade every year hence.
{{/usCountry}}
The installation of Netaji’s statue is not merely all about nationalistic pride, it is also a message to the world as India stands up to pay respects to a revolutionary leader who was with the losing side in World War II. According to officials, the decision to install Netaji's statue was not taken in the spur of the moment by Prime Minister Modi but through intensive deliberations with the culture ministry and those manning historical archives. According to a former foreign secretary, Netaji’s statue is also an assertion of India which will henceforth not be judged by yardsticks of western/chopsticks culture, or specifications.
Shishir Gupta is Executive Editor at Hindustan Times and one of India's top journalists covering national security, strategic affairs, foreign policy and geopolitics. Over the past three decades, he has extensively reported on India's military, diplomatic and security landscape, covering every major conflict and national security challenge, from the 1999 Kargil War and the 2020 East Ladakh standoff to Operation Sindoor in 2025. He has also covered major terror attacks, including the IC-814 hijacking, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and the 2025 Pahalgam terror strike, along with numerous Pakistan-backed terrorist incidents in the Kashmir Valley and across India. He has reported on national and state elections for more than three decades. A recognised authority on strategic affairs, Gupta has covered India's nuclear programme since the Pokhran-II (Shakti series) tests in May 1998 and has written extensively on global nuclear issues, Indian diplomacy and the country's expanding global outreach. He has also reported widely on international conflicts and terrorism, with a special focus on the Indian subcontinent. Gupta has interviewed Prime Minister Narendra Modi more than four times, including Modi's first interview with the print media after becoming Prime Minister in May 2014. His other interviews include three with the Dalai Lama, as well as conversations with Benjamin Netanyahu, Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath, S. Jaishankar, Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal. He is the author of Indian Mujahideen: The Enemy Within (Hachette, 2011) and Himalayan Face-off: Chinese Assertion and Indian Riposte (Hachette, 2014). He was awarded the Chevening-Wolfson Joint Scholarship at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, UK, in 1998 and participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) of the US State Department in 2006. He received the Ben Gurion Prize from Israel in 2011 and the K. Subrahmanyam Prize for Strategic Studies in 2015 from the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA). Since 2024, he has hosted Point Blank, Hindustan Times' weekly YouTube show on global geopolitics.
Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather major national developments and Karnataka Bandh LIVE.
Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather major national developments and Karnataka Bandh LIVE.
Home/India News/In unveiling of Netaji's statue, PM Modi's message to the world
{{^htLoading}}
Advertisement
{{/htLoading}}
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
{{#usCountry}}{{/usCountry}}
Hindustantimes wants to start sending you push notifications. Click allow to subscribe
