E-Paper
Statue of Unity unveiled: Amul’s topical tribute to Sardal Patel, who inspired the brand
Twitter is flooded with tweets about the Statue of Unity but this tribute by Amul stands out
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has unveiled the Statue of Unity, a 182m-tall statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, touted as the world’s tallest statue, at Kevadia in Narmada district of Gujarat. The towering statue is built at a cost of nearly Rs 2,300 crore and is being inaugurated on the 143rd birth anniversary of Patel, India’s first home minister. As tweets about the statue flood Twitter, both #SardarVallabhbhaiPatel and #StatueOfUnity are among the top trending topics on the micro-blogging site. Among the tweets, however, a tribute by Amul stands out.
“A tribute to the leader who inspired Amul,” says the official handle of the dairy cooperative. The tribute shows the towering statue with the words “Monumental achievement!” written across it. Since being shared last evening, the tribute has won a lot of love on Twitter.
Amul is known for posting topical tweets on trending topics. However, this tribute is all the more special for the dairy cooperative since it was inspired by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel back in 1946. According to the Amul website, farmers in Anand, Gujarat approached Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel regarding unfair trade practices. It was Patel who suggested they form their own co-operative “which would have procurement, processing and marketing under their control.” The farmers in the area eventually went on a strike and formed their own cooperative.
Within 16 hours, Amul’s tweet has collected over 1,700 ‘likes’ and more than 500 retweets.
The Statue of Unity is built on Sadhu Bet, an islet near the Sardar Sarovar Dam. It will dwarf the current tallest statue, the Spring Temple Buddha in China (128m) and is almost double the height of the Statue of Liberty in New York.
