Hindustan Times | Vista welds beauty with duty

Sep 09,2022

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Kartavya Path on Thursday evening in a glitzy ceremony and said the newly christened stretch from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate represented a rejection of slavery and colonial baggage by a new and confident India.

In a nearly 90-minute event, the PM also unveiled a 28-feet-high statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, talked about the importance of the freedom fighter in establishing ideals of courage and independence, and extolled his government’s record in developing physical, digital and cultural infrastructure.

“Kingsway or Rajpath was a symbol of slavery that has been consigned to history. We are leaving yesterday behind and filling new colours in the portrait of tomorrow. I congratulate all Indians for eradicating this sign of colonialism,” he told an audience of around 1500at the iconic central Delhi site.

Modi also praised the contribution of Bose and said if the country had India had followed the path shown by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, then it would have reached new heights. “He had courage, vision, self-respect, leadership and ideas. His philosophy and vision were ignored. But our government had taken several steps to make his life an inspiration for all,” he said. “It will imbibe a sense of duty in all.”

Describing the stretch as the heartbeat of Delhi, Modi threw open the revamped central vista avenue to the public and said the facelift was done to give the ordinary citizen a better experience. He asked people to visit the area, where tens of thousands of tourists and locals often congregate to meet, chat and walk, share ice cream or street food, and soak in the iconic sights and sounds of the Capital. “You’ll see the future of India, this energy will give a new vision and duty. Come with your families, take selfies and upload them with the hashtag Kartavya Path,” he added.

Modi arrived at the site around 7pm and was welcomed by Union housing and urban affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri, tourism minister G Kishan Reddy, minister of state of culture Arjun Ram Meghwal, MP Meenakshi Lekhi and minister of state for housing and urban affairs Kaushal Kishore. He then watched a performance by folk artists and inspected the refurbished lawns and facade, before interacting with the workers who made the statue and opening an exhibition. He also listened to a musical performance by Pt SuhasVashi along with a team of singers and musicians as a dazzling array of lights and lasers lit up the night sky.

PM Narendra Modi arrived at the site around 7pm and was welcomed by Union housing and urban affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri, tourism minister G Kishan Reddy, minister of state of culture Arjun Ram Meghwal, MP Meenakshi Lekhi and minister of state for housing and urban affairs Kaushal Kishore. (HT Illustration)
The iconic stretch was revamped over 19 months as part of the Centre’s ambitious Central Vista project, with vastly improved public amenities,16.5km of red granite walkways, refurbished canals, repaired and polished facades, special vending zones, improved signage, new pedestrian underpasses, parking spaces, new exhibition panels and upgraded night lighting. After the official ceremony, the stretch will be open for three days for a cultural eventand drone shows will be held every evening on the life of Bose.

“Kartavya Path is not just a road of bricks and stones. It is a living example of India’s democratic past and eternal ideals. When the people of the country come here, the statue of Netaji, the National War Memorial, all these will give them inspiration and inculcate a sense of duty. When ministers and bureaucrats travel on Kartavya Path, it will remind them of their duty to the country,” he said.

The 28-foot-high statue of Bose, crafted by sculptor Arun Yogiraj, is carved from a monolithic granite stone, weighs 65 metric tonnes and was installed under the canopy at India Gate where once a statue of King George V stood, before it was shifted to the Coronation Park in Delhi in 1968. The canopy stood empty until on January 23 this year, a holographic statue of Bose was inaugurated by Modi.

“In the place where a British statue was once kept, today the country has established the life of a modern, strong India by installing the statue of Netaji at the same place,” he said. A 100-foot-long truck with 140 wheels was specially designed to bring the monolithic granite stone from Khammam in Telangana to Delhi.

“The country’s policies and decisions will have Netaji’s impression. The statute will inspire us,” Modi said.

He said that he was inspired by meeting surviving members of the Indian National Army, who participated in the 2019 Republic Day parade, visiting Bose’s house in Kolkata and the islands in Andaman that Bose declared independent in 1943.

“Those islands were still carrying signs of slavery in their names that were given by British rulers. In renaming them, we connected them to Netaji and Indian identity,” he said. The Ross Island was renamed as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep, the Neil Island as Shaheed Dweep and the Havelock Island as Swaraj Dweep in 2018.

Modi said his government was committed to eradicating all signs of colonialism. He gave examples of renaming Race Course Road as Lok Kalyan Marg, using Indian instruments on Republic Day, establishing the national war memorial, changing the date and time of the Union budget, drafting a new education policy that focussed on Indian languages and changing the navy ensign to a design inspired by Chhatrapati Shivaji.

“This is our continuous pledge and this will take us to a developed India,” he said. “I see a new glow everywhere, this is the confidence of New india.”

He also carved out special mentions for the workers involved in the project. He said the workers and their families will be his special guests at the next Republic Day parade, and that the workers making the new Parliament building will find a mention in a special gallery dedicated to them. “In new India, labour and labourers are honoured. The nation is proud of their work.”

In his speech, Modi spoke about the efforts of his government in creating infrastructure for the country – saying that three times more All India Institute of Medical Sciences had been established in his tenure than previous administrations and 50% more medical colleges were set up. In three years, he said, 65 million rural homes were given piped water supply and that transport infrastructure was booming with railway electrification, metro expansion and more airports and waterways.

In digital infrastructure, he said, India led the world with 1.5 million panchayats given optical fibre connection and new records in digital payments.

On the cultural front, he mentioned the facelift of Varanasi, Kedarnath and the Kartarpur Corridor. “When I talk about cultural infrastructure, I am not just talking about places of faith but all spots linked to history and heroes. This includes the Statue of Unity, the PM Museum and Ambedkar Memorial,” he said.

On stage, he was accompanied by Union ministers Hardeep Singh puri, Kishan Reddy, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Meenakshi Lekhi and Kaushal Kishore. He exhorted all citizens to come see the new Kartavya Path.