Sculptures are exceptional for symbolism because they represent various aspects of our culture. Statues communicate and cherish honour. Regardless of their historical significance, villains do not deserve monuments or names attached to lakes, streets, schools, or military posts.
These things are important in our lives because they serve as a reminder of what was, what is, and what may be. The Statue of Liberty and the Statue of Unity are two famous statues with historical significance.
Statue of Liberty vs Statue of Unity
The main difference between the Statue of Liberty and the Statue of Unity is that the Statue of Unity was erected in honour of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, a liberation warrior from India. The primary purpose of the Statue of Liberty was intended to symbolise Liberty and democracy.
The Statue of Unity is located in Gujarat, India. It's made of bronze. It was made in honour of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, an Indian freedom fighter. He was also a driving force behind the unification of all Indian states after India and Pakistan were partitioned. It's only been around for 1.5 years.
On Liberty Island in Manhattan, New York City, the Statue of Liberty can be seen. It is a copper statue that stands 93 metres tall. It was designed by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. It's a statue of Libertas, the Roman goddess of liberty. The Statue of Liberty appears to be more beautiful. It's 133 years old and still in excellent condition.
What is the Statue of Liberty?
On October 18, 1886, the Statue of Liberty, located in New York Harbour on Liberty Island, was dedicated. It is meant to represent liberty and democracy. Despite the fact that the statue was co-funded by French and American funds, it is said to be a valuable gift from France to the people of the United States.
Newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer organised a crowd-funding campaign that raised over $100,000 to help pay for the statue's construction. The figure was sculpted in France in July 1884 and delivered to New York in June 1885. On October 28, 1886, President Grover Cleveland dedicated it.
The Statue of Liberty is a robed lady who represents Liberty. The goddess raises a torch above her head with her right hand. In her hand is a tabula with the Roman numerals "JULY IV MDCCLXXVI" (July 4, 1776), which is the date of the United States' Declaration of Independence.
A broken chain rests near her feet as she walks forward. The statue of Liberty is made of iron with a copper exterior. It is 93 metres tall. It was designed by Gustave Eiffel, a French civil engineer.
What is the Statue of Unity?
Sardar Patel is commemorated with the Statue of Unity. The decision to retain the height at 182 metres was made to correspond with Gujarat's total number of assembly seats.
Around 3,400 people worked on the statue's construction. The figure lies near the Sardar Sarovar Dam on Gujarat's Narmada River. Firstly, the project was launched by then-Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in 2010, the groundbreaking ceremony took place on October 31, 2013.
The contract for the monument will be awarded to the Indian multinational L&T next year. It was built in only 33 months. They obtained the iron required for construction through the 'Loha' campaign.
As part of its initiative, the Trust has collected iron from every state in the country. An estimated 50,00,000 kg of iron was crowdsourced, with around 3,400 workers employed in the construction of Sardar Patel's monument. They estimated the initial cost of the statue to be around Rs 3,001 crore.
However, after the bidding procedure for the monument's design, building, and maintenance was completed, Larsen and Turbo won the contract in October 2014 for Rs 2,989 crore. The government had set a goal of finishing the construction by mid-October 2018 and dedicating the statue to Patel's 143rd birthday.
Main Differences Between Statue of Liberty and Statue of Unity
Building the Statue of Liberty aims to provide freedom and democracy, whereas the Statue of Unity represents the efforts of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
on October 28, 1886 the president of the United States, dedicated the Statue of Liberty. On the other hand, On October 31, 2018, the Statue of Unity was unveiled by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Statue of Unity is 182 metres tall, the Statue of Unity is situated near the River Narmada in Gujarat at Sardar Sarovar Dam; the Statue of Liberty is situated in New York Harbor's Liberty Island, is roughly 93 metres tall. In other words, the Statue of Unity is nearly double the height of the Statue of Liberty.
The Statue of Liberty took 11 years to build, India's Statue of Unity was completed in just 34 months!
The American statue has an iron inner structure and a copper exterior, but the Indian monument has reinforcement steel, structural steel, and bronze.
The Liberty was erected at roughly $100,000, financed through a crowd-funding initiative led by newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer. And The Unity cost INR 2,989 crore ($403.9 million) to build!
Conclusion:
Both the Statue of Liberty and the Statue of Unity have different specifications and are distinct in their own right. The Statue of Liberty symbolises liberty, whereas the Statue of Unity was built in honour of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.