India erects the biggest statue in the world—and it’s not Gandhi

At 182 metres, twice the height of the Statue of Liberty, it is the world’s biggest statue. Inaugurated on October 31st, it depicts Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, a leader of India’s independence movement. Patel, who orchestrated the annexation of self-governing “princely states”, fits better with the muscular nationalism of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party than more famous heroes of independence, such as Mohandas Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, who stood for wishy-washy virtues such as peace and tolerance.