Creator Of Netaji Statue Arun Yogiraj Challenges Other Claimants Of Credit To A Public Test

It has been two months since the granite statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose has been standing tall at India Gate.

Measuring a total of 28 feet and weighing 280 MT, the grand statue is one of the tallest, realistic, monolithic, handmade sculptures in India.

The creation of the statue is credited to Mysuru-based Arun Yogiraj.

However an interview carried today by a prominent daily has an artist, Naresh Kumawat, claiming himself as the creator of the sculpture.

In response, Yogiraj, speaking to Swarajya, has challenged the maker of this claim.

“I am both shocked and disturbed. I have no idea if he made any models or not. But I have worked based on the work order recieved from the ministry,” said Yogiraj.

"Also, there is no instruction to use any clay model in the MOU. I have used my own model and only after that was approved did I get to sculpting the larger statue. I have researched and gone through almost 600 photos. I had then made two models.’

"Also, as as an artist, when it is my job to make models, why will I copy anyone else’s. I am not a labourer to chisel watching someone’s model".

But Yogiraj says he would like to take this false claim to credit sportively and instead challenge Kumawat to prove his skill. “In front of the public, let us perfrom, any art - be it in stone, clay or any medium - even simple line drawing. Let him accept this challenge and work in front of people,” says Yogiraj, adding that ’because if I have copied his work, his work should be better than mine, and he a better artists than me. So let him perform and prove’.

Yogiraj also hinted at how this isn't the first instance where envy has got the better of hia competitors. But he isn't in it to compete. ‘I have been simply accepting whatever work comes my way and chiselling away,’ says Yogiraj, explaining how he has been ignoring similar claims in the past as well. 

Yogiraj also retweeted a tweet by the Ministry of Culture from September 2022 that read “The hard work behind the historic Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s statue at the India Gate. Sculptor Yogiraj Arun’s video on the process of making the #Netaji statue over 75 days, sculpting a 280-ton monolithic granite statue is breathtaking,”.

As per the press release issued on the occassion of its unveiling on Kartavyapath, after 26,000 man hours of intense artistic endeavor, the granite monolith was chiseled to produce a statue weighing 65 MT.

The statue is completely hand sculpted using traditional techniques and modern tools. The team of sculptors for executing the statue was led by Shri. Arun Yogiraj’. A 100 feet long truck with 140 wheels was specially designed for this monolithic granite stone to travel the 1665 kms from Khammam in Telangana to New Delhi.

Also read: Giving ‘Birth’ To Adi Shankaracharya: Sculptor Arun Yogiraj Shares The Journey Of The Statue That Is Being Installed At Kedarnath