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Karan bats for “Unknown Soldier” monument
KT NEWS SERVICE. Dated: 7/26/2017 9:45:15 AM
JAMMU, Jul 25: Congress Rajya Sabha Member Parliament Dr Karan Singh Wednesday, while describing the proposal to install tank in JNU complex as incongruous, suggested that an imaginatively designed monument to “The Unknown Soldier” would be far preferable.
In a statement issued to press, he stated that installing a tank would be incongruous and inappropriate. “To acknowledge the bravery and sacrifices of our armed forces, we should choose a symbol that covers all the three services,” he said.
“Soon after I had the privilege of being appointed Chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) by the President K R Narayanan in 2002. I visited its 1000 acres campus, surely one of the finest in India. While I was very impressed with the way it had been developed, I noticed that there was not a single statue in memory of the man after whom the university was named, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru. Therefore I initiated the project of installing a really good statue of Panditji. The Vice-Chancellor and the university authorities readily accepted the suggestion and we proceeded to install a large and an impressive statue by the famous sculptor Bipon Dass, which has become the university’s landmark,” he recalled.
Congress MP explained that he was mentioning it in the context of a report that the Vice Chancellor JNU requested for an army tank to be installed in the campus.
“I have close personal relations with our armed forces and I am an honorary Major General in the Indian Army. However, it seems to me that installing a tank would be incongruous and inappropriate. To acknowledge the bravery and sacrifices of our armed forces, we should choose a symbol that covers all the three services. For this an imaginatively designed monument to “The Unknown Soldier” would be far preferable,” he stated.
“I suggest that the University set up a small committee and call for designs from leading sculptors in India. The best one could then be chosen and installed at a subtle occasion within the campus,” Singh added.