Twitter was abuzz on October 31, 2018, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the 'tallest statue' of the world of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel to the nation from a river-island near the Sardar Sarovar dam in Gujarat. One of the prominent points of discussion, at least to the Tamil-speaking Twitteratti, was the way 'Statue of Unity' was spelt in Tamil at the venue.
A picture of the plaque with 'Statue of Unity' written in several languages, including French, Spanish, Greek, Arabic, Hindi, Tamil and Bengali, reportedly shot at the venue a few days ahead of the inauguration, went viral on Twitter. Words 'Statue of Unity' was misspelled in Tamil. It was quickly pointed out by many people and became a fodder for memes.
Some Twitter users used Google's translate and transliteration tools to show the correct spelling.
Some wondered if the photo was morphed, while others went to the extent of checking with their "sources" in the river-island.
But a tweet posted from the official account of the Gujarat Chief Minister's Office showed the plaque with the Tamil writings alone struck out. The photo, along with other photos taken during the inauguration was published at 10:05 am on October 31. The tweet was subsequently deleted and the archived link can be accessed here .
A screenshot of the tweet from the official account of the Gujarat Chief Minister's Office which was later deleted.
When The Hindu contacted officials of the Gujarat government, they said the photo was true. “We had outsourced event management works to private agencies. When it was brought to our notice, we immediately blacked it out,” a government official said, adding that they would put up a new plaque with proper translations soon.
(With inputs from Mahesh Langa in Ahmedabad)
