They appear overnight, in a central square, in the middle of an intersection, completely illegally.
To the point that “Solapur District Administration [dans le centre de l'Inde] had to crack down on local authorities for their inability to prevent the sudden appearance of statues of King Shivaji… notes the Indian daily Hindustan Times.
But it is more broadly “all over India [qui] is in the grip of a real fervor for these statues of Shivaji… relave The New York Times.
Onlookers take a selfie in front of a statue of Shivaji in Malvan, India, January 10, 2026. PHOTO ATUL LOKE/THE NEW YORK TIMES
Shivaji is a Hindu warrior from the 17the century, famous for his victorious revolts against the Mughal empire, which united and governed India from the 14th centurye siècle.
But, of Muslim tradition, he is hated by the current Hindu supremacist government of Narendra Modi. It is in this sense that we must understand the current cult dedicated to Shivaji.
The martial statues erected in his honor, generally by far-right activists organized into commandos, “symbolize the progress made by the government’s ‘Hindu First’ movement in dismantling the secular and democratic principles on which India was founded†, sums it up New York Times.
These activists would like to make Shivaji “a sacred defender of Hinduism against invaders: the Mughals from the east and the western colonialists from the sea†.
Statues are popping up everywhere, in coastal towns or along borders. And can measure up to one hundred meters high.
On the slopes of the Himalayas, one of them stands on the spot where 20 Indian soldiers were killed during a clash with Chinese forces in 2020.
In the middle of nowhere, the warrior faces China, sword raised, ready to attack.
The statue of Shivaji in Ladakh, lost in the middle of nowhere on the slopes of the Himalayas. Facing the saber brandished by the warrior, the Chinese border.. PHOTO ATUL LOKE/THE NEW YORK TIMES
On the interior level, some of these statues “are erected in specific locations to sow fear and assert the domination of one community over others†, testifies a representative of the lower castes to the magazine India Today.
The first in line of sight: members of the Muslim minority, associated with the Mughal dynasty. They represent 16% of the population, but are the target of hate speech and discriminatory policies from the government of Narendra Modi.
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