India will today (Oct. 31) unveil the world’s tallest statue, that of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, a leading light of the country’s long freedom struggle against the British. Prime minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the towering structure, located on an island along the Narmada river in the western state of Gujarat, on Patel’s 143rd birth anniversary.

At 182 metres (240 metres including the base), the “Statue of Unity” tops the Spring Temple Buddha (128 metres) in China that previously held the record for the world’s tallest statue. It’s also twice the size of the Statue of Liberty in New York. Built by the engineering and infrastructure firm Larsen & Toubro, using some components made in China, the statue required over 18,000 tonnes of reinforced steel and 1,700 tonnes of bronze...